At the start of our creative journey together, I asked you to unearth an artistic partner for yourself. I wanted you to find a work of art within your given medium that you really responded to. I encouraged you to look at the relationship between your work and the model you selected as an ongoing conversation to unfold during this year.

This artistic model should have spoken to you on a deep level. Maybe it was a painting in a museum that you found yourself returning to in your mind, again and again. You have a postcard taped to your easel as a reminder of some of its nuances. Or perhaps a memorable novel leapt out at you as an artistic model. You found yourself leafing through its pages from time to time, trying to glean some inspiration from the text. Whatever the medium, this artistic model should have opened the possibility of dialogue between you and another artist, someone you really admire.

You may have lost the thread of this conversation over the past few months. It is time to refresh the acquaintance. You should dive a little more deeply into the dialogue, as you now have amassed considerable hours devoted to your work. How does the creative path that you have been walking down respond to aspects of the other artist’s work?

This is a time to be serious about the connections, but also allow yourself some silliness here. You should be on more sure footing with your creative model at this point. Your relationship should have moved from reverence to intimacy, and, with any luck, returned to an even deeper appreciation of this artistic model. If you have been attentive in engaging with this work of art, then you should know many of its foibles, like how one would understand a best friend. You may have scrutinized the details of this artistic model. Over time, you have discovered where all the warts on their face are located, but you also found them more attractive, for you better understand their positive attributes. The warts offset the considerable beauty found within this work of art.

This transformation in your artistic relationship reminds me of the more esoteric side of many spiritual traditions, which allow for a closer and closer relationship with the universal spirit. One can come to value the spirit from an impersonal vantage point, and the spirit will respond on that level. But there is also the opportunity to come closer, to really fall into a tight-knit embrace with a more personal representation of the spirit. You have the opportunity now to really sink into this conversation. Let the artwork speak to you now as a partner, as a confidante. You should have the confidence now to wrestle with this work of art, treating it as a friend. You may not be on equal footing, for that may smack of hubris. But you are now, at the very least, speaking to each other with focus and intensity.

It is time to get more creative with these conversations. Jot down the three aspects of your work that seem to be in the greatest alignment with this artistic model. Look over your notes carefully, and see where there are still question that exist, now that you have spent considerable time in this dialogue – jot down three looming questions that you may have, something that you hope the artist’s work can answer, if not with words, then with example. Carry these two sets of notes with you over the next week. Carefully consider them – these bullet points will give your project greater direction as you press forward to completion over the next few months.