Knowing where to begin once you sit down to create, can sometimes be a struggle. I’ve been in that place where you can’t just let go of your inhibitions and break the ice, the fear of staring at the blank paper. I’ve learnt the harsh truth-
“Creativity is a gift and it doesn’t come with an on-off switch.”
Because creativity doesn’t always come easy (as most of you would know) and when that happens it creates all sorts of negativity which inhibits us to create and channel our energy. So here are few ways, how I deal with a Creative block in the hopes to create a mindset change if not something ground breaking.
5 NON-ARTSY WAYS
1. MOVE: Take a walk, look out of the window and observe people, the sky, birds.
2. UNPLUG: Turn off your phone/gadgets I know it’s more of a commitment than simply ignoring it for 15 mins
3. PLAYLIST: Create a music playlist that will charge you up when you finally sit to paint and take you into the flow state.
4. COMMUNITY: Talk to a friend/listen to a podcast outside of your creative community
5. DON’T CREATE: Yes, you heard it right. Let monotony kick in and this is when our mind gets busier/bored. Manoush Zomorodi, in his Ted talk, refers to this as the ‘default mode’. This in some way helps most of the creatives to overcome their creative block (believe it or not, it did for me)
“You know when you’re most charged - use that to your advantage – DON’T WAIT FOR INSPIRATION TO STRIKE.”
5 ARTSY WAYS
1. TIME: Set yourself a time limit that’s achievable, so you don’t flake out or make excuses.
2. DRAW: I start by making marks with any writing tool. Create little boxes of random line-work or any pattern. The idea behind simple patterns is that when used repeatedly, helps you distress and relax. Like polka dots, bold lines curved lines, daily objects you see around yourself.
3. PAINT SWATCHES: I find this a good place to start with, because it reduces stress to when choosing colors for a project. Sometimes I just experiment/study two and see how they interact. These studies (I like to believe) are conversations between colors.
4. SUBJECT: Choose a particular subject and paint/draw in different shapes and sizes, to mindfully practice daily for 5-10 mins.
5. CREATE A MOOD BOARD: Collect inspiration from magazines or art -books to create visual representations with elements that appeal to you the most. Add some colors, fonts, and add little notes of motion/animation. Mood board is a segue between initial thoughts/draft of your project.
