For some strange reason I am NOT experiencing artistic creative block right now, thankfully, but know all to well what it is like. Since I am thinking about finishing up pieces, I think a post about facing creative blocks is relevant and might be helpful. We all have "UFO's" -- unfinished objects - in our cabinets, drawers, and worse, on our walls. Starting at us, pleading to be completed or given a merciful death through artful recycling or a quick and decisive move to the trash. Sometimes I know that I have something unfinished as I haven't hit on the right solution for the artistic problem yet. Other times though, it is because the moment of interest has passed and there just isn't time to devote to finishing it up. Choices, choices.
This article highlights multiple approaches for muddling through a creative block without giving up. When you know the answer isn't to give up, but to plug forward, try one or some of these strategies and see if it helps. Once the fire is lit again, the work comes alive and can be pulled back from the edge. I think the trick is deciding whether a piece is worth doing or not. Some just aren't, and it doesn't mean that the project was a failure. Might mean that's what needed to be done at that time and place in life. A stepping stone. I know I tend to feel guilty that I "spent" time and materials on something that I didn't complete, but that is irrational and too practical a way to look at things. Feelings of guilt, inadequacy, even shame arise when throwing out incomplete projects that just never came together. I have to use my logical brain to shut the door on those feelings and toss or recycle the offending artistic experiment. Trying things is how we learn, and artists are continual learners in this world. We can't be afraid of wasting time, supplies, or energy on things that don't come to life in final form. Sometimes they weren't meant to!
What will you make (or finish, or toss out) today?