I’ve been feeling a creative slump – you, know being a little stuck and uninspired with the work that you’ve been making. I found that painting wasn’t quite as interesting in the moment.
Taking Another Route
It’s a familiar place for creatives, the work proceeds in cycles and sometimes needs a rest to be ready to go forward again. The trick is to work with the cycles and honor your own creative practice. For me that means taking a break with another interest. This time I’ve been drawn to hand stitching, mending and embroidery to embellish my wardrobe.
I mentioned this earlier and have a Pinterest board with some ideas if you’d like to see where that’s going. It’s a nod to the slow-stitching movement and I’ve been enjoying it tremendously. The time spent in this slower meditative activity is so helpful in moving the other parts of my practice forward.
This is the brim of a wool felt hat that I’ve been stitching. I really like how the stitches look and how they’re adding some stiffness to the brim. Still, I wonder if I’d known how long this particular choice would take, I might have gone a different route!
Back to Painting With a New View
Taking a break during a creative slump can be reinvigorating for other parts of your creative practice. After taking my time to indulge in some slow stitching and reflection, I’ve got an idea for a new theme I’d like to explore in my art. It’s a growth from the Orbs and Pods I’ve done in the past and hope to build on that body of work. Here are some detail closeups of an exploratory piece I’ve started on paper.
Get Out of a Creative Slump – Take a Detour!
If you’re feeling the blah stuck energy of a slump, take a break. Follow your interests in other creative pursuits – anything you’re interested in is perfect. It doesn’t have to be fancy or fine art or even art at all; bake cookies, buy yourself flowers, or make some ephemeral paper crafts. Don’t overthink it!
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