February
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
The
Conference-approved
Twelve
Traits and
Twelve
Talents are
here!:
The 2024 3rd
Virtual
World
Service
Conference
in January
2025
approved
updates to
the
Traits
and
Talents.
They can be
found on the
About
A.R.T.S.
page of the
website, and
in the
downloadable
Basic
Pamphlet.
Correction
and
Congratulations!
Russian
Region of
A.R.T.S.:
The January
2025
Newsletter
mistakenly
reported
that the
Russian
region of
A.R.T.S.
began in
2021.
A.R.T.S. in
Russia began
in January
2023 and has
just
celebrated
two years!
A.R.T.S.
Magic Open
House:
Saturday
March 1
beginning at
2 pm ET and
going on for
as long as
there is
interest. Everyone
gets to have
a magic wand
to conjure
up their
hopes and
dreams for
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous. Let's
gather
around and
share what
is working
well in
A.R.T.S.,
and what
needs
improving.
What can the
future of
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous
be? We can
make a wish
list. More
details
later in
this
newsletter.
Sunday Step
Study
Workshop –
Step Eight:
The Step
Eight Study
Workshop
will be held
on Sunday,
February 23,
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
Ten Study
Workshops:
(Held Twice)
February 14
beginning at
6 pm PT/9 pm
ET/1 pm AEDT
(the next
day), and
Saturday
February 15
beginning at
7 am PT/10
am ET/15.00
GMT/16.00
CET/18.00
MSK. The
workshops go
for about
2.5 hours.
Link for
registration
and tickets
is here.
Would you
like to fill
out a
Survey?:
Whether you
attended the
most recent
Conference
or not, (the
2024 3rd
Virtual
World
Service
Conference
in January
2025) it
would help
the
development
of future
Conferences
to hear from
you. All
members of
A.R.T.S. are
invited to
fill out a
brief
survey.
Please tell
us your
thoughts and
feelings! Link:
World
Service
Conference
Survey
The
Conference
Policy and
Procedures
Committee
meets the
first
Saturday of
each month.
All
interested
members are
welcome to
discuss and
make
proposals
for the
organization
and the
running of
the annual
meeting of
the World
Service
Conference.
The next
meeting is
Saturday
March 1
beginning at
7 am PT/9 am
MT/10:00 pm
ET/13.00
GMT/14.00
CET/16.00
MSK.
Zoom
Registration
Link
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.
For
2025:
Writings on
the Creative
Process
What is your
“before and
after” story
with your
creative
process?
Many members
of A.R.T.S.
find that
how they
approach
their
creative
expression,
and a
deepening
understanding,
can 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
when you are
in your
creative
process?
Each month
in 2025 a
member will
share their
creative
process
story.
Please
submit your
story to
newsletter@artsanonymous.org
This
memory
from
my teaching
career
came to
me one
day
after
my A.R.T.S. Anonymous
meeting
a few
months
ago. I
shared
it with
my
fellow
ARTS
members.
I want
to share
it with
others
too.
I taught
2nd
grade at
this
little
school
here on
Cape
Cod. My
class
size was
a
whopper:
7. We
teachers
ate
lunch
with our
students
and then
went out
to the
playground
to
supervise
and to
play
with
them.
Every
day on
the
playground
I
noticed
that
crossing
the
monkey
bars was
a big
scary
challenge
for my
students.
Here’s
what
made it
so
scary:
If you
failed,
(many
did)
everyone
in line
witnessed
your
failure
and
would
make fun
of you.
As the
shamed
student
shuffled
away, I
could
hear the
thoughts
in their
heads:
“I’m not
strong
enough,
I’m not
brave
enough,
I’m just
not
ENOUGH.”
I knew
that no
amount
of “you
can do
it!”,
“come
on!”
“this
will be
fun”,
etc.
coming
from me
would
convince
them
that
they
could do
it if
they
kept
practicing.
And no
amount
of
yelling
at the
mockers
would
stop the
mocking
once my
back was
turned.
One
recess I
saw
Phoebe,
a
student
of mine,
at the
monkey
bars. It
was her
turn...
Much
gratitude
to the
representatives
from the
A.R.T.S.
Meetings
who came
together
with the
Board of
Trustees
in
January
2025 at
the
annual
2024 3rd
Virtual
World
Service
Conference,
and
approved
updates
to
A.R.T.S.
Traits
and
Talents.
