Tips for Kick-starting Creativity


Thankyou so much for all your helpful comments on my last post, you are amazing. I know all artists go through creative slumps and this is by no means my first (or last!) My art might have been at a low but my crochet is still going strong. I've just finished another large colourful blanket as you can see. :)


I feel as though I'm slowly coming out the other side of the slump now thank goodness. When other artists share how they got through their own bad patch I'm always eager to know how they did it, so I'm going to share with you some of the things I did that have helped me.

1. No Pressure
The pressure of having to produce something to sell was making me freeze in fear. I knew that I had to take the pressure off and forget that I had to make a finished piece.

2. Make Art
I know from past experience that it's a bad thing for me to have too long a break from actual drawing or painting. This is the case even if I've spent those days filling my head with inspiration. I've visited lots of beautiful places recently and saw things that made my heart leap but the truth of it is that I need to be actually putting marks down on something.
So each day this week I made myself draw or paint in my sketchbook. I found that everything I tried to draw or paint came out looking dreadful as though I couldn't draw or paint any more but I ignored that fact and carried on  for a few minutes each day without worrying about what it looked like. It was the action of doing it that was important.

3. Armchair Painting
I watched artists in action on Youtube. I suppose you could call it 'armchair painting' ;) and I felt very lazy watching someone else do it but it was important for me to do this as long as I was making my own art for a few minutes each day. I loved watching the paint flow from the brush as the artist on screen talked enthusiastically about their work. This fired me up to want to do it myself! It doesn't matter who the artist is, as long as it's a medium that you love to use yourself.

4.  The Internet
I did slow down on Facebook this week, mainly because I had no finished artwork to show. I've spent more time enjoying the Blogworld. This is a great community and your comments have been so very helpful to me, thankyou! ♥ ♥ I can't imagine how artists survive without the internet. I've found so many like minded people who otherwise I wouldn't have come across in every day life. It's reassuring to know that we're not alone when the Slump comes to visit and I really appreciate all the wonderful advice I was given, it's kept me going over the past week. :)
Kerri Smith is someone that I came across when I first started blogging. Her Artist Survival Kit is really helpful and Tam at Willowing is an inspiring person and has several blogposts and videos that help when you're struggling to get back into the flow again. I could name loads of others and you might be among them! :)

So now the weekend is here and my sketchbook is getting filled. I shall see you next week after the Bank Holiday.
I hope you have a lovely time whatever you're doing. :) x x

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Comments

I like the afghan...ITS a beauty!

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