This week, my art journaling class is talking about creative block. Our instructor told us about 10 things she does to overcome it (see video above). I thought I'd share with my team the ways I fight creative block, and maybe it will help them. Here goes...
To overcome creative block, I :
1. Write and draw in my calendar and datebook.
I've made a simple calendar grid and write and paint in it every day. When I sit down and take out my watercolors and pens, I feel more inclined to do something else.
2. Go for a stroll on Pinterest.
There are so many creative ideas on Pinterest, I always run into something that I like. I'll usually link up to the source, read the blog post, and look at the technique and colors used. If there are instructions, I'll print them out for later.
3. Draw a face.
One of the assignments in my art journaling class is to draw faces. I've always wanted to learn how to draw, so I thought this was a great chance to practice! I've been finding faces in magazines I have around the house and in catalogs I get in the mail. If faces aren't your "thing," then draw designs or landscapes. 
4. Go for a walk or exercise.
After I exercise, I feel rejuvenated and I'm happy that I worked out. Instead of rewarding myself with food, I'll sit and read or go and create something new.
5. Look in a craft magazine.
My favorite magazine is called Art Journaling, published by Stampington & Company. They are a great company with a nice line of magazines - I highly recommend you try one. 
6. Challenge myself.
I love to challenge myself! It always gets my mind to thinking and gives me new topics to play with. Highly recommended.
7. Take a class.
I wrote about this in my Saturday Link List. There are so many online classes available. I live in a small city, but we even have an Art Center and a Vo-Tech. Usually you can find something that's not too expensive.
8. Go to an art museum.
When I'm visiting another city, I love going to museums. Art museums are my favorite. Find the nearest big city and make a date with yourself!
9. Surf the internet.
Usually, I don't have extra time to surf aimlessly. But I'll go to teammates blogs, drop EC cards, look for new book titles and plan to buy more supplies. This last one will get your creative juices flowing!
10. Work on one of my short-term goals.
Every month I give myself 3 short-term goals to work towards. Whenever I'm stuck and don't know what to do, I'll look at my goals and try to accomplish one of them.
9 comments:
This is a great post! Very inspiring :)
I made a similar one a while back, here are some more ideas for how to combat art block: http://kaw-studios.blogspot.com/2011/06/15-ways-to-break-art-block.html
Great ideas, I do a few of these too.
I find cleaning and organizing helps too, going through supplies or fabrics gets my ideas flowing. Also looking through old quilt books and magazines, all the projects I'd imagine I'd do helps as well.
I recently took a solid week of just sewing for me, while doing this I got lots of new ideas and inspiration.
I love this Deb! That video was great too:) Your last step reminded me that it would be good to keep a list of projects I've been wanting to do for a while. That way when I'm stuck I can just pull out the list and get going again!
Great post topic! I've tried some of these ideas in the past, definitely helpful.
Awesome suggestions! I do a lot of these myself. Finding a reward that does not involve food is so important. Craft supplies are almost always a good go to option for me.
This is a great list of ideas! I love looking through magazines and surfing the net for new ideas!
Great ideas Deb! I get ideas when looking through my supplies but then I don't have time to act on them so save my projects for later. That was a fun video too. She made it look so easy to draw. Guess it's just natural for some but I struggle so much.
glad everyone enjoyed the post. And great additional suggestions. Love to hear more from everyone! {:-D
I love this post--in fact, I'd love to see everyone from our team do a post on what they do (as you just did here) for inspiration.
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