For the last two weeks or so, I have been experiencing ARTISTS BLOCK. I have not been able to get any viable work accomplished. I sit in my studio, and my mind is blank. I tried to make some greeting cards, which I would usually consider a more simple task than some of my other creations...again, nothing.
This is something we all experience from time to time. It can be scary for those who are not used to going thru it, wondering if all the creativity has been used up or drained from your body. Some people get so nervous and frustrated that they will put their art away...sometimes for years.
Quite often, we experience the block because of other things going on in our lives. Stress at other jobs, family matters, or issues with our health can all have an effect on our creativity. Before jumping to the conclusion that all artistic abilities have been expired, first take a look at what extraneous things might be interfering. With me...it has been my health.
I made an appointment with my doctor, so I could get my current medical issues resolved. I also did one other thing, which might prove helpful to those experiencing artistic blocks as well.
I took a step back....
I work with almost every medium under the sun. My art studio looks like an artist supply shop, where one can find almost anything related to the world of art. But the one thing that I finally realized, something I had been saying for awhile that I wanted to find the time to do (and is not something I sell in my shop), is my painting. Painting is where I started. It is the first art I ever did, way back when I was a kid...all through school and college. I love to paint.....pictures...landscapes...flowers...on canvas. But I have not painted for quite awhile, since those items I sell in my shop have taken precedence. So that piece of me had been put on the back burner.
So...I took out my paints, and a small canvas. I did not want to get myself too involved in a painting. I just wanted to feel my paint brushes in my hands again.
And you know what????
IT WORKED!!!!!
It felt wonderful. I felt creative, enlightened, and could not wait to get into my studio to work on my painting.
Then I realized I was mentally designing new jewelry pieces, and had some ideas on other items. I don't feel like I am quite as hyped as I usually am, as my health piece is not quite taken care of......but I feel like I can at least get some work accomplished, and enjoy myself a lot more than I have the last few weeks!!!!
So, I would like to offer this advice to those of you experiencing artistic block. Take a look at what is going on in the rest of your life, and see what might be interfering...
And while you are trying to take care of all of that.....take a step back. Back to where you started...to your original passion. And do it.
So...what ways have the rest of you dealt with blocks???? What has worked, and what has not??