Much
work
went
into
discussing
the
revisions
and
their
implications
for the
newcomer
and
experienced
members
alike.
The
effort
and care
that
took
place
marks
the
success
of the
group
conscience
process.
Deep
gratitude
to the
members
of the
Traits,
Talents
and
Tools
Literature
Subcommittee
which
took on
a
several-years-long
project
to
provide
a
uniform
set of
the
Twelve
Traits,
Talents
and
Tools,
and
bring
them to
Conference-approval
over the
past two
Conferences:
Mort M.,
Harvey
D.,
Valerie
G. Also
participating:
Isabelle
V.,
Cindyann
W.
On Saturday
evening at
6:00 PM GMT,
I had the
pleasure of
attending
the Arts
Anonymous
Winter
Sharathon.
The event
lasted
nearly three
hours and
was a
vibrant and
inspiring
experience,
showcasing a
wide variety
of artistic
expressions.
Highlights
included:
Literary
Arts:
Readings
from
novels,
poetry,
and
other
written
works. I
had the
opportunity
to read
an
excerpt
from my
novel
Emerald
Strike,
which
was an
enjoyable
and
fulfilling
experience.
Music:
Guitar
performances,
singing,
and
other
musical
presentations.
Visual
Arts:
Painting,
photography,
animation,
life
art, and
graphic
design.
Performing
Arts:
Comedy,
dancing,
puppetry,
and even
multidisciplinary
art
forms
that
combined
several
creative
disciplines.
Film:
Short
films
and
video
art were
also
showcased.
It was an
enriching
evening,
highlighting
the
incredible
talent and
diversity
within our
community. I
highly
recommend
attending
similar
events in
the future
if you have
the
opportunity.
I am
grateful for
the
opportunity
to share my
experience
from the
Winter
Sharathon,
and I
encourage
all members
to
participate
in upcoming
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous
events to
connect with
the
inspiring
work of our
peers.
Yours in
creativity,
Patrick O' -
A.R.T.S.
Dublin Zoom
meeting 10am
GMT Monday.
Thanks very
much for
reading this
month’s
edition of
the A.R.T.S.
Anonymous
newsletter.
My name is
Pat Q. I’m a
writer,
editor, and
novelist
from
Bigfork,
Montana.
My story is
fairly
simple. A.
A. and
Al-Anon
saved my
life, and
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous
saved my
career. I
will always
be grateful
to all the
members of
12 Step
programs.
Alcoholics
made many
attempts to
achieve and
sustain
sobriety
before Dr.
Bob
explained to
Bill W. the
secret that
worked for
him. He said
what kept
him sober
was when he
tried to
help someone
else get
sober.
This method
also works
for me in
the program
of A.R.T.S.
Anonymous.
Helping
other
artists to
express
their
creativity
gives me
inspiration.
Their
honesty and
desire to
live a
creative
life feeds
my creative
fire. I
believe the
more members
we attract
to A.R.T.S.
meetings,
the more we
can
strengthen
our own
creativity.
I
wholeheartedly
believe in
attraction
versus
promotion. I
believe when
I share what
A.R.T.S. has
done for me,
that is
attraction.
When I try
to persuade
people what
A.R.T.S.
will do for
them, that
is
promotion.
When we
share what
A.R.T.S. has
done for us,
we give
struggling
artists the
opportunity
to identify
with
someone.
They might
even
experience
the power of
hope. If we
show how the
A.R.T.S.
program
works for
us, maybe
they’ll
wonder if
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous
can work for
them.
Shall we
band
together and
find
inexpensive,
effective
ways to
share our
stories with
people who
have never
heard of
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous?
Shall we use
the
principles
of A.R.T.S.
Anonymous to
reach
struggling
artists in
and out of
other 12
Step
programs? We
could call
it Public
Outreach.
Who knows,
our efforts
might even
inspire
ourselves.
Posters to
announce
A.R.T.S.
Meetings in
your local
area, by
phone
conference
or via
online
platform are
now
available on
the website.
Members and
meetings are
encouraged
to fill out
meeting
information
and post
these at
local
12-Step
recovery
meeting
places or
clubhouses
and anywhere
else that is
appropriate.
(A
website url
will be
added to the
posters
soon).
Three
different
posters can
be found
here:
A.R.T.S.
Meeting
Posters.
They are
also linked
on the
Meeting
page of the
website
(scroll to
the bottom
right), and
on the
Public
Outreach
Committee
page
(accessed
from the
Service Info
page).
