Where to find your inspiration when your muse refuses to show.
Distract yourself. Read a book, take a walk, talk to friends. Anything that takes you outside your normal realm is eligible for this, because the lack of inspiration often comes from too much of the same. We feel we’ve overdone it, we feel we have nothing new to say, and so our minds just turn the same thoughts over and over in our heads. When this happens, what we need more than anything is to walk away, to take in new experiences and refresh ourselves with the reality of the world. Art speaks to our experiences, and if we run out of creativity it may be be because our experiences have become too consistent.
Take care of yourself. Have you been looking after your own needs? Are you fed, rested, comfortable? Sometimes a lack of creativity comes from just feeling burned out, and when that happens it’s always worthwhile to take a step back and ask yourself how you are doing, especially if nobody else in your life has asked you lately. It’s easy to lose track of ourselves, especially when we have been bookending our responsibilities with our artwork and leaving no time for basic necessities like sleeping and eating.
Try something new. If you’ve been up to your eyes in watercolors for the past six months, maybe pick up a skein of yarn and try some textile work. If you’ve been needle-felting since Christmas, maybe get out your soldering iron. Whatever you’ve been doing, mix it up! Switch up your medium, play with textures, and don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is essential in art, and inevitable in the middle-stages of anything. Everything fails, before it becomes something wonderful, so embrace it as part of the journey.
Wendy Campbell Creations 