I am wondering...

why it is that we are sometimes addicted to creativity, and at others wrestle with the muse.

A student of mine came for a studio play date this week, and she confessed that she was stuck. Her forays into mixed media got her enthusiastic about creating (although in another medium entirely), but she found after Christmas that she could not talk herself into her studio.

This got me wondering.  What it is that keeps artists and creative types doing the play (or work, if you prefer that term) day after day?

I go into the studio for colour,

'The Eye of Ra' mixed media on canvas, © Win Dinn

for experimentation,

'Cattitude'' mixed media mat board, © Win Dinn

for meditation,

'Elderberry Mandala' mixed media on canvas, © Win Dinn

for texture,

'Alien Portal' mixed media on mat board, © Win Dinn

for pattern,

'Z' from Gratitude altered book © Win Dinn

for silliness,

'Fish Fancy' mixed media on board, © Win Dinn

and for play.

'Roadside Crosses:  She Inhaled it Much Too Quickly' altered book © Win Dinn

The more I go in there, the more time there I crave, (and as a side benefit, the better my creative play becomes).  

What is it, though, that makes me avoid the studio?  Is it fear (high expectations of myself), boredom with the current line of creative experimentation, the inner critic that says I don't deserve to play, the lack of stimulation?  I've had periods where these all apply, and one way for me to combat them is to trick myself into the studio 'just for a moment', coming out hours later refreshed and renewed. Another way for me to get unstuck is to watch some creative videos on YouTube, or switch mediums entirely (e.g. moving from mixed media to drawing or paper play).

Tell me, what sends you into the doldrums of creative lack?  What do you do to get 'out of the pit'? Let's start a 'Kick the Creative Blues' list in the comment section!