One of my biggest frustrations is dealing with creative blocks. I have always been an artist with the urge to create, but I have recently been struggling to come up with new ideas or take the time to actually make something. I still want to make new pieces, but every so often, I wrestle with allowing myself to do so. Sometimes it’s because life gets in the way, school and work is overwhelming, I feel I don’t have the time, or I just run out of ideas.
I realized that getting stuck in a pattern can make my creative block worse. Even though I enjoy having a schedule to follow because that makes my work and school life easier, it also makes my creativity dry up. Recently, I have fallen into a routine that has put me in this situation. Even if I did have an idea of something to make, I have not been able to bring myself to make it. To combat this, I have tried multiple ways of getting back into my creative atmosphere.
When I have downtime, instead of forcing myself to create, I’ve sat down and scrolled through Pinterest and Instagram. I’ve found that it has helped to see what other artists are creating or to study new materials and aesthetics. It is important to remember that other artists’ work is their own, but looking at the work can get the creative juices flowing. It is a way that has helped me push out of the art rut I’ve found myself in.
Trying new materials has also helped in overcoming the creative block. I am always interested in trying new types of art, so using new mediums that I have yet to try can help bring new ideas. This method puts me into a new mindset of not knowing what I am going to create or how it’s going to turn out. Obviously, the product will not be as clean or “perfect” as other pieces I can create with materials I have used before. Being in this mindset of knowing what I make doesn’t have to be “perfect” takes away the pressure of perfection I put on myself as an artist. To try this, I sat down and started to work with polymer clay to make jewelry. This is a material I have wanted to use, but never made the time to try. Even though what I made was not as “perfect” as other jewelry pieces I usually make, I still was able to create something. I was also able to learn as I tried to work with this new medium, which gave me ideas for other art pieces.
Entering a new environment, using a new medium, or simply letting go of the idea of perfection has helped me start to break out of the creative block I have recently found myself in. Even other creative methods, like sitting down to write, have helped. As long as I can sit down and create, I am happy. Creative block is a difficult and annoying problem that many creatives face, but it does not mean it is the end of creating. It is simply something we deal with before constructing even more amazing pieces.