As an artist, most of my time alone has been spent between paying close attention to the beauty in the physical world, pondering on the meaning, structure and hence the foundation of this universe…….. right? Or specifically trying to create something that communicates my perception of the above. This has only gotten harder as I grow older, because while I was a child, it was excusable to be limited in my knowledge and skills, and I was free to make and screw up and people wouldn’t sit back with a glass of wine to shit all over what I made, and if they did, well at least they were still paying my rent and taking me to the park.
Today, the pressure of making sure you are politically correct enough, that you are making art “on trend” and which you hope doesn’t make your parents disown you… well it sort KILLS CREATIVITY. Creativity is in and of itself, the pure freedom of exploration and discovery. When you try to manage and correct the direction you are exploring, you creative genius you- start creating BLOCKS. These are the dulled subconscious thoughts that go something like this “The colors I pick are too muddy… pastels are in right now..” or “Why do I like to make everything about demons? Am I the spawn of satan?” Not to burst your bubble of sweet royalty, but likely you are not, and all of these tastes and interests are exactly what you should pursue. We forget that trends aren’t just followed, they are CREATED. We get bored of seeing a lot of the same things, and seasons change and HECK now we all want muddy looking demons and self proclaimed satans drawing all our fabric patterns or writing the next show for Sci-fi. If you are not feeling your creative juices flowing, it’s because you have shut doors where there was curiosity. You need to focus on where those sparks happen and look for the work being made for the audience you belong to!
Start by writing down all the things that make you feel something. It can be positive as well as negative, as long as the feeling is strong, so will be your curiosity.
When you are trying to sit down to make something, pick one of these things (two and mix them for a mutant baby get’s two cookies!) and start letting yourself make. Don’t question or plan, just make. When you’ve got stirring emotions about something, it takes life on it’s own accord.