I've heard countless artists from all corners of the creative world complain about becoming stuck or paralyzed and being unable to produce anything. I'm practically plagued with inspiration; I've never suffered from writer's block, and if a non-writing creative project doesn't work out I go to the next one. My philosophy at this age is "Life is too short. Move on."
Not everyone has my mindset, and I get that. Self-doubt is almost as contagious and unpleasant as cyclosporiasis. The creative life is often like walking a tightrope, well, forever. If you struggle with being stuck, try one of my approaches:
Aside setting: I want to put this first because to me this really is the most important skill a creator can develop, as long as they don't abuse it. Set things aside. It's okay to do that; sometimes things don't work out. Sometimes the project takes so long it's exhausting you. If you are struggling every single day, and you hate what you're working on, and it's keeping you stalled, set it aside.
I once set aside a quilt I was hand stitching for eight months because it was taking so long and that was driving me crazy (I only work on one project at a time.) When I finally returned to it I was able to finish it in a much better state of mind.
Color therapy: Go to a home improvement store and visit the paint section. Gather some paint chips in colors that you like together. Now go home and use that palette as inspiration for a scene, a small project or write about them in a journal. What do they help you see in your head?
I often collect paint chips when figuring out a palette for a project. Another way to do this is with yarn, thread or fabric, although if you buy them that can get a bit pricey. Paint chips are free. :)
Get out of the house: Parks, museums, antique shops and any place where hand crafted items are on display are some of my favorite places to gather inspiration. So are historic neighborhoods.
Hiking and walking tours have become a major source of inspiration to me. Very often I'll see a scene spread out in front of me or a building that later inspires or becomes part of a story (like this beautiful old house in Cocoa Village.)
Letter it: Sometimes I will sit down and write a letter to no one in particular about my frustrations. I let myself say whatever I want, be as hateful and childish as I never allow myself to be, and really channel all those negative feelings into words. I blame whoever and whatever I like for my problems. Once I've gotten out all the poison, I'll let it sit for a day or two and then I'll read what I've written. Looking at my emotions that way helps me see them as angry monkeys just jumping around my brain. Then -- usually with great pleasure and relief -- I delete the letter.
Be careful with this one. The angry monkeys can hurt more than you. I used to have a file called Letters Never Sent that I actually kept a few of those hateful rants in because they were pretty funny, but I didn't want my family to read them if something happened to me, so I deleted that, too.
Make a Creative Break Project: Very difficult and long-term projects are usually the ones that frustrate us the most. So, take a break from your paralyzing problem and do something else that's small, easily accopmplished and makes you feel good about yourself.
I have all kinds of little side projects I can make in one day when I need to take a break and do something simpler: bookmarks, mug rugs, one-skein crochet projects, etc. Finishing something makes you feel better. Try it.
Show some gratitude: It's easy to dwell on our failures. Why not be thankful instead for our victories? Go through your photo archives and look at projects that you've finished that made you happy. If you have them on hand, take them out and hold them. Then offer gratitude that you are capable of creating to your higher power, the universe, or just life in general.
What seems like failure is often just a point where you need a mind or attitude reset. One of the best ways to feel good about yourself and what you're working on is to remember that everything is not a struggle. I have never understood people who believe that suffering is part of creating. No. Suffering is what we overcome through creating. When you are an artist in any field, you are creating inspiration for others. You can't do that if you believe everything you do is an automatic fail.
Finally, when you are running short on inspiration, staying power, or you're just having a bad week, forgive yourself. You are human. This stuff happens. It's okay. They say to ask yourself "Will it matter in a hundred years?" I say, "Why does it matter so much at all?" Life truly is short, and you'll learn that the older you get. So, free yourself from expectations of perfection, because believe me, no one is perfect and never will be.
Image credit: the first pic in this post came from BigStockPhotos.com.
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