Creative Block
It's become a thing for me, this creative block.
I drift uncomfortably in an initial limbo that precedes it at the end of every school year. At first I didn't notice it, becoming aware of the numbing void only after four or five years. Though I work hard to schedule time for myself in the crafty nook each weekend and over holiday breaks, once the last day of school arrives, I draw a blank.
Some teachers keep themselves just as busy over the summer as they were between August and May. Others go cold turkey, taking a week or two to downshift from their usual professional routine by sleeping in and enjoying a social hermitage, especially if they don't have children.
The Nine Year Old is happy for the break, and easily transitions into his jammie-wearing-video-game-playing role. Being his mother's son, he's awake between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. every day, no matter what. Every day becomes Sunday morning for me: quiet coffee, surfing the web, enjoying magazines, with the promise of time in the crafty nook nudging me off of the couch. This past week I've found myself downstairs, surrounded by all of my bits and bobs, sheet music, fabric, buttons, glitter, magazines galore and tools at the ready.
After a single afternoon of productivity, cleaning out, sorting and organizing the closet, I've been at a standstill for days, causing my impatience to build, which adds more bricks to the wall I've hit. I'm impatient because I have to work so hard during the school year to make the time for crocheting, soldering, reading, exploring and crafting. When summer vacation finally arrives and I have hours upon hours at my disposal daily and then ~draw a blank~, I can almost hear Murphy's Law cackling at me.
Charming.
This year I've decided to be proactive. If my creative muse won't come when called, then I'll just go looking for inspiration. Over the past year I've pinned DIY and crafty tutorial links to my "Crafty Nook To- Do's" board on Pinterest, and have many if not most of the materials needed for them at my disposal. If I can't dream up something out of the blue, I'll teach myself something new with the help of other creative authors.
Take ~that~, creative block.
*****
How do you handle creative pauses?
I drift uncomfortably in an initial limbo that precedes it at the end of every school year. At first I didn't notice it, becoming aware of the numbing void only after four or five years. Though I work hard to schedule time for myself in the crafty nook each weekend and over holiday breaks, once the last day of school arrives, I draw a blank.
Some teachers keep themselves just as busy over the summer as they were between August and May. Others go cold turkey, taking a week or two to downshift from their usual professional routine by sleeping in and enjoying a social hermitage, especially if they don't have children.
The Nine Year Old is happy for the break, and easily transitions into his jammie-wearing-video-game-playing role. Being his mother's son, he's awake between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. every day, no matter what. Every day becomes Sunday morning for me: quiet coffee, surfing the web, enjoying magazines, with the promise of time in the crafty nook nudging me off of the couch. This past week I've found myself downstairs, surrounded by all of my bits and bobs, sheet music, fabric, buttons, glitter, magazines galore and tools at the ready.
After a single afternoon of productivity, cleaning out, sorting and organizing the closet, I've been at a standstill for days, causing my impatience to build, which adds more bricks to the wall I've hit. I'm impatient because I have to work so hard during the school year to make the time for crocheting, soldering, reading, exploring and crafting. When summer vacation finally arrives and I have hours upon hours at my disposal daily and then ~draw a blank~, I can almost hear Murphy's Law cackling at me.
Charming.
This year I've decided to be proactive. If my creative muse won't come when called, then I'll just go looking for inspiration. Over the past year I've pinned DIY and crafty tutorial links to my "Crafty Nook To- Do's" board on Pinterest, and have many if not most of the materials needed for them at my disposal. If I can't dream up something out of the blue, I'll teach myself something new with the help of other creative authors.
Take ~that~, creative block.
*****
How do you handle creative pauses?
I do pretty much what you are doing. I organize and clean. Then I find a few elements I know I've been meaning to work with, and a few more things that I think would work with them, and I play. If nothing really feels right, I put them away (theoretically, anyway) and read my magazines and craft books for projects and new processes. The main thing is being there, and using the imagination.
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