Originally published on Patreon for the inPrint Collective in January, 2021.
I think all creatives, regardless of what art form they practice, suffer from some form of creative block sooner or later. I can’t speak for how that block tends to affect others, but I’ve tried to pay close attention to how it affects me over the years, and I assume that most people like to compare notes.
For myself, when I start running up against creative blockage, it starts pretty innocuously. It’s like, when you go from a paved path to a well-maintained gravel path. You can feel the difference in the surface under the soles of your shoes. It’s a little rougher, but actually still feels pretty good. And then the path gets less well maintained (and you realize that you should have been wearing hiking shoes, not your crappy Converse-knock-offs with a thin rubber sole) and less well maintained and all of a sudden, you’re doing your best to avoid sharp stones and tree roots in your path, but every step feels just a little bit painful, until it gets rougher and rougher, and suddenly, there’s a steep, rocky hill to climb and your crappy shoes have zero traction, you’re getting shin splints, and you’re already out of breath.
It’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s pretty close to how artists’ block happens to me. I’ll be plugging away on a project, and then I’ll get to a point where I feel like I’m applying some healthy criticism to it. Like, not destructive criticism, but, I could be doing this better sort of criticism. And that’s a really good self-editor to have, until that same criticism slowly gets dialed up until it becomes destructive, more along the lines of I can’t do this better because I’m just not good enough. And then, suddenly, I’m in the middle of the woods, out of breath, muscles aching and holes in the soles of my crappy Converse knock-offs.
So, here are the strategies I use to get myself back on track.
1. Take Breaks
This sounds pretty obvious, but speaking for myself, when I’m “in the zone” I can be a bit like a toddler. I don’t WANT to take breaks. It can take some time for me to get into a groove, and, often, switching gears can be a bit difficult for me. But, like the toddler who’s refusing to take their nap, I need that break. If I muscle through, I might be ok. But the far more likely scenario is that I also might just start making bigger and bigger mistakes and getting more and more frustrated until I ruin something. To be fair, this is more of a preventative measure, but can still be used when things are getting a little more rough. By breaks I mean anything from a coffee/meal break to a solid hour of unrelated entertainment (TV, games, books, chatting with friends) or even just, you know, a literal nap.
2. Loosen Up
Ok, so maybe I can’t take that break, like, I’ve got a deadline looming, and I need to finish the project yesterday. It is still usually necessary for me to stretch it out. I mean this both physically (as in, check my posture, roll my shoulders, stretch my back and my chest, roll out my neck) and mentally. As someone whose art practice often involves a great deal of sitting, usually the range of stretches suggested for office workers is a good start. I’d follow that up with some wrist rolls and hand stretches (at least those are essential for me, since I tend to start death-gripping my pencil or my carver). If I’m in the middle of a print run, a few quick backwards bends, forward bends and neck rolls are usually the extent of what I’ll do (I don’t want my ink to dry out, after all) until the end of the run.
On the mental side of things, I find that simple warm-up exercises for drawings are very useful. A few quick 30 second gesture sketches can help, or try a couple scribbles and make them into fluffy animals. Try drawing a small object with your off-hand. I find that taking a quick moment to do these exercises are very helpful for me when I get into a funk – I feel like they help to loosen up my brain, which can get hyper-focused on a tiny detail of a project very easily.
3. Do Some Menial Work
You feeling all loosened up and still stalled out? When I get into that specific funk, I try to focus on something really menial and straightforward. Maybe it’s just a quick tidy of my workspace. Maybe it’s carving out a part of my linoleum that I’m going to cut out later anyway. Whatever it is, it should be something I could (almost) do with my eyes shut. I like to find something that works towards my project, but that I can do on autopilot.
The danger of this, of course, is that if you are of the easily-distracted persuasion, this might just become a procrastination technique. But that’s another post.
4. Shift Gears
I won’t lie – as someone with far too many loose-ended projects cluttering up my mental and my physical space, this one is a RISKY endeavour. That said, sometimes I think it’s absolutely necessary. Letting a project just sit for a while is really difficult for me when I get into a hyper-focused mind space. Because I have a tendency to flit from project to project, I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to FINISH THE THING as quickly as possible, but when I’m getting creatively blocked, this can lead to more and more mistakes and a worse and worse outcome.
And therefore, despite my years of half-completed projects, I do think that it’s sometimes best to just let your work sit and steep for a while. I find that if I really need to do this, it’s best to really switch focus – like, move to another medium. And try to make yourself switch back within a couple days. (I suck at it too). If you really struggle with that (like I do!), keep a list of the things you are working on, somewhere hard to avoid or ignore, so that you don’t lose track.
5. Forgive Yourself for your Artists’ Block
This is literally the hardest part for me. I am very understanding when I see my creative friends struggling with their creative blockages – It happens! You get burnt out! It’s not your fault! But the moment I need to extend that same compassion towards myself I struggle. Most of the artists and creatives I know are incredibly talented, ambitious and, dare I say it, somewhat perfectionist, and, in my opinion, basically all of us have a hard time with allowing ourselves to just fail sometimes.
And so, this last bit feels very much like a platitude, even though I really do mean every word. I’m terrible at taking this advice, too, and I hate when people tell me to forgive myself for things. But, frankly, I still need to hear it sometimes.
6. The Sisyphus Method
By the Sisyphus Method I mean just keep trucking. Keep pushing that dang boulder up that dang hill even though it keeps rolling right back down over your toes and sooner or later that dang thing is going to stay up there.
Personally, I find that this often does more harm than good for myself – it can lead to me fully despising or abandoning my projects. Still, sometimes, such as when you’ve got an imminent deadline, it becomes necessary. Definitely use with caution and moderation.
Anyway, that’s what I’ve got. I won’t pretend that I’m a perfect practitioner of artistic self-care, because I most certainly struggle with these things. I’m probably forgetting a few things I do, and, again, sometimes NOTHING WORKS, but, usually, that means you have to go back to the first point and just take that break.