Introduction to Part III
Welcome back to this 6-part exploration of artist block and burnout, which mostly entails a deep dive into a lot of the practical tactics we can employ to snuff them out once and for all. And keeping them at bay is so important! Untold numbers of would-be artists may be suffering from block due to the daunting nature of our art form. Or if they do start, they’re at risk for burnout, another unfortunate circumstance that can be avoided with some smart strategies. Either which way, we want to steer folks clear of them to keep people happily banging out their art by the metric ton to fill our community with hordes of gorgeous horses!
So on that note, let’s jump right in and continue our exploration of the nifty strategies we can use to combat block and burnout effectively! Let’s go!…
The Turnaround Strategies, cont’d
Bang it out: Now this may sound really dopey, but it’s a powerful approach — just make literally anything. It doesn’t matter what it is or if it turns out awful. The point is to start and keep doing, not focus the end product. See, here’s the thing, once you start creating, it generates its own momentum even if you end up not liking it. So make a bunch of stuff and and chances are you’ll start creating things you like. So while it all may not be your best work — it’s something! But the trick is, creativity thrives in momentum so just keep creating and eventually pieces will pop out that you are happy with and learn from in the process. Honestly, many professional artists make a lot of "ho-hum" art for every “great” piece because that’s how arting often works. Not every piece you create will be The One so learn to fail forwards and learn each lesson well. Focus on the process, exploration, and growth rather than the end product so much. See, the thing is, the finished piece is merely the incidental by-product, so shift your attention away from it and back on the experience of making it.
Dump comfort zones: Throw all your comfort zones out the window! Start fresh! Leave behind your normal arting routine and invent a new one if you have to. Just try something new, leave familiarity behind, and explore your creativity with more wanton abandon. Like if you normally only do small pieces, try something bigger. If you use oils, try pastels, or try your oils in a fresh way. If your painting is normally really “tight,” try a “looser,” more painterly approach. If you use a limited palette open it up to unconventional colors. If all you’re familiar with are stock horses, sculpt a Marwari or Belgian. Or try different tools even or new ways of using your old ones. Unlearn habitual ways of making your art and discover new avenues of arting whether with fresh new aesthetics, tools, clays, pigments, approaches or interpretations. Your imagination is limitless so set it free to explore new everything!
Play music: Music activates other areas of your brain and so can be a powerful generator of inspiration, relaxation, and engagement. Indeed, many artists play music as they work, finding that it even inspires their toolstrikes and brushstrokes. Some artists are directly inspired by music, creating pieces specifically related to a tune or style of music. And it can be whatever music gets you going, or even the music that “fits” the piece you’re working on. For instance, I listened to a lot of Ennio Morricone as I sculpted Incostante, my portrait of the black horse from the film, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. I found it really set the mood and flavored the process in a wonderful way.
Breaktime: Physical and mental exhaustion can subdue your creative drive, even stop it, so it’s essential to recognize when you’re feeling drained. Honestly, ignoring that will only make the situation worse. So take regular breaks or as you need them — but take them. Work on something else, distract yourself with something quite different, or simply close your eyes for a time. Like when I need a sculpting break, I write, sketch, or create digital illustrations. Just for an hour or two, then I get back into the studio, but that short break time really helps to replenish my resolve and mental sharpness. In this way, incorporating short breaks to recharge can prevent mental fatigue that helps to maintain better focus. You see, the human brain wasn’t meant to focus on one thing intently for hours upon hours upon hours. That only leads to exhaustion, mistakes, and inferior work. Clear you head. Stretch, read, listen to music. Consider a walk or light hike — light exercise is a great way to reinvigorate yourself with new vitality and maybe even a fresh inspiration you found along the way. So when you start to feel overwhelmed or tired, engage activities that replenish your energy and serenity. Like, go carouse with your horse, play with your dog or cat, knit or sew, cook, take a nap, or watch a movie. Give yourself permission to rest when you need it! Listen to your mind, your art, and your body. And sometimes stepping away is essential — maybe you need a good night’s sleep, a day off, or doing something else for a time. There’s no shame in taking a break. Your art won’t suffer for it, in fact, if it’s a good break, your art will benefit as much as you will. Indeed, short breaks during a creative session or breaks between projects can help prevent burnout by slowing you down to a more relaxed, enjoyable, less frenzied pace. The anxiety generated from knowing you’re supposed to work but can’t is just a pointless vicious cycle and only associates arting with negative vibes, something you want to avoid.
