Artist's Block, or Just Full of Sh!t? ... and what to do about it.
Don't get me wrong. I'm very aware of how frustrating it is when your creative juices seem to have run dry. But truly, sometimes, it is just you, sitting in your own way, making excuses. I know this because I've seen it in myself, and I've seen it in friends and fellow artists online, on other platforms.
So this post is going to be all about how to, first:
- determine if you are truly creatively blocked, or just blocking yourself with excuses
and then, second,
- how to overcome either situation.
and then later, I'll share with you an epiphany that was shared with me a long time ago, which helped me increase my creative productivity A LOT.
![light-bulb-1042480_640.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmQjZ4KvCwwvD6SHiE6rPCABJZu5umLfik7eZ4QEK52mzp/light-bulb-1042480_640.jpg)
Now this may seem rich coming from a lowly Steemit minnow, but please know that I've been doing my thing since way before Steemit, or even Instagram, and whether you're an art veteran or creative n00b looking to learn, I'm sure you'll find something valuable here.
So! Right to it! Are you truly blocked, or are you full of shit? ;P
This all comes down to one thing: Self-honesty. Ask yourself a few questions:
- Am I very busy with other things in life right now?
- Do I have free time that I'm using for other things (e.g. reading, playing games)?
- Am I avoiding going into my studio/workspace?
Because, here it is: The only way you can be sure you are truly experiencing authentic artist's block is if you are actively trying, every day, to be creative and end up not being able to produce anything.
So if you aren't occupied with other pressing matters, have the time, but are using it for other things, you are definitely full of shit ;P
The solution: There's only one thing to do. Be firm with yourself. If you're serious about this, get to work. Because it IS work. All the creativity in the world might be swirling around there inside you but no-one's going to know until you do something about it.
Alright, so you've passed the test: You firmly believe you are not full of it, and genuinely are experiencing a terribly dry and cracked up spell of artist's block... What can be done?
![crack-1827108_640.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQsKLJEah6hAakQh2DHFkrmAfh87jerCrKY5apop3GboQ/crack-1827108_640.jpg)
And what about the epiphany? Don't worry, I'll get to that soon.
I've put a lot of thought and googling into this, and have condensed the best solutions to artist's block according to what has been most effective for me throughout the years. If there's something you do that works for you and is not in this list below, please comment about it below.
Challenge yourself with a time limit. This can be really fun. Draw ten drawings in half an hour, write 5 haikus in 10 minutes. Anything like this! =) It was certainly effective for me last year when "Inktober" came around and I challenged myself to participate (one piece of art a day for 30 days). I only managed to stay abreast until day 11, hehehe. But the point is, it helped me a lot. I learned new things about the tools I use and saw for myself that if I wanted to, I could create great stuff every day.
Ask a friend to give you theme words. Nothing like a mind that is not yours when yours doesn't seem to want to work ;P ... The ideas from your friend will often hit you from an angle you're just not used to! Channelling this can be highly effective. I will soon be posting a great example of this in my own work, where my brothers gave me themes for gifts I wanted to create for them.
Realise that originality doesn't exist. Or almost doesn't, at least ;) I always link to this article when talking about this. To quote from the author:
The best artists can do is to offer a unique adaptation of ideas that have likely already been explored at some point throughout the course of art history. The truth is that original art works all borrow in some way from the rich visual history of our collective past.
The lesson here is to not feel shy of looking at others' work and trying to imitate them. Everyone learns this way, and artists' egos love it when you reference them as a source of inspiration ^^
Was that the epiphany I promised? No, not yet. ;) We're almost there, though, promise!
Participate in contests. Honestly, I don't do this one enough, but there's nothing like some competition to get that creative blood flowing. Everyone loves being the best, and are usually willing to go the extra mile to prove just how good they are ;) Luckily, there's no short supply of them here on Steemit so go on, what are you waiting for? Go find one!
Change your workspace. This is a simple one, easy to accomplish for most, that can have a drastic affect on your psyche. Everyone knows how fresh you feel after changing around your room, or living room, giving everything a nice clean and putting up new ornaments, etc. Do that to your workspace and see what happens ;)
There you have it. I hope that you are now ready to face your proverbial blank canvas once again! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the promised epiphany... ;) Here you go:
A few years ago, an older and wiser artist told me that I should forget the old saying "Just get started... Once you start, you'll be half way to getting finished." - I'm sure many of you have heard this. - No, they said, the better way to think about things is "Just get finished..." ... Focus on finishing your projects, no matter what.
And I realised it was true: I had so many unfinished pieces lying around, because I would let myself be distracted by new ideas as I was working. The end result is a a lot of work, sure, but all of it unfinished. I still struggle with this, and of course, quite often, going back and finding old, unfinished work can help inspire new ideas, but being aware of the importance of bringing projects to their full conclusion has helped me create more art more frequently than ever before.
Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to a fellow artist, @william-syrus ... I discovered him by accident when looking around Steemit for artist's block experiences, and found this most intriguing post in which William shares a particularly interesting method he tried of getting rid of his block ;) ..... You'll see.
![artByWilliamSyrus](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmNQ5ozdvMDv7GgTyrd9eg77xgXkbnycTkxQsaEsLeKNVA/image.png)
I'm also happy to say that I found the rest of his blog intriguing too - he has a unique, if somewhat eclectic, style ... An artist still discovering himself, like many of us, I'd say. Do check him out.
Once again, thank you to @markrmorrisjr for his tremendous effort in putting #dolphinschool together and helping us help ourselves. This post is the result of me taking part in Dolphin School Lesson 2 =)
@markrmorrisjr may or may not have responded yet but this looks like the post of the day. Not trying to be bias but it flowed just like if @markrmorrisjr was emphasizing. The bucket method ;)
I procrastinate so much I might as well just say I am a lazy bum and full of sh*t. Always want the easy way out or not do it at all, but there are days I grind and grind until I finish. Thanks for the post as it is pretty original work because we all can relate to it.
