Dealing with a creative block:
Artists employ different techniques for scaling a mental hurdle
By Kendra Krumpe
So you’ve got your coffee; the kids are at school or with the sitter; you’re alone in your studio with all the materials you need — and then it happens. You are stricken with the dreaded creativity block. You’re looking at your art supplies as if they are dirty dishes. The matter has to be dealt with, but you just can’t force yourself to do it.
I am all about prevention, so my first step is to see if I can identify a reason that I can’t seem to accomplish anything. Is the dreaded paperwork and filing that I need to do nagging me from the back of my mind? Am I stressed out from the in-laws’ visit or the speeding ticket I got this morning? Do I need some sleep? Am I hungry? Is it too nice outside to work today? Or, too gloomy? For me, if the rest of my life (or my mind, as the case may be) is in disarray, it can kill any creativity I have for the day.
Your first approach should be to identify the problem and, if possible, fix it. It really may be as simple as taking a 30-minute nap or noshing an apple. Or perhaps you get so focused on the task at hand you forget that what you really need is 15 minutes of downtime.
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