In her masterful book The Artist’s Way author Julia Cameron writes about the importance of the artist date. She believes the weekly date is a necessary part of nurturing your creative consciousness, what she calls your creative child. Her instructions are clear – set aside two hours a week to do something different or take yourself off on an excursion, and do it alone. This will, she says, invite insight, inspiration and guidance. It helps fill our creative wells.

She has many suggestions and these are only a few: visiting a great junk or stationary store, a solo trip to the beach, going to an aquarium or an art gallery, wandering through a new-to-you neighborhood, taking a bike ride in the countryside, watching a movie, or trying a craft you’ve never attempted before.

I used to schedule a weekly artist’s date all the time, but at some point I fell out of the routine. Well, now I’ve started doing them again and the practice has reminded me of just how wonderful a solo artist date can be.

A few weeks ago, I attended a lecture by writer and artist Briony Penn. If you’re unfamiliar with Penn’s work, check out her website:  https://www.brionypenn.com/  and be sure to visit her books page.

This past weekend, I visited Cathedral Grove (pictured above) where the forest never ceases to inspire me.  Cathedral Grove is about 30 minutes by car from my home. I’m lucky to live surrounded by the rain forest and within walking distance of the ocean too.  I’m literally spoiled for choice when it comes to nearby natural wonders and I try to never take them for granted.

But if there’s any downside to living in a small community surrounded by nature, it’s the sometimes lack of cultural activities. Then the other day someone reminded me that I can tour some of the world’s best museums and art galleries virtually. I remember hearing about the option during Covid but I never really pursued it. Now I’m motivated! 

Here are just a few museums to consider. These links will take you directly to the museums in question, though some don’t always land on the link to virtual tours, so you may have to do a little additional clicking to get to the right area. But I’m told the effort is worthwhile.

The Louvre, Paris:  https://www.louvre.fr/en/online-tours

The British Museum, London: https://www.britishmuseum.org/

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo: https://masp.org.br/en

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea: https://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/

The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en

The Met, New York: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/met-360-project

Vatican Museums, Vatican City: https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/tour-virtuali-elenco.html

Happy wandering!