There are times that it’s really hard to be creative. Life gets in the way. Emotions get in the way. Self-doubt gets in the way. I get tired, sick, bored, and worry. Imposter syndrome creeps in. That ugly inner voice telling me what an untalented hack I am gets louder and louder. But I must press on or risk losing weeks, months and even years to what I really want to be doing.
In times like this what fills me up? What fills YOU up? What fuels you? What inspires you? What re some things you can do that are self-nurturing. I have a few ideas.
Do Something Less Threatening
Some of us want to create art but feel stuck or fearful. At these times we can try creating art that has no pressure and no expectations. The end result of what we’re creating isn’t important. The point of creating to play, or sometimes mindfully (or mindlessly) do something that is art – but non-threatening. We can scribble, doodle, draw patterns, throw or drip paint on a page. We can paint pages from an old book that we might use in a future collage. It doesn’t matter. Make some marks on a page, canvas, iPad or Wacom tablet. Remind yourself the end result (the product) doesn’t is unimportant.
Do Something Different
Some of us find it helpful to do “something else” that is creative, but unrelated to the type of work we normal do. Working in the garden, baking or cooking a new or tried-and-true recipe, adding new throw pillows to the couch, putting together a new outfit, etc.
Do Something Related
Some of us find it helpful to do something “in the periphery” of art or being creative, but not the art itself. Clean and organize your art materials. Test and throw out all of your shitty pens. Test your pens on different paper. Test your watercolors on different paper. Go to the art store and test out new markers or colored pencils. Organize your digital files. Organize your photos, etc.
Do Something Just For You
Some of us need to unplug, relax, perform a small (or big) act of self-love. We can take a nap, take a bath, listen to music, meditate, sit outside, go for a walk in a place beautiful, pull a tarot card, work with a crystal, diffuse some essential oils, stretch, do yoga, do Tai Chi, dance, watch a funny (or sad) movie, etc.
