Our second cohort of Artistic Alchemy is much more than a book club. It is a creative community to take respite and cocoon, to incubate your ideas and form your chrysalis, to transmute your creative desires and to take flight to your goals.

In addition to working through the book together, your instructor Ella will meet with you for individualized creative production sessions to help you conjure, set, and achieve your creative goals. Whether you’re a writer with writer’s block, a painter who dreams of playing the piano, or a project manager seeking a creative outlet other than beautifying your team’s Notion, this process is sure to alchemize artistic action.

At the foundation of our course, we will work through the cult classic, The Artist’s Way—a book that promises to empower you with confidence and cultivate essential habits to ignite your artistic spark. The book itself is a deeply introspective and personal journey that proves most effective when paired with a space for accountability and connection. Thus, for 13 weeks, we'll meet via Zoom (and one-on-one) to weave together its inspiring exercises and proven practices with Ella’s expertise in nurturing creative development. Through this process we'll discover more about ourselves and who we want to be, while also developing bonds and fostering new creative relationships.

When and where the time-space continuum allows, we'll gather for meet-ups. Some of last year’s excursions included meditative birding in Prospect Park, a zine-making workshop at Pioneer Works, and numerous dinner parties across North and Central America. At the end of our joint experience you’ll have the option to contribute a piece of work to a editorial compilation that may take shape in the form of a physical or digital zine, we’ll vibe that out together. Check out last year’s digital zine here.

The outcomes of this process are endless! Members of our last cohort achieved amazing accomplishments: they finished writing albums, changed career directions, bought their first apartments, reignited their passion for painting, relocated across the globe, authored books, embraced public speaking, quit their damn day jobs to start a gallery, and, most importantly, forged connections that up lift and inspire them to shine as their shiny artist selves in their daily lives.

The book is structured around three main elements:

Morning Pages

A daily practice of writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness upon waking up. Designed to clear your mind, overcome creative blocks, and tap into your subconscious thoughts and ideas.

Artist’s Dates

Weekly outings or activities that you schedule with yourself for yourself to nurture yourself. Think: a trip with a sketchpad to the botanical gardens, time set aside to read poetry, or even microdosing at the Met.

Weekly Readings and Tasks

Each week a set of specific concepts, tools, and tasks are introduced to guide you through self-discovery and creative exploration. These readings and tasks help you identify and overcome creative challenges, confront self-doubt, and foster a deeper connection with your artistic side.

Weekly Chapters:

Week 1 – Recovering a Sense of Safety

• Establish a safe and nurturing environment for creative exploration.
• Introduce the course and its objectives.
• Discuss key concepts from "The Artist’s Way."
• Journaling: Reflect on personal creative fears and aspirations.

Week 2 – Recovering a Sense of Identity

• Define and embrace your unique artistic identity.
• Discuss the importance of self-identity in the creative process.
• Explore relevant essays from “The Artist’s Way.”
• Journaling: Explore personal boundaries, needs, and desires.

Week 3 – Recovering a Sense of Power

• Embrace your creative power and break free from limiting beliefs.
• Examine bursts of energy and emotional peaks in creative expression.
• Study the concept of open mindfulness and its application in art.

Week 4 – Recovering a Sense of Integrity

• Cultivate self-awareness and integrate newfound insights.
• Discuss the concept of integrity in creative work.
• Reflect on essays about self-definition.
• Journaling: Document personal introspections and revelations.

Week 5 – Recovering the Sense of Possibility

• Break free from self-imposed limitations and explore creative potential.
• Analyze personal payoffs and limitations in creativity.
• Discuss chapters about expanding possibilities.
• Journaling: Identify areas where you’ve limited your creative potential.

Week 6 – Recovering a Sense of Abundance

• Shift perspectives on creative abundance and address money-related blocks.
• Explore the relationship between creativity and financial abundance.
• Reflect on creative blocks related to money.
• Reflect on personal attitudes toward money and luxury.

Week 7 – Recovering a Sense of Connection

• Deepen creative receptivity and engage with personal dreams.
• Discuss the importance of receptivity and connection in creativity.
• Discuss essays about connecting with creative interests.
• Journaling: Document your genuine creative interests and dreams.

Week 8 – Recovering a Sense of Strength

• Overcome time-related obstacles and empower your creative journey.
• Explore time-related challenges and creative blocks.
• Reflect on sections addressing time management.
• Identify practical changes to make more time for creativity.

Week 9 – Recovering a Sense of Compassion

• Heal emotional wounds and cultivate self-compassion in the creative process.
• Discuss internal blocks to creativity and emotional difficulties.
• Explore healing and compassion.
• Journaling: Address past failures and embrace self-compassion.

Week 10 – Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection

• Identify and overcome toxic patterns that hinder creativity.
• Explore common obstacles and toxic patterns in creative work.
• Discuss strategies for protecting your creative process.
• Reflect on personal toxic patterns and ways to break free.

Week 11 – Recovering a Sense of Autonomy

• Nurture your artistic self and develop behaviors that enhance creativity.
• Discuss the importance of self-nurturing and autonomy in creativity.
• Reflect on nurturing the artist within.
• Journaling: Document behaviors that strengthen your creative journey.

Week 12 – Recovering a Sense of Faith

• Cultivate trust in the creative process and overcome last-minute doubts.
• Explore the relationship between creativity and trust.
• Set creative aims to bring with you into the new chapter of your creative process!

The Artist’s Way: 30th Anniversary Edition (Anniversary) by Julia Cameron

Ella Fitch is a creative person living between Brooklyn, NY & Venice, Italy. Deeply passionate about community and connection Ella loves to lift up those around her and support them in their goals. As a creative producer of 17 years, Ella is an expert in identifying a creative vision and developing the path to its success. You can grab a copy of her recent book of poems at Index, view a list of awards she’s received on her website, book her as your creative coach or work with her creative studio, Studio Rio, for your content needs.

We get that things come up, but we rely on headcounts in our programs to survive as a business. If you request a refund...

More than 4 weeks before class begins → 100% refund

More than 2 weeks before class begins → 50% refund

Fewer than 2 weeks before class begins → No refund

Thanks for understanding and for supporting our ability to provide cool offerings through your purchase.

Index scholarships are designed to benefit underrepresented groups, BIPOC members of our community, and those for whom the class price is not accessible. These need-based scholarships will go to the candidates who best demonstrate why they should be chosen for the free spot to our class based on the following criteria:

• Belong to groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the graphic design and creative industries
• Do not have jobs that would pay for these courses as professional development
• Cannot independently afford the class at list price
• Share our value of intentional community

The number of selected applicants chosen is subject to the discretion of Index and the instructor, but every course will select at least one. Apply for a scholarship here. Applications close May 30th.