The Dreaded Art Block

Most artists experience these, and we dread them.  An art block can occur in one of a couple of forms.  At times the well simply dries up and we find ourselves with a complete lack of creativity or ideas. At other times (this is the one I have most often), the ideas are there but no matter how hard we try, what we produce never measures up to what we had envisioned.  I think this incarnation is the most frustrating of all.

When I hit the brick wall that is the second sort, I've learned to have patience - because ultimately

'Laird of Lochaber" Red stag in Glencoe, on
three turkey feathers. Lochaber District tartan
painted on the quills.

there is an advantage to it.  It is an evolution - you are experiencing growth in your particular art form and skill. It's a tough slog, but when you finally emerge on the other side of that block, you will find that something has changed.  You might not approach your art in quite the same way as before. You notice that you don't see quite the same way as before - you see and notice things you probably did not before - and in this, you will find your approach has changed, as well as your execution. Your technique has grown.  I have not experienced a block yet where I did not experience some level of growth.

While creative growth is great and we look forward to improving, what typically brings about a creative block?
Stagnation. When we produce, we often get into a routine.  What we produce becomes routine.  Maybe a particular style has become what is expected of us, and we eventually find ourselves bored. We might not recognize that at first, only that we are not as fired up to create as we once were.
Busyness. Raising my hand here - guilty!  We pile so much on to our schedule, we feel pressed to keep moving or else we'll fall behind.  Too much of this will promptly lead to burnout. You will run out of steam, as well as inspiration! Make time for personal time.
Health. No one can perform well after a period of poor diet or insufficient rest.  Likewise with lack of exercise.  Illness, stress, and bad things happening in your personal life also contribute as causes for a creative block.

So how on earth do you work through a block?  Once you've recognized and addressed the cause that put you there, break away from the work. Shake it up a bit, go do something different. Visit places that inspire you, go see the works of someone who inspires you and whom you admire.  Galleries, museums, and exhibitions are great for this.  Get out into nature and simply experience all that is around you, and let your senses take over. Does music inspire you?  Seek that.  Try a new style, a new medium, a new art form.

This Spring I had the mother of all creative blocks. It set in like a ton on my shoulders and no matter what I did I could not get past it. There was no guessing at the cause, the cause was grief. I had lost my brother very suddenly, very unexpectedly.  There was no getting past this very extreme matter until I addressed the grief I was suffering and said what I felt was a proper good bye to my brother. I will not go into detail in this post, but will probably make that its own blog article in the future on grief and healing and how I went about it. I will say that my approach was huge, but so was the relief and the healing that occurred. When I did what I needed to do and recovered from the pain of loss, I couldn't wait to get back to my brushes and paints. The inspiration was as great as the block that preceded it. And yes, I do believe the work that came from it saw an increase in quality.

"Power and Grace" - humpback whales on turkey feather

Your turn - what are some of the things that have given you a bad case of creative block?  What are some of the ways you worked through it?

What got you started?

When did you decide to 'go big' and really seek to make a go of art as a career? Who inspired you? Were you striving to drop the day job and throw everything you had into your art?

This hit me recently as I was rummaging through old binders in the studio.  I came across one dusty old green binder that I had not opened in quite a long time... several years, in fact.  It's interesting to say the least when you discover a time capsule of sorts from when you first got really serious about growing your art and taking it beyond "enjoyable sideline" and making it your career.

The bulk of these documents, all neatly categorized with dividers, wore the date of June, 2002. This truly was when I was really seeking to grow and expand.  There wasn't a whole lot on the internet for art business then. I'm not positive but I don't think that even Alyson Stanfield had her weekly art biz newsletters then. At least, I hadn't found her yet. I was a subscriber of Robert Genn and his twice-weekly emails, but beyond that I spent hours and hours searching and compiling and making lists from the internet.

Most of the material in my trusty old research binder was written by Geoffrey Gorman. He had produced articles under Art Matters and a really nice art business development packet under Tailwind. Sadly, I cannot find any of this online now.  Thank goodness I printed out hard copies of all that and put it in a binder! Note to self (and all of you!) Never trust that the good and useful information you find online will remain where it is.  If it's that useful to you, save it!

For someone who was just starting out, and more than a bit fearful, this stuff was a goldmine. Although I was showing in galleries and gift shops, and had been for 12 years at that point, I knew I wanted to do more.  By running Google searches for art shows in Western Washington, I soon found that we had a wealth of such opportunities in this region.  It wasn't long before I had a good-sized list of potential shows to try and enter.  What I still lacked at that point was courage.  It was easy to see that lack of knowledge was the cause of that and I began seeking the what and the how.  Geoff Gorman provided many detailed answers to this beginner's questions, as did Alyson Stanfield when I found her valuable information online, and soon I was attempting the local shows.  It was terrifying to make that plunge, but the rewards were big. I won some ribbons, I made some sales. And I gained confidence. 

As I tried more and more shows, soon trying larger ones that I never dreamed I would be able to participate in, I continued to seek more and more information online.  That art biz information was increasing in availability, as it still is.  I knew I had to build a better online presence and left Geocities for better options. I got busy participating in lots of online art forums.  It soon became apparent that the more places one could be seen online, the better. And if you're doing more than merely showing your work but actually participating, all the better.

It's been a long and continual learning experience, and I am still learning... at times learning as fast as I can.  I'm going to go back through that binder more slowly and see what's changed and what still applies.  There's not much call anymore for slide submissions for shows, but I do have that info in the binder.  One bit that was very interesting to revisit was the section in Tailwind that asks ""Where Do You Want To Be In Five Years"?  Now THAT was interesting, especially considering how much of that had actually been achieved in five years' time!  I wanted to be in print, to drop the day job, to be selling in shows and galleries, to have a nice studio,  to be well known for my work...

You hear stories of this happening when someone gets very specific about goals and intentions, but it really is something to see for yourself that it really does work!  It may well be time to draft another five year plan. ;-)
Happy Weekend! :-)

A Blog by any other name...

In my wanderings through artist profiles on Facebook I stumbled upon a fan page and links that begged further investigation.  I'd found two gorgeous magazines produced by Stampington & Company, well, two of several they produce - Where Women Create and Artful Blogging.  Among other goals this year, two are at the top of the list, the blog and the studio, so this was exactly the the inspiration I needed to pull out the stops and really go to it on both counts.  The more I looked at the fan page and the websites, the more I felt urged to run out to Borders Bookstore and hold these issues in my hands and really examine them.  Temptation being too much, I loaded my teenager in the car and did exactly that... and ended up buying both along with a drawing book for my budding-artist boy.

You might notice a new name for this blog this morning - the idea came to me last night.  I had been under the impression that the blog's name should mirror the studio name but after poring through pages of stories written by so many creative spirits, I realized that just isn't true.  A blog is more organic than a website and often reflects more of the nature and personality of the author.  My passion in creativity covers many areas, but most of all it lies in painted feathers and has for 20 years.  That passion and my painting style have grown and evolved so much, which has opened so many wonderful doors - not just in art business but in adventures and in life.  I do this creative work from my home studio so the name change just felt so right - The Feathered Nest  it is!

As I work to find my own creative voice within this space, you're going to begin to see more photos.  They may not always pertain to the subject at hand and they won't be limited to my paintings. They will often be glimpses of my life though, whether it's local or some distant adventure.

These snapshots are from a rare sunny winter day in La Push on Washington's Coast.  I do love living in the Pacific  Northwest, as nature provides so much inspiration everywhere you look!

.....Happy Weekend! :-)