When Your Muse Takes A Powder

 

From June 22, 2009

An author friend posed some answers to the question what do you do when your creative well runs dry?

Creating something with my hands is such a rush. Though I sometimes refer to my work as play, it's still work. (Though some don't view it as such). It's hard to be creative every single day. Sometimes the demands of work and family just sap my energy. When I feel that happen, it's best just to step back and leave the drawing board. I find if I'm not in a good mood, not happy, my mood comes through my hands. But there's also the need to get that creative energy back. Some things I do:

1. Being a couch potato and watching movies.

2. Cleaning and organizing the studio. Though this can also be a procrastination technique, touching the art supplies sometimes cause my fingers to itch. Sometimes I just have to get my hands in the paint. Afterall, art is a contact sport.

3. Reading blogs by creative friends and colleagues. Looking at what they are doing can be very energizing.

4. Flipping through my calligraphy books, art books, and color swatch book, makes me want to get back in the saddle.

5. Making ATCs just for me and not a trade. Too many times things made are given away or sold (a blessing). I can try a new technique and have fun without the pressure someone is waiting for a piece to be completed.

What are some of the things you do when your muse takes a powder?

Blogger's Block

 

I have Blogger's block. I can't think of a blog topic for today. Usually when that happens, I post 42s or Henry's Cousin, Leo, but I already did that last week.

What do you do to get some fresh blog topic ideas?

The Wall

Technically, it's a wire. When people send me hand-made cards and envelopes, they get attached to the wire with a tiny magnet. Seeing the cards and envies makes me smile and adds color to the studio.

After the cards have been displayed for awhile or I run out of magnets for new things, the cards/envies are saved in binders. I bring them into class for students to look through to show what can be done with hand-lettering, rubber stamping, collage and to give them ideas for their own artwork.

Creative Types

Jan from Creative Instigation had a happy, little, time waster on her blog. A test from Creative Types by Adobe Create.

It's a fun quiz to determine what kind of creative person you are and what other creative type would you work best with. I liked the description of The Dreamer and thought it could very well apply to me and probably a bunch of other people just like newspaper horoscopes apply. Go take the quiz. If nothing else, the animations are clever and fun.

If you take the quiz, come back and tell me which creative type you are. According to the test, I would collaborate best with an Innovator.

Call for Entries - The Graceful Envelope Contest 2017

The Washington Calligraphers Guild has announced a call for entry for The Graceful Envelope Contest 2017.

The theme is "Pushing the Envelope". The deadline for entry isn't until 27. March 2017 so you have plenty of time to come up with an idea and push the limits of your imagination.

The contest is open to all and there is no entry fee. Visit the rules page for more information. While you're, there check out the winning envelopes from past years for inspiration.

Creative Drill

Thought this looked interesting. Will give this a try later today.

The Inner Critic

Reprint from March 2014. Because I didn't have an idea for today's blog post, Pink gave me the idea to repost, and we all can use the reminder from time to time.

An artist friend had an interesting blog post the other day. She expressed her feelings about not always being satisfied with her own style, and she wondered if others felt this way, too.

I'm sure she is not alone. She's brave and honest for admitting her negative feelings in an ether-world where feelings are projected as rainbow unicorns all the time.

I think we all compare ourselves to others, and because we can be hard on ourselves, we come up short. We listen to the little voice. That voice, the one that says we're not good, or not good enough, or wonders why we can't be more like [insert name of artist, author, person]  is The Inner Critic.

An author friend told me about an exercise she had to do at a writing workshop. She was given a small scrap of paper and envelope. On the paper, she was told to draw a portrait of herself or something that would represent her. When the drawing was completed, she was to fold the paper, stuff it in the envelope, and seal the envelope shut. That's where the Inner Critic belongs. Out of sight, out of earshot, out of mind.

To listen to The Inner Critic, to believe the words, to internalize the words is destructive. Those negative words destroy creativity and spirit. Harry Chapin's Flowers are Red illustrates the point.

The Inner Critic exercise was a good one, but it hit home for me when Himself's karate group was having a discussion about their forms. As martial artists, they worried their forms weren't good enough and when would they ever grasp the elusive ideal of perfection? Could they ever be perfect? Someone brought up  Wabi Sabi, a Japanese concept. Wabi Sabi states: Nothing is perfect. Nothing is permanent and nothing is complete.

There were times I'd worry about making the first mark on a sheet of pristine paper. What would happen if I made a mistake or ruined the paper? The feeling was terrifying, sometimes paralyzing. And silly because no one was going to die if I smeared ink on the paper. Wabi Sabi gave me confidence to try and perhaps fail. I just had to believe in myself and my abilities. I found this concept so freeing applied to myself and my own work. I used to fret that the lettering in my journals wasn't "perfect". Sometimes, I'd tear out journal pages to start again. Which really defeats the purpose of keeping a journal.  Wabi Sabi made me realize, "you don't need the feather to fly, Dumbo." I didn't need to rule up lines. My work became more spontaneous and full of life, and I found I can pretty much write a straight line without guidelines.

I can't make perfect letters, but I can strive for perfection. The work I do today will be better than what I did yesterday. Tomorrow's work will be better than work I did today because I'm still growing, still reaching towards perfection. I'm good enough for today. I'll be better tomorrow.  I have my own voice because I know I won't be happy painting "flowers in neat rows of green and red."

