7 ways to Overcome a Creative Block

7 ways to Overcome a Creative Block.

Early last week, I was struggling to come up with new and creative ideas. I was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work I needed to do to keep the members of Sue’s Creative Circle entertained and how to inspire everyone on my email list and members of the Facebook group. Trying to find new and varied content is quite draining.

I know I am not the only person to feel this way, so I wanted to share what I did to overcome this block and how I found inspiration.

1 – Clear your head

The first thing I did was to clear my head. I went for a walk in the fresh air and let the fresh breeze take away the thoughts that were running around my head. Some people like to meditate to clear their minds. Whatever you do, take yourself away from all electronic devices and allow yourself some time away from your thoughts.

2 – Look for inspiration

While out on my walk, I took the time to look at my surroundings and looked for inspiration. I love to explore the nature that surrounds me. Nature features heavily in a lot of my work, so it makes sense to get out in the open and explore.

I also like to get inspiration from other artists, my go-to place for inspiration is Pinterest. I have lots of boards and pins of the art that resonates with me. I will scroll through my pins and see if anything sparks my creative thinking.

3 – Create a theme

Earlier in the month, I experimented with using tile grout on vases and loved how the mixture moved when applied to the glass. So I came up with a plan to see how many different projects I can work on using the tile grout. I made a list of over 10 additional ideas for my art projects.

4 – Set yourself a number goal

Using the theme idea, see how many projects you can come up with using the same medium. I plan to create at least four pieces using the tile grout, and they all have to be different, like a vase, wall art and lampshade.

By following the idea of using a theme and creating as many pieces as possible using the same medium, I have written down thoughts to keep me inspired for the next three or four months.

5 – Mix it up

To help me develop new ideas, I am exploring new mediums and not just working with resin. So if you mainly like to work in a particular medium, set yourself a challenge to work with something new, like tile grout or concrete.

6 – Rework an old artwork

Looking through some of my previous artworks, I decided to give some of them a new look. I have two acrylic pours looking a bit flat and lifeless, so I have decided to add some texture to the surface and give them a new look. While working on these, it gave me ideas for unique artistic creations.

7 – Recycle and upcycle items from around your home

One thing I like to do is to repurpose items from around my home. For instance, I turned an old cracked chiminea into a new succulent planter. I also created new mixed media pieces out of old picture frames. I have plans for many other old items in my home that are past their use-by date.

By following many of these ideas, I was not only able to overcome my creative block, but I managed to create ideas for the next few months.

I hope that sharing what I did for inspiration helps you create new ideas for your work.