How To Get Over The Creative Block
As an artist I often find myself getting stuck. Where I used to have all of these ideas, my mind has gone completely blank. A block, a wall, a hurdle..whatever your phrase of choice (the list is endless), the concept is the same: your creative well is empty and you are inspirationaly dehydrated.
What do I wanna make? How do I wanna make it? What medium do I want?
And, I really hate to say this, but the world is not so black and white that there is a singular answer. In fact: There is no answer. But there are strategies that can help you kick start your creativity when you are really and truly stuck.
Get back to basics
When I get stuck I find that it is because I am trying to find something new and exciting to create and end up overthinking the whole thing. Suddenly it doesn’t matter what I find because nothing will seem like it's good enough. Aliens from Mars landing in my backyard? Nope, not good enough.
When this happens (and believe me it does), I know that it won't matter what the focus of my creativity is, so I stop looking for what to make and start thinking more about the skill sets that I can develop. Are my drawing skills not where I want them to be? Maybe my color skills could use some work.
Once I decide what skills I want to improve then I grab the nearest thing I can. Usually a piece of fruit from my kitchen, a plant in my windowsill, or even my dog and focus only on the skills that I am practicing. Before I know it I am back in business!
Walk Away
Like your mom used to tell you when you fought with your siblings—walk away. But walk with intent. What do I mean by that? Whether you decide to take a walk outside or take a walk around your house, you need to walk with the intent to find something. What are you looking to find? You don’t know! So keep your mind open and bring your camera (I use the one on my phone) so that when you find it you can take a picture.
Some things to think about when walking around:
Keep your mind open and the little critic in your head quiet. If it is interesting to you, then it is worth taking the picture. Even if it is the couch you sleep on or the squirrel on the bench you pass everyday, everything is fair game here!
Look for interesting angles and colors. As humans we love to find patterns in things and like most living things, we are drawn to certain colors. Take advantage of that! If you are walking in nature, look at how the trees stand or how a fallen tree leans on a rock, or the colors of a bright but obviously poisonous mushroom. Just make sure you appreciate your findings from a safe distance and leave no trace (that means no eating that pretty mushroom…you know who you are).
Cut out the distractions. This is the only time I will ever say that music might not be your best friend. We are, as a society, overconsumers of distractions. And in doing so, we stifle the creative flames within ourselves by accident. When you are stuck, cutting out the distractions when you walk away allows you to embrace all five senses and truly experience the world around you. When you get back and are ready to get going again, by all means blast the music or have the tv going in the background while you create your next masterpiece. But when you are searching for the spark, remember that being in the moment is the only way to really experience it.
Lower the bar
If you are like me then you probably go through phases where you have great expectations for great ideas. You are going to be loud, go as big as you can, and make something incredible! And then you get going and run out of steam which leads you to getting stuck. And it sucks. Once this happens it can feel so hard to pick up your brush or pencil and keep going.
So don’t force yourself to keep going.
Take a detour and lower the bar. Instead of making that big, loud piece…start smaller. I personally go for postcards or tiny canvases. Something that I can reasonably finish in a day—or even a few hours. The act of finishing the small piece and the feeling of accomplishment is usually enough to bring me back to the big masterpiece feeling refreshed and ready to pass the creative slump.
Final Thoughts: You’ve Got This
Getting stuck in the creative hump is so frustrating. Where you may have once been fueled by creative thoughts, you are now finding that the creativity has run dry. And the discouragement that comes along with that can be the gateway to getting stuck in a vicious cycle of non-creativity.
But not to worry! Because like the thick black eyeliner era of middle school years, this phase will also pass and you will be back to creating again soon!
