Month: August 2023

Clearing the Channel

Once a creative block is recognized, a few simple steps may be all it takes to get the creative flow moving again.

Creative blocks can strike fear in the heart of many artists. It feels like a desperate situation that will never go away. “What if the creative spark is gone forever?” is the constant refrain in the brain. The frustration builds and builds. It’s like rocks in a stream. Enough rocks and the stream becomes a pond. As the rocks build and build, the stream gets smaller and smaller until eventually nothing gets through. After a while, scum builds up on the surface. How can you break that dam and get the water of creativity flowing again?

One way to breaking the dam according to Freedom.to is to, “step away from the project and take time to clear your mind before you come back with fresh eyes and new ideas.” A little time out in Nature may be just the ticket. Check out the butterflies that are loving the rocks in your stream. Let the breeze blow through your hair. Check out the clouds in the sky. Give your eyes something beautiful to look at for a bit. Take some deep breaths of fresh air.

Another way to break the channel may be to focus your energy in a different way. Ward Andrews for Design.org says, “Take on a simple, fun project that you can do well and quickly.” For me, that’s drawing flowers and birds with an ink pen. Why an ink pen? Because I don’t want to concentrate so hard that I have to use an eraser. Thinking about lines and shapes without color to interfere seems to do the trick for me. I grab a piece of copy paper out of the printer and draw. Just mindlessly draw. Before long, a trickle of creativity starts to flow.

Not letting a block move into scary territory takes some work but it doesn’t have to be difficult work. Recognizing a block for what it is and realizing it is a temporary situation gets halfway through blasting the block. Keeping the panic from taking over simply requires acknowledging that there is an issue. Once you can name a block for what it is, it’s not nearly so big and mean as you first thought. In the midst of despair, look up and look out. Check for butterflies. Dig up an ink pen. Go for a walk. All kinds of new things can pop up once you get your mind off the rocks that are impeding your stream. Fun things could happen!

Some artists think a block is not at all a bad thing. Ashley Goldberg is quoted in Openup.com as saying, “I think some of the biggest bursts of creativity and artistic growth I’ve had are usually preceded by a big creative block.” When sitting in the middle of a block, it doesn’t feel at all like it will ever remotely be a good thing. Having the courage to stay on the journey and do whatever it takes to blast the blocks away may be one of those life-changing moments. As you continue pushing on, you may just begin to hear the sound of trickling water.

Before long that trickle will grow stronger and eventually you’ll have ideas bubbling up like crazy. That’s when you look back and say, “Why was I so worried?” as you race off to capture all those fresh new ideas, as the trickle becomes a stream, then a river.

Artfully Refreshing

Viewing art can supply a much needed refreshing for the soul.

Getting lost in a piece of art can provide a reprieve when the craziness of life gets to be too much. We can’t always get away to some quiet place. That’s when a piece of art can supply a much needed refreshing for the soul. Whether abstract, realist or Impressionist, a painting can take you away from reality for a while, give you something carefree to focus on. Even it’s only for a few short minutes, that may be all you need to get refreshed enough to tackle the next issue facing your day.

Oil on canvas

The Naples Art District has a great article on the healthful benefits of viewing art saying, “Art…can help take one’s mind off of stressful things in his or her life.” Park West Gallery cites recent studies and research that “have proven that a trip to the art gallery or a museum can positively impact your health and well-being in several essential ways, like lowering anxiety and depression and boosting critical thinking skills.” Well, I better get to viewing more art! I need some critical thinking skills!

Even better, ArtThou in the UK says viewing art can improve your mental health. “Looking at art can cause increases in dopamine, the pleasure hormone, to be released, which helps to reduce stress and in turn leads to lowered rates of anxiety and depression.” We better hurry and get more art out there because there are some serious mental health issues plaguing our world today. It’s encouraging to note that art can help. Anywhere art can be part of the solution, and not the problem is a good thing.

In my own research, the Art to Heart Project published in MedSurg Nursing we found healing benefits to viewing art in the hospital. Still the thing I am most proud of in my life, in the Art to Heart Project, we found viewing art created by the hospital staff made a difference in the lives of cardiac surgery patients, as well as the staff who created the art and the people who worked on the unit. With all this research floating around, it seems that the thing to do is get out and look at art. Or even better, make art!

Distracting the Distractions

Ideas to distract from distractions to painting can be hard to come by but here are a few possibilities.

