Keeping the Creative Energy Awake
Photo from Youssef Nabil’s art installation at the Kennedy Center’s Arabesque show in 2009.
DC metro closed again for all above ground stations today… Which basically means that I’m continuing to not work on that mural I am clawing to paint over in Takoma Park. At first I was disappointed that I couldn’t get cracking on it – all my energy was ready and raring to go. I just put in a cool sky and some swirly charcoal lines to make it surreal – and then snowmagedon hits and no painting at all.
So this post is about that “stuck” thing that happens… whether it is from a physical block (aka Kaiser Snowsai), or a mental one…that whole blank-page fear that most artists and writers know very well. One way I face it is to simply force myself to sit down and paint anything at all… because I know making art is the place I feel centered. Even if I’m not feeling inspired at the moment, sometimes all it takes is sitting down with a brush and doodling to shed the sticky feeling. This weekend, I set up a mirror to work on a series of experimental self-portraits with watercolors, playing with color and texture. The key for me was not worrying at all about the end product. Instead I focused on exploring the process. This is what makes painting fun, and the snow keeping me inside my house (except for some serious freakin shoveling) gave me the time to sit down and release some creative flow. Just for the pure fun of it. Definitely an un-sticking experience.
And when I DO get back to Takoma Park to paint, I plan to take a deep breath and dive right back in. All that painting time this weekend was awesome – for joy, for technical practice and for color exploration. Every second painting (or doing whatever it is you love to do), brings that much more joy and that much more skill. Totally win-win.