So my friend, embrace Wabi Sabi. Deep down, you know you're good, and you don't need the feather to fly.

Cuisipro Soap Dispenser Repair

A couple of months ago, I bought the Cuisipro Foam Soap Dispenser. It's sleek. Has lines so you know how much soap and water to use. The foam is creamy and feels nice on the skin. When I went to refill it, the whole spring straw fell apart. It didn't seem to be a big deal. I filled the dispenser, put things back together. Took a test pump and the dispenser spit little foam puffs. You'd need a dozen puffs to wash your hand properly.

I went back to the Amazon site and read some of the reviews. Lots of people had complaints with the product. My friend, Teague, has the dispenser in her powder room. She's had it for quite some time and says she loves it.

Searching the Interwebs, I found a solution to the problem. (I love the Interwebs!) Seems a small bead that prevents back pressure was missing. I had some pearl craft beads so plunked one in the tube. Didn't help. Then while browsing the craft area in Wallyworld, I found a box of 27mm Ball Point Pins. Figured what the heck. Bought the box,

The bead was half the size of the pearl bead I had used. I used a wire cutter to liberate a bead from the pin shaft. Plopped the bead in the spring straw and TA-DA lovely, luxurious foam to wash hands.

Cats Lesson 1

Encouraged by Robin from Pink House Studios, (Thank you!) I signed up to take Carla Sonheim's Cats, a self-directed drawing class. I have Carla's book Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists and have enjoyed working through some of the exercises. I had no doubt I would enjoy Cats (not to be confused with the musical which sux)

The first lesson was to warm up by drawing a page of cats from one's imagination. The only rule, you couldn't sketch and refine (and refine) your drawing with a pencil (guilty!), but had to put a permanent marker to paper.

Drawing was followed by painting juicy, watercolor blots and then adding details to bring out the cats. Fun.

Ideas

When I come across a quote or poem that moves or amuses me, I jot it down in an old composition notebook. Sometimes, I make notes with the quote about a design element I'd like to use.

Do you write your ideas down?

Wed Letter Day

Catching up. Used Canadian calligrapher, Ruth Booth's, Scrapbooker's Alphabets for inspiration.

What books do you use to inspire your creativity?

Artist Block

"I feel thin. Like butter spread over too much bread." - Bilbo Baggins, Fellowship of the Ring, J. R. R. Tolkien.

That's the way I've been feeling for quite some time. Pulled in so many different directions there's not much energy left for me. Add seeing a criticism about my work, the economy causing very low enrollment in my classes so that the classes are cancelled, and feeling at a standstill trying to expand what I can do. It all adds up to insecurity about my abilities and an artist block.

A sheet of blank paper used to be so exciting. So many possibilities. Now my stomach clenches and I think negative thoughts like "can't" and "not good enough".

I thought perhaps keeping an artist journal would help. Read books like The Decorated Page by Gwen Diehn. The pages are gorgeous. Beautiful watercolors and sketches. I start, but my pages don't come close to the examples in the book, and I end up abandoning the idea. Negative thoughts swirl around my head. So I bury the book under a pile of junk. Out of sight, out of mind.

While browsing an art catalog, Art from Intuition, Overcoming Your Fears and Obstacles to Making Art by Dean Nimmer caught my eye. Over 60 drawing and painting exercises to help you break the block cycles. The book arrived in the mail yesterday and a sentence in the first chapter slammed me upside the head.

"Think of your sketchbook as a practical tool that helps you bank your ideas and spontaneous flashes of inspiration so you can use them for future reference." p. 19

Slap my hand to my forehead! I always saw a sketchbook as small, finished pieces of art. Very freeing to see the blank pages as a space to try new things, play with old things. No judging. No worries. No mistakes.

I tried a variation of one of Nimmer's excercises: 30 drawings in 30 minutes. I thought it would be best to start out slowly. I found some dot ink stamps and plunked dots on a page. I could only fit 20 on the page, so set a timer to do 20 doodles in 20 minutes. The idea was not to spend much time thinking, but actually doing. It turned out to be fun. When I was labeling the page with the exericise title and date, I was struck by the coincidence. 20 doodles in 20 minutes on the 20th day of the month.

Nimmer also stated in the first chapter that a committment to time had to be made. I'll have to be diligent about scheduling some time to do and be.

When Your Muse Takes A Powder

Erica at On the Write Path posed some answers to the question what do you do when your creative well runs dry?

Creating something with my hands is such a rush. Though I sometimes refer to my work as play, it's still work. (Though some don't view it as such). It's hard to be creative every single day. Sometimes the demands of work and family just sap my energy. When I feel that happen, it's best just to step back and leave the drawing board. I find if I'm not in a good mood, not happy, my mood comes through my hands. But there's also the need to get that creative energy back. Some things I do:

1. Being a couch potato and watching movies.

2. Cleaning and organizing the studio. Though this can also be a procrastination technique, touching the art supplies sometimes cause my fingers to itch. Sometimes I just have to get my hands in the paint. Afterall, art is a contact sport.

3. Reading blogs by creative friends and colleagues. Looking at what they are doing can be very energizing.

4. Flipping through my calligraphy books, art books, and color swatch book, makes me want to get back in the saddle.

5. Making ATCs just for me and not a trade. Too many times things made are given away or sold (a blessing). I can try a new technique and have fun without the pressure someone is waiting for a piece to be completed.

What are some of the things you do when your muse takes a powder?