Get offline: Know it or not, but technology is exhausting and can drain you, and it feeds that pesky FOMO syndrome that can be so distracting. There's this, too: Being online is just a whole lotta peopling, isn't it? So gather inspiration away from screens. Read, visit a museum or gallery, look at horse books and magazines, go to horse shows, fairs, or expos. The point is — unplug, it’s good for you and your art.
Dump tech: Similarly, get off your phone and devices! Quit with the social media addiction! Return to the real world of right here and now in your life. Reducing screen time is truly a great way to reconnect with the creative side of your brain. So take some time away to explore your imagination and creative sensibilities offline. FOMO be darned! The art you create is just as cool as anything else, and it may be far more helpful and important for your psyche than what someone else is doing anyway. Besides, what’s a better use of your time? Doomscrolling mindlessly and getting into flamewars, or making art?
Try other artform: Who says your art just has to be about realistic equine sculpture and painting? Try jewelry-making, pottery, crochet, stained glass, gardening, book-making, printing, or any number of other arts and crafts. Art is imminently versatile and so is your creativity. You have far more potential inside of you than you suspect — explore it! And follow where it leads. Whatever piques its interest — go! Creativity does best when well fed — so break out that proverbial smorgasbord!
Journal: Often times a block or burnout is accompanied by a dearth of fresh ideas, so why not capture them as they randomly come in a handy little journal? Don’t let fleeting inspirations or ideas be lost! Really, some days your mind will be full of fresh thoughts and some days it’ll be just “meh,” but with a little journal, it doesn't matter! You can grab what you can quickly. Inspirations, prompts, thoughts, notions, wishes, sketches, ideas — whatever, just get it down. Then if your well of inspiration is running dry some day, just pull out that journal the take your pick! In fact, if you make it a fun rule to jot down any idea or inspiration, no matter how silly or dopey — especially if it’s dopey — then make it! Even if it’s terrible, chances are even your worst ideas hold a kernel of inspiration to get you going elsewhere. And understand that you’ll have to slog through a lot of nonsensical notations to end up with something really good so don’t think everything you jot down is The Golden Idea! It’s just a silly notion…run with it.
Hiatus: Think about this — do you actually need a long break from your creativity? If you do, there’s no shame in that. It’s alright to take a hiatus. You’re human after all. Remember, arting is supposed to be good for you, supposed to be therapeutic, so if it stresses you out, maybe it’s time to step away for a longer time. Now might also be a great time to seek therapy from a professional to provide you with some tools and explorations to dissect what’s really going on.
Clean your art space: There’s nothing quite like a clean art space ready to mess up that can get that itch twitching again. So clean up your creative space, maybe even rearrange and reorganize it. Changing up your creative environment can sometimes jog things loose all by itself. Even add elements that personalize the space or add to the inspirational atmosphere such as hanging certain art works or quotes that speak to you.
Forget sharing: Who says people have to see what you create? It’s still art even if you’re the only one who sees it! So never feel obligated to post or share your work. You don’t even have to talk about it if you don’t want to. It’s your private world if you wish it that way. So create work without a care, without pressure or expectation — no one is going to see it anyway. Heck, you can just throw it away if you want. There’s no law saying that everything you create has to follow you around the rest of your life. Like in some of my conventional art classes I take, I just don’t mention that I’m already a working artist which creates more of an expectation buffer as I learn new skills.
Make “bad” art: Lower your expectations! Quit with the perfectionism and ditch the masterpiece mentality! It’s perfectly alright to make “bad” art or use sketches or maquettes to build momentum. And the truth is, all artists have a “bad art day” — all of them make “bad” art from time to time. In fact, you go through a lot of “bad” art to create those few “great” pieces, that’s just the mystery of arting. Like I make lower grade custom maquettes for the painting classes I take. They have remaking flaws galore and I don’t make all the corrections they actually need, but I don’t care — they’re simply made to be fun bodies to learn oil painting on, that’s it. And my NaReViMo horses are a step down because they're also meant as fun learning maquettes, not my usual bust-my-gut work. So give yourself permission to be a foible human being and just have some fun with your creativity, especially as you learn.
Quiet time: Give yourself moments of undistracted, undisturbed think time. Meditate, sit in silence, lay out on your deck alone, go lay down on the couch. Just give yourself quiet time to think deeply and allow your mind to relax and wander. Often times, this is where imaginative creative magic can happen.
Conclusion to Part III
Wow, that was a lot to digest, wasn’t it? There’s a lot of tactics at our disposal to wrestle these two knuckleheads to the ground, which is good for us — bad for them. So in Part IV, yep, we’ll continue with even more of these strategies, giving you lots more adaptive responsiveness you can custom-fit to your situation!
