April
2025
Newsletter
Give
us
Five,
See
A.R.T.S.
Thrive!
Five
minutes
a
day
keeps
the
block
away.
Five
dollars
a
month
supports
A.R.T.S.
worldwide.
Five
minutes
to
read
so
A.R.T.S.
thrives!
Do you have something to contribute? Please send us poetry, audio files, short writing, A.R.T.S.- related stories, images of your art (in jpg.)! Those who submit work retain their copyright, and a copyright statement is included by request. Email the editors at newsletter@artsanonymous.org
Sunday
Step
Study
Workshop
–
Step
Ten:
The
Step
Ten
Study
Workshop
will
be
held
on
Sunday,
April
26
at 8
am
GMT/9
am
CET/7
pm
AEDT.
Click
here
to
register.
(This
is
not
a
closed
group;
you
may
participate
to
find
out
what
the
Step
might
do
to
help.)
The
link
is
also
on
the
News
page
of
the
website.
Step
Twelve
Study
Workshops:
(Held
Twice)
April
18
beginning
at 6
pm
PT/9
pm
ET/12
noon
AEDT
(the
next
day),
and
Saturday
April
19
beginning
at 7
am
PT/10
am
ET/14.00
GMT/15.00
CET/17.00
MSK.
The
workshops
go
for
about
2.5
hours.
Link
for
registration
and
tickets
is
here.
New
Step
Meeting
- 12
Step
Study
to
Artshare:
Thursdays
beginning
at
10
am
PT/1
pm
ET
and
going
for
1.5
hours.
Zoom
link.
There
is
an
announcement
later
in
this
newsletter.
Spring
is
on
its
way
with
a
Sharathon!:
Saturday
April
26
beginning
at
10
am
PT/1
pm
ET.
Link
for
Details
and
to
Sign
Up.
There
is
an
announcement
later
in
this
newsletter.
March 2025 Expenses: Office rent and internet; online software and accounts (Quickbooks, Zoom, Mailchimp, Adobe Suite); Special Worker salary; processing fees for credit cards, Paypal and Ticket Tailor; Kindle royalties. Total Expenses for March 2025: $976.45
March 2025 Income: Donations from Individuals, literature sales, Step Study Workshops, desk share. Total Income for March 2025: $1,072.53
A.R.T.S. Anonymous gained $96.08 in March. In the first three months of 2025, A.R.T.S. lost $620.90.
The
2024
3rd
Virtual
World
Service
Conference
in
January
2025
Report
is
Ready!:
A
record
of
the
proceedings,
Committee
Reports,
a
Treasurer’s
Report
for
2023
and
2024,
plus
transcripts
of
the
Topics
of
Discussion
and
the
Open
Forum
are
included.
The
report
is
posted
on
the
website
on
the
Conference
page
here:
2024
3rd
Virtual
WSC
in
January
2025
REPORT.
Conference
Chair
and
Conference
Vice
Chair
Positions
are
open:
Rotation
of
Service
is a
valued
principle
of
service
in
order
for
all
to
have
the
benefit
of
growth
and
creative
recovery.
A
willing
and
able
Trusted
Servant
is
needed
to
Chair
the
World
Service
Conference.
The
Vice
Chair
position
is
newly
created,
for
one-year
terms.
More
information
can
be
found
on
the
Conference
page
of
the
website,
or
by
emailing
conference@artsanonymous.org.
What
is
your
“before
and
after”
story
with
your
creative
process?
Many
members
of
A.R.T.S.
find
that
an
understanding
of
how
they
approach
their
creative
expression
can
deepen
or
change
with
personal
recovery.
What
was
your
creative
process
like
before
you
came
to
A.R.T.S.?
What
happened
to
change
it?
And
what
is
it
like
now?
Members
are
invited
to
share
their
creative
process
story
to
be
published
in
the
newsletter
in
2025.
Please
email
your
submission
to: newsletter@artsanonymous.org.
Thank
you
for
carrying
the
message
of
strength
and
hope
to
the
still
struggling
artist.
Last month on March 1st members of the Fellowship came together for an Open House discussion called Day of Magic. There was an invitation to have some fun with objet trouvé to create a magic wand. Wands of color, sparkle, and sounds of energy called forth wishes, hopes, dreams, and passions for what members might like to see materialize in A.R.T.S. Anonymous. As promised, those ideas were compiled into a survey offering an opportunity for members to identify their areas of interest and add to those ideas. Whether you were there or not your feedback response and additional suggestions will contribute to making those desired actions ignite. The link for responding to the survey is below.
This survey will close at the end of April. The collective responses from you and all other participants will be compiled for feedback and shared with all of you.
Board
members
heard
several
times
during
the
A.R.T.S.
Day
of
Magic
and
at
the
Open
Forum
that
it
would
be
useful
if
Board
members
attended
more
of
the
A.R.T.S.
meetings.
The
Board
welcomes
the
idea.
In
the
interest
of
maintaining
democratic
principles
and
co-operation
between
service
entities,
the
following
guidelines
are
offered:
Board members DO attend meetings and participate in service at the meeting level. When doing so, they are doing so for their own personal recovery, not as Board members.
