Article: How to escape a creative rut
How to escape a creative rut
Last fall I fell into a creative rut. Between work, and weekend plans, I did nottt want to pick up the paintbrush come 6:00 or a free Saturday morning. I felt guilty. This was the first time in my life I finally had an art studio and I only wanted to use it to tackle an occasional pilates home workout. I’ve learned creativity is full of ebbs and flows. While sometimes I can just wait it out and inspiration will strike, I also know there are things that I can do to cultivate and stir up some creativity juices in my heart.
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Seeking beauty.
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My mom is a huge advocate for this. Seeking beauty can come naturally, but I also think it is something you can teach your heart and eyes to do. When I’m feeling stuck, I know it will do the trick. Whether it’s a clever cocktail napkin on a date, a stranger’s outfit in line for coffee, the moment when all the gingko leaves turn yellow, or even the shade of brown of your affagoto haha. Seeking beauty is a choice, but once you start to notice, so many mundane things are inspiring.
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Getting outside.
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The purest source of beauty, God’s creation. A long walk, a drive with the windows down, a trip to the mountains, or a trip home to St. Simons. Whenever I’m in a rut it usually coincides with being inside too much. The first artist ever knows how to inspire us in His creation. As cheesy as it is, the first daffodil of spring, a sunset, or the perfect color brown in a fallen branch are all great sources of inspiration to get the juices flowing.
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i.e. my dad gets very excited about sunsets ^^^^
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Noticing quiet things.
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While stumped recently, I was organizing my art supplies and found my marbling kit my mom got me for my birthday last year. That got my wheels turning and I decided to take another stab at it. I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to paint, but knew in marbling I didn’t have to choose thanks to its unpredictable nature. Once I got to marbling, I pulled out some old photo mats, and now I had all these brightly colored frames ready to fill with art. It was just enough of a spark to get me going.
These aren’t perfectly fool proof – but a great place to start when creativity plays hard to get!
XO, EP