In our crazy world today, distractions keeping us from our art making come at us from all sides, physical and digital. Distractions come in all shapes, colors and forms.  Its a daily battle.  What’s an artist to do to stay on track? This is my daily battle. Its not an easy one. For those who have no trouble shutting themselves off for studio time, I aspire to be more like you. Searching for answers from other artists, I came up with a few possibilities.

Belinda Delpesco has several good suggestions. Number 3 on her list is, “Make a date night with your art supplies. Ink in the time on the calendar, plan your pursuit for that slot, make some art, and then write down what you liked about it.” This, to me, is a great idea.  Its harder to give in to distractions when you have planned your time.  The drive is stronger when you are looking at your calendar and it is staring back at you.

In an article for Light Space Time Art Gallery, Carolyn Edlund speaks of the problem of “People Pleasing.”  This can be particularly difficult if you have a family at home or young children. Some of us have a difficult time saying, “No.” Edlund describes people pleasing as, “wanting to make everyone around you happy by doing whatever is asked of you.” Saying no may be easier if you have something specific planned.

My favorite suggestion comes from Vicky Rubin for Skinny Artist. Rubin’s suggestion is “a change of scenery can help you focus.” The article goes on to say, “Taking a walk or a workout is a healthy and inspiring distraction.”  Being Mindful is another recommendation, “enjoy and experience sensations of smell, feel, and touch.” Healthy and inspiring all at once.

All three of these articles articulate why I began putting together the artist’s retreats.  The retreat forces people to make a date on the calendar for the retreat, For one week end, people pleasing comes to a halt. Lastly, and more importantly, the change of scenery connects to nature, with all the sights, sounds, and smells of growing things.Taking a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life may be just what is needed to give your art a new kickstart. I always try to bring back, a leaf, a twig, a pine cone, an acorn or some other artifact to remind me of the sensations of being in nature. Sometimes just looking at that tiny bit of nature is enough to get inspiration flowing.

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Bird Loving

Birds are special. There is something about birds that fascinates and inspires our curiosity. Songs from birds in the trees can spur the urge to stop a few minutes to listen to the happy sounds. The sight of an unusual or uniquely marked bird brings up the birding app on the phone or google for identification. You don’t have to be a bird enthusiast to enjoy moments of pleasure from a bird encounter.

There are names of various levels of bird enthusiasts. Wiktionary says a person who loves birds is an ornithophile. Thayer Birding says there are different types of people who watch birds. An Ornithologist is a studier of birds and likely has a professional degree in biology. Clinton Atkins for Thayer Birding, describes the rest of the bird watching types as:

  • Twitchers
  • Birders
  • Listers
  • Dudes
  • Protobirders
Bluebird

From this list, my shortened description is that Twitchers are knowledgable bird chasers, while Birders are people who simply love watching birds as a hobby. A lister does exactly that, make extensive lists of birds from birdwatching. A dude just likes to watch birds but doesn’t go out of the way to watch. The newest term, Protobirders, is someone who enjoys watching birds and may have some bird knowledge.

After studying the list, I’m puzzled as to whether I am a Birder or a Protobirder. I love watching birds. I take a lot of bird photos. And I paint cute little birds. Definitely not a Twitcher, as I don’t chase them. Probably not a lister, but I count my photos as a list of sorts. I think I’ll go with the Wiktionary description of ornithophile. I am a lover of birds.

If I did decide to become more of a bird watcher, like maybe a twitcher, Clinton Atkins has a great list of items that are helpful to have on hand:

  • Birding Vest
  • Brimmed Hat
  • Bird Song App
  • Birdwatching Journal

Several years ago, I went on a couple of Bird Watching tours at the Saint Marks Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Most of the people on the trip could probably be classified as either Twitchers and/or Listers All of them had the above listed important items. I had only camera and binoculars. I definitely could have used all of the things on the list. The group was wonderful to me and were enthusiastic about pointing out various birds and letting me look through their telescopes. If some were a little condescending about my novice status, the others made up for it with their joy in sharing their knowledge. I came out of the adventure with many lovely photos, a whole lot of knowledge and a terrible sunburn, (no brimmed hat).

Roseate Spoonbills at St. Marks

Jeff Mann of Because Birds says, “Nature has a way of surprising us, and birding is no exception.” That pretty much sums it up. Birds are a constant surprise so I’ll go on painting them, casually watching them and taking the occasional birding tour. With that, I’ll refrain from typing myself and just say, I love birds!

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