4 Ways To Cancel Creative Block
First of all, the good news is that you are not alone. Every artist will experience creative block, and it will happen more than once and it can strike at anytime. It can be very frustrating and scary, but it’s normal. I like to think of creativity kinda like a savings account. If you go a shopping spree and spend, spend, spend but don’t ever make a deposit, then not only do you run out of money, but you’re overdrawn, YIKES! It doesn’t mean that you’ve lost your touch, talent or skill, your brain is just hiding it because it thinks that’s what it’s supposed to do. Most likely you have forgotten to make deposits. Deposits can be made in SO many ways; rest, nutritious food, time with your tribe, time outside, meditation, yoga, exercise, visiting an art exhibition, volunteer work, … You also probably have a lot of other things floating around in your head i.e. grocery list, errands to run, bills to pay, deadlines, etc. and your brain thinks that they are what needs to happen. The trick to getting back into to your flow is “tricking’ your brain to file the other stuff away. Here are 4 ways you can do that:
Use your non-dominant hand, trust me on this one, it’s going to cause your brain to focus on learning something new instead of obsessing over why things aren’t “good”.
Grab your favorite mark making tool, some paper or canvas, 2-3 of your favorite colors + white and black. Put on your favorite tunes, set a timer for 10-15 minutes and paint like you did in kindergarten. That means play with no goal in mind except fun. If you need a goal, then it’s to create something ugly. Again you are basically tricking your brain to reset.
Meditate before sitting down to paint or draw, this will put you in a good headspace.
Move physically, outside if possible; dance, exercise, walk, anything that you like to do as long as your body is moving for at least 10 minutes. This one is my FAVORITE!!!
Always remember that everything is temporary and cycles between awesome flow and frustrating block are normal. Reframe the “blocked” time as an opportunity to tidy up your studio or do other housekeeping issues knowing that tomorrow may be the day the magic returns.
Happy Creating,
Lori