Yesterday I had ALL THE TIME in the world to paint.
I had allocated myself a good 5 hours.
I had started two large canvasses the day before and felt I knew where they were heading.
But when I sat down to look at them today.
I had NOTHING.
Not an inkling of inspiration.
And if you follow me on INSTAGRAM you will know that I work intuitively and from a place of inspiration.
To not do that feels FORCED and INAUTHENTIC.
So I have a choice - force myself to create (NOT REALLY A CHOICE for me)
Or get CREATIVELY UNSTUCK so inspiration flows.
I choose the latter.
So what did I do?
Here are my 5 QUICK HACKS TO GET CREATIVELY UNSTUCK.
1. GO FOR A WALK - without your phone. Without your phone is the important bit. Make sure it is somewhere safe. Don’t listen to music, don’t listen to a podcast. This is a chance to EMPTY your head.
2. NATURE - notice and absorb nature. If you are indoors and all you can do is look out the window then do that. Notice the sky, the clouds, the rain, the trees. Notice how the light is falling on the buildings. If you can get outside - even better. Lie on the grass, the beach, hug a tree. And again notice and feel the feeling of being in nature. Don’t listen to your phone, don’t listen to music.
3. SING & DANCE - put on your favourite music and sing and move in a way that FEELS GOOD. Feel what it’s like to move your body. And sing LOUDLY. It’s so energising!
4. WRITE - expressing yourself in all ways helps release pent up emotion. What can you write. Would you like to journal - and express all the RANDOM thoughts that pop into your head. This is a great release, and is a suggestion by Julia Cameron in the book THE ARTIST WAY. She suggests doing it first thing in the morning every day. That’s great as a practice - but it’s also useful to add in for the particular purpose of getting unstuck. Maybe you don’t want to journal - maybe you would like to write a story, or a poem, or a letter. Do what feels intuitively good for you.
5. CULTIVATE JOY AND GRATITUDE - write down what you are grateful for. What brings you joy. While you are doing this, feel what it feels like to be grateful and joyful for these things. Keep going until you end up with a smile on your face.
And ALSO make sure that you are WELL FED. If you are hungry and thirsty then creativity will often be an uphill battle.
Let me know if this helps you.
Rose x