Consider
creating
more!
(Maybe there
will be a
poster
contest
someday.)
What are
the
Traditions
in
A.R.T.S.?
Can they
help me,
my
meeting
or my
art?
Do I
want to
give
service
to
A.R.T.S.?
Is there
a place
for me
in
service?
I know
there
are
Committees
in
A.R.T.S.
What are
they and
what do
they
do?
Who’s in
charge
here
anyway?
Consider
participating
in the
Participating
in A.R.T.S.
Affairs: Our
Guiding
Traditions
workshop
that will be
held twice,
on February
21 and again
on February
22, to
accommodate
multiple
time zones.
There will
be speakers,
a
presentation,
questions,
writing and
sharing. $5
suggested
donation, no
one turned
away.
Details are
in the flyer
and the link
below.
32
Representatives
from
A.R.T.S.
Meetings
and 6
Members
of the
Board of
Trustees
attended
for
either
some or
all four
days of
the 2024
3rd
Virtual
World
Service
Conference
in
January
2025.
Updates
to
the
Traits
and
Talents
are
Conference-approved.
A
Committee
to
make
recommendations
to
the
Conference
on
its
organization
was
created.
This
Conference
Policies
and
Procedures
Committee
will
work
on
creating
a
Conference
Service
Manual
A
procedure
for
how
Motions
for
the
Conference
are
handled
was
adopted.
The
Community
Problem
Solving
Method
was
updated
to
include
comments,
and
an
additional
question
and
comment
period.
Matt
B.
completed
as
the
Conference
Chair
and
Facilitator.
The
rebuilding
of
the
Conference
is
still
in
its
formative
stage,
and
Matt
was
acknowledged
by
those
present
for
his
leadership
and
courage
during
the
past
three
years
in
pulling
together
a
disparate
band
of
rebels
into
a
very
successfully
completed
Conference.
Dasha
B.
from
A.R.T.S.
Russia
was
elected
to
the
Board
of
Trustees.
The
Treasurer’s
Report
presented
a
stable
situation
for
the
finances
over
the
past
two
years.
There
is
concern
about
increased
expenses
due
to
the
loss
of
very
inexpensive
office
rent,
and
the
need
for
a
prudent
reserve
and
an
updated
website.
The
Last
Day
of
the
Conference,
where
the
Topics
of
Discussion
and
an
Open
Forum
took
place,
revealed
far
more
than
can
be
listed
here.
Overall,
the
discussions
were
characterized
as
revealing,
healing,
encouraging,
and
that
recovery
with
the
help
of a
loving
Higher
Power
is
occurring
in
A.R.T.S.
The
need
for
more
Literature
written
by
the
membership,
an
Outreach
program,
safety
in
meetings
and
a
group
inventory
was
also
expressed.
A full
report
of the
World
Service
Conference,
including
a
complete
transcript
of the
final
day of
the
Conference,
will be
available
sometime
in
March.
Thank
you to
all who
participated
and
thank
you to
the
A.R.T.S.
members
who
elected
and
supported
their
Delegates
and
Alternates
to
attend.
Whether
you
attended
the most
recent
Conference
or not,
(the
2024 3rd
Virtual
World
Service
Conference
in
January
2025) it
would
help the
development
of
future
Conferences
to hear
from
you. All
members
of
A.R.T.S.
are
invited
to fill
out a
brief
survey.
Please
tell us
your
thoughts
and
feelings!
What if
we could
dream up
the
future
of
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous
with the
wave of
a wand?
On
Saturday
March 1
beginning
at 2 pm
ET,
everyone
gets to
have a
magic
wand to
conjure
up hopes
and
dreams
for
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous. Let's
gather
around
and
share
what is
working
well in
A.R.T.S.,
and what
needs
improving.
What can
the
future
of
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous
be? We
can make
a wish
list.
This
event is
open to
all
members
of
A.R.T.S.
Anonymous.
It will
go on
for as
long as
there is
interest:
come
when you
can!
The Step
Study
Workshops
are an
ongoing
series.
All
A.R.T.S.
members
are
invited.
Come
prepared
to
listen,
write
and
possibly
share.
You also
may
attend
any
workshop
at any
time –
these
are not
closed
Step
Study
groups. (If
your
group is
interested
in
hosting
this
series,
please
contact
workshops@artsanonymous.org.)
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.
