An Artist's Block - Myth

Oh God.

 

I know, right?

 

I'm sure everyone, including myself, has typed artist's block or writer's block into their search engines. Just Jack does a song about it that I find quite entertaining called Writer's Block. It has a great line in it, "I get this writer's block, it comes as quite a shock, And now I'm stuck between a hard place and the biggest rock." Catchy.

 

The truth is, I don't have an answer because despite the innumerable articles on the subject, there is no real tangible solution. They all pretty much say the same thing...

 

1. Do stuff, get out and about
2. Try old stuff
3. Make yourself work no matter what and something good will eventually come along.

 

It's not "the block" I have trouble dealing with. And I really want to shout it to all those people writing those articles. The problem is that I lack that magical feeling that makes me unable to stay away from my studio. And any real artist will tell you that. It is that very feeling that draws us to artistry to begin with.

 

I've been through blocks before. I remember what I did then to get out of them, but it rarely works twice. So while I'm sitting there trying to be creative, I have to be creative on how to get around my block.

 

I've only found one thing to answer this question for me. And your answer to this question will help you solve all future blocks. Where do you derive your reason for art?

 

My answer? Well, that's very personal (its my escape). But, by knowing why I do it, I can usually find a reason to continue doing it.

 

Lately, however, I've taken to stretching out my limbs a little. Dabbling here and there in different parts of art. While I love writing, it is still work at times, and I'd like to try to find something else I can throw my creativity at.

Those aren't the only brushes I have. I used to use a lot of paint in other works that I did, so I am full up on brushes, those are just some new ones I got to fool around with. But, I bought cheap acrylic and cheap canvases and even a table easel. I'm excited. Something new.

Back to the point, if you're having a hard time putting out something creative, here's what works for me.

• Try something new. This can be anything, food, website, music, put together a new play list... I do that last one a lot.
• Do something out of your specialty.
• Watch a movie.
• Go for a scenic drive.
• Review older work for edits.
• Google Artist's block or Writer's block and search through the images, some of them are really great!

But, honestly, every time you go through a block, you get through it. And only you know how to get out of it. No article or advice will help. (Friends might though. Does anyone else have a designated person they go to just to get distracted? I do.) Sometimes distraction is all I need. But I know that about myself. Chances are, you know why you're blocked, and you know what you have to do, but you just don't want to do it.

Do you know why I wrote this post? Cause I'm blocked. Do I know how to get out of it? Uh-huh. Do I feel like doing it? Nope.

So instead, I'm going to drag my feet around cheerily complaining about "the block" until I finally get up the gumption/motivation to fix it.