Oh my... Thank you very much for that! I haven't yet had the time to go through people's Lesson 2 posts (still catching up on comments!) so I can't say if I agree or not ;P But I will say that I put a lot of effort into this and it feels good to have that recognised! .. Thank you again.
Hmm.. About lazibumminess, lol, at least you are aware of the problem, right!? ;P They say that's the first step to doing something about it.
BOOOM! Nice post. Well curated images, beautiful typesetting. But you know all that. Also, way to work in that promise of sharing something your brothers inspired in a future piece, hook, line and sinker! Well done. The reveal was great and I always tell aspiring writers that what separates the great writers of the world from them, is not a degree, or a workshop, the best software, or even the perfect words, it is that they FINISHED what they started! Great advice. Critique, you obviously know how to do this stuff, so make something cool out of your hyperlinks, and add a preview image of your artist mention. Then, I'm going to say this, hustle! If you want audience here, go out and drag them in by the short and curlies! Comment, comment, comment, you just got here, I know, but move fast, before the new wears off and you are yesterday's news, so pay close attention to anything being shared about building an audience and you'll go far! Nicely done.
=D ... Thank you, sir! And duly noted!
Please tell me what you mean though by 'make something cool out of your hyperlinks'? ... But yes, how I didn't add an image of @william-syrus's work, I just don't know... >.< ... Will edit that in now.
And yesss, lol, hustle hustle hustle... It's your fault you know! Homework assignments are intense and I have a demanding wife too ;P .. (Of course, I'm kidding... Give me all you've got, I can take it!! ROAR.)
Um, illuminated text, or maybe some buttons, or something. I'm grasping at straws here, you're very accomplished.
@mandelsage
The challenges are definitely a way to get started, or should i say FINISHED?!
I’m pushing myself harder to be better now that I have found #dolphinschool and I am so glad...it was just the thing I was looking for!
And I’m pleased to meet you as well
@jeejee
I'd have to agree, #dolhpinschool has been exactly what I needed too. It's going to be wonderful, making posts after the 10 days and watching everything we've learnt go into effect. I'm also very happy to have found a little community here... You guys! 'Cause I'm sure even once school's out, we'll all still continue to support each other.
Absolutely!! That’s the best part! ❤️
This was a really nice post. I actually wrote something sort of similiar the other day but just more my style so it is really cool to see the same topic viewed differently! If you want to check mine out , you can here 3 Secrets of Success
Thank you! =) Promise to check out your post later. Right now my wife is asking me to go fix the tap on our sink, lol.
Oh my... I’ve got so many half finished projects laying around. I’m almost never in a block, but for a long time, I had a hard time finishing anything because I was afraid of forgetting the new idea that just popped into my head. It took a while, and I’m still working on it, but I have a big sketch book that’s always within reach when I’m working and when an idea pops up, I can jot it down and get back to what I’m working on.
Yeah, the unfinished projects problem is such an issue for those of us who are super creative with new ideas interfering with our main project all the time, hehe. This is why I chose it as my super-effective bucket technique point. How often do your jotted-down ideas turn into completed projects? =)
Lots of great information and inspiration in your @dolphinschool post.
Thank you =)
Great ideas to help overcome blockages we writers can face. Prompts work for me, journaling also. Often just listening to music, or reading books, or reading other people's posts can inspire an idea.
Thank you...^^ ... Oooh, I completely forgot about mentioning "switching off" for a while with music and/or a good book. ... Not sure what you mean by prompts, and journaling, though... Would you mind explaining more? =)
This is well written. I'm at lesson two now and I'm kind of confused. There is a lot going on. I also don't want to leave behind what I am already doing. I have been challenged to think about the future of my blog and Steemit and what the whole point of things is here. Do you create any visual art?
I know what you mean! I had to read Mark's post a few times to really take it in. I guess I'm lucky in that I have only really just started on the platform so I don't mind focusing on doing only #dolphinschool stuff for now.
I do indeed create visual art, and have written poetry too =) I'll be posting my past work methodically here but if you want to skip ahead, go check out my site, mandelsage.com ;)
Ah. That's how you do it. I am pretty new to the whole SNS thing and just create as I go along. What helped me the most starting out was posting on busy.org and joining a couple communities.
Lovely...
I was experiencing this feeling of lack of focus lastnight while brainstorming our homework assignment. I particularly liked the idea of having the friend throw out theme words and you go from there. I honestly believe that about the wheel is never created, just advanced upon by the truly creative. Thank you for the advice of focusing on the finish line. The feeling of the pats on the back, the hand claps, and the comments left after finishing a project is so key... Thank you for the post... this minnow needed it...
Aww..! =) I'm very, very happy that my post helped you! That's a greater reward than the upvotes and resteems. ^^
This is a really really great post. Building artistic muscle is hard--its emotional and sometimes physical labor! I also try to do something, or take in something, creative every day...it keeps me in the right brain space to make things. I also find a lot of inspiration in other folks and try to attend/support another artist's project weekly, i.e. going to the theatre!
Thank you! Yep, it is hard indeed... I spent all afternoon on this post, and the previous one - I'm kinda hoping our third lesson will be a little more light-weight, you know? Hehehe...
Involving yourself in others' work is a great way to stay creative yourself, indeed. I can feel it here on Steemit. As I get to know more and more people, I feel myself wanting more and more to create. Time is the only issue right now, hehe.
The time and thought you put into it definitely shows, awesome how this work gets the creative juices flowing!