Every journey has its Bog of Eternal Stench moment. Remember the film Labyrinth? Yes, the one with David Bowie and the tights. Well, if Sarah had given up on saving her baby brother when she got stuck at the Bog of Eternal Stench, he would’ve been lost to the Goblin King and Sarah would never have realised GK’s magic had no power over her.
The point is, we all get stuck or lost, or downright cheesed off. And, the creative process is no different. You might start off with good intentions and big ideas, but the middle can be sticky. Stenchy even.
And, with the Leigh Art Trail deadline looming it’s turned out some of SEVEN are making super slow progress with their art books. Some of us might even be a teensy bit stuck. Eeek!
So what help is there for the frustrated creative stuck on their creative project?
A Creative Unblock Project to Try
Well, Danielle Krysa, aka The Jealous Curator, is the brains behind Creative Block: Advice and Projects from 50 Successful Artists. This book features the thoughts and practices of a variety of artists on dealing with inner and out critics, blank page block, and more.
In her post on the book Maria Popova of Brain Pickings shares some of the books most thoughtful snippets, including this “Creative Unblock Project” used by artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon:
“Choose one thing you love to draw or paint (and feel comfortable drawing or painting) already: an animal, object, a person, whatever. For thirty days, draw or paint that thing thirty different ways, a different way every day. You can use different mediums, expressions, positions, colors, whatever. Each day, push yourself to do something much different than the day before, but keep the subject the same. See how keeping one element constant (in this case, the “thing” you love to draw or paint) can allow you to break out creatively in other ways.”
Will SEVEN get unstuck? Will Amanda’s origami birds be strung in her Turkish map fold? Will Juliet get her concertina stitched in time? And, will all our art books make it to LAT 2019? It’s a cliffhanger alright!