Should a meeting wish to invite a Board member to attend a meeting as a Board member, it is strongly suggested that the invitation be offered by group conscience.
It would be helpful if a Board member invited to attend a meeting as a Board member has an idea as to the purpose for their presence at the meeting.
Every
A.R.T.S.
meeting
has
its
own
focus
and
character.
This
can
change
too.
Since
there
are
no
membership
signups,
no
dues
or
fees
and
no
obligations,
A.R.T.S.
members
can
come
and
go
to
meetings
as
they
find
them
helpful.
No
one
takes
attendance
or
hands
out
tardy
slips.
We
welcome
anyone
who
wishes
to
use
our
spiritual
program
to
express
their
creative
gifts.
(Tradition
5)
I
want
to
talk
about
a
special
kind
of
A.R.T.S.
meeting,
unique
to
our
program.
These
are
5-Alive
meetings.
Most
of
us
came
to
A.R.T.S.
because
we
were
unable
to
express
our
creativity
in a
satisfying
way.
Sobriety
in
A.R.T.S.
is
doing
our
art
for
at
least
5
minutes
a
day.
5-Alive
meetings
vary
in
their
format.
They
range
in
length
from
half
an
hour
to
dropping
in
for
some
part
of 8
hours.
The
commonality
is
that
members
turn
off
their
microphones
and
video
for
5
minutes
or
more
and
do
their
art.
They
may
or
may
not
check
in
at
scheduled
times.
The
formats
vary.
Many
of
us
find
these
meetings
immensely
helpful.
It
can
be
so
hard
to
sit
alone
at
your
computer
to
write
or
look
at
the
blank
canvas
or
do
those
vocal
exercises
alone
in
your
studio
or
apartment,
or
wherever
you
find
yourself.
Just
knowing
that
there
are
others
in
all
parts
of
the
world
getting
together
to
do
art
together
is
so
uplifting
and
inspiring.
It
might
be
lunchtime
in
San
Francisco
and
bedtime
in
Paris,
but
we
are
all
doing
our
art
together.
If
you
haven’t
tried
a
5-Alive
meeting,
you
might
give
it a
shot.
A.R.T.S.
members
are
so
accepting
and
loving.
There’s
no
pressure.
And
it’s
a
good,
safe
way
to
get
to
know
people
while
celebrating
our
art.
The
following
A.R.T.S.
Tool
for
Recovery
was
approved
by
the
World
Service
Conference
in
2023:
MEETINGS: We attend meetings to learn how the program works. We share our experience, strength and hope with each other, as well as our art and/or creative process.
What
makes
a
meeting?
In
essence,
any
two
or
more
artists
who
share
their
experience,
strength
and
hope
with
each
other
for
the
purpose
of
recovery
from
a
common
malady
can
be
considered
a
meeting.
There
may
be
points
of
disagreement,
however
over
many
decades
of
12-step
program
experience,
the
following
points
seem
to
contribute to
the
health,
success
and
longevity
of a
meeting.
Using
and
practicing
The
Twelve
Steps,
the
Twelve
Traditions
and
the
Twelve
Concepts
of
Service.
It is strongly suggested that the Steps and Traditions are read in meetings, and that meetings encourage Step work, sponsorship, and use the Traditions
Regular business meetings with the guidance of the Traditions allow a Higher Power to operate through the group conscience
Support the operations of the meeting and of World Services by facilitating...
The
A.R.T.S.
Step
Study
Workshops
-
Any
Takers
to
Lead?
This
series
of
A.R.T.S.
Step
Study
Workshops
concludes
with
Step
Twelve
in
April
2025.
We
welcome
those
who
feel
drawn
and
committed
to
leading
this
series.
The
format
and
guidelines
for
presenting
these
workshops
are
already
in
place.
A
meeting
or a
group
could
also
organize
itself
to
hold
this
series.
Perhaps
this
is a
good
time
to
remember
Step
12:
that
we
get
to
keep
the
benefits
of a
spiritual
recovery
and
this
Fellowship
by
giving
it
away
to
others!
“I
stay
sober
helping
others.”
-
Bill
W.
Further
support,
such
as a
registration
page
link
on
the
website,
a
zoom
room,
and
announcements
to
the
Fellowship
are
available
from
the
A.R.T.S.
World
Service
Office.
Contributions
in
accordance
with
Tradition
7
keeps
A.R.T.S.
self-supporting.
Please
email:
officemanager@artsanonymous.org.
Gratitude
to
those
willing
to
serve.
In closing, I would like to say that no matter how distanced we may feel from our creative sources, no matter how long it has been since we were in touch with our creative spirit, or how feeble may seem our creative impulses, they are reawakening in our Higher Power’s time, through this program and through our actions, no matter how small or how simple, a day at a time. I may not be able to see my own growth, or even to see my creations as beautiful, but I am able to see yours as inspiring and enriching my emotional, spiritual and physical world. We are not recovering merely to hide our light under a bushel; our creative gifts are a gift. To celebrate them, we humbly apply ourselves, sometimes to the work of art, and sometimes to play. May A.R.T.S. Anonymous teach us that our art, celebrated, will benefit and feed our own souls first, and the world’s second, for the world hungers as much for this beauty as for food. We meet here together to feed this deeper hunger.
