Early Patternings — AEA Leadership Academy, Module 02

Arts Embassy

Leadership Academy

Cohort 2026

Module 02 — The Artist Leader

Early Patternings

An Artist's Way Exercise · Week 8

"Recovering a Sense of Strength" — retrieving and decoding the early conditioning that still shapes how you create today.

Before You Begin

Julia Cameron writes that we rarely connect the dots between our present-day creative blocks and the conditioning we absorbed as children. A parent's passing comment, a teacher's dismissal, a sibling's teasing — these small moments often calcify into permanent rules we never agreed to but still obey.

This exercise asks you to go back and name those moments precisely. Some prompts may not apply to your life exactly as written — if so, adapt them and write about whatever they stir up. There are no wrong answers here, only honest ones.

Artist's Way principle: "Naming a thing gives you the power to change it. The critic in your head has a history — and that history has an origin point you can find."

Your Name (for your personal report)

Part One · The Father Figure

As a kid, my dad thought my art was...

That made me feel...

I remember one time when he...

I felt very ___ and ___ about that. I never forgot it. Name the two feelings that have stayed with you.

Part Two · The Mother Figure

As a kid, my mother taught me that my daydreaming was...

I remember she'd tell me to snap out of it by reminding me...

Part Three · The One Who Believed in You

The person I remember who believed in me was...

I remember one time when...

I felt ___ and ___ about that. I never forgot it.

Part Four · The Wound & The Rule It Created

The thing that ruined my chance to be an artist was...

The negative lesson I got from that, which wasn't logical but I still believe, is that I can't ___ and be an artist.

When I was little, I learned that ___ and ___ were big sins I particularly had to watch out for.

I grew up thinking artists were ___ people.

Part Five · Teachers & Mentors

The teacher who shipwrecked my confidence was... I was told...

I believed this teacher because...

The mentor who gave me a good role model was...

Part Six · Talent, Suspicion & Anger

When people say I have talent I think they want ___. The thing is, I am suspicious that...

I just can't believe that...

If I believe I am really talented, then I am mad as hell at ___ and ___.

Self-Discovery Profile

Add your type profiles below — they'll be woven into your closing reflection.

Myers-Briggs Type e.g. INFP, ENTJ

Enneagram Type e.g. 4w2, 8w9

Arts Embassy Brave Thinker Type Haven't taken the assessment yet? Take it first, then enter your result. → Take the Brave Thinker Assessment

Your Early Patternings Reflection

Your Core Blocking Patterns

Pulled directly from the language you used above and mapped to concepts from The Artist's Way — not a generic list, but what your own words point to.

How Your Wiring Shapes This

Your Practical Action Plan

Your Full Reflection Record

Step 2 — Return to Your Class Assignment

Once you've downloaded or printed your report above, click below to go back to your Module 02 lesson and follow the submission instructions there.

Return to Lesson →