Garnet and Willow Creek Jasper in Sterling
available on Etsy
But have you ever had times when you HAVE ideas, sketches waiting to be brought to life, the time set aside to create, and you enter your studio and you feel?
Those are the WORST!
On occasion I will have a complete day to myself (rare, but it happens!) and I get so excited about the opportunity for undivided bench time - and tehn, when I sit down to my bench. NOTHING.
Sometimes I can push through, but sometimes, every once in a while - there is seriously NOTHING that seems to bring me out of whatever funk has settled on me. I can go for a walk, the whole time thinking about what I'm going to make, then go back and sit down and - pfft.
Nothing.
Sometimes I'll attempt to clean the bench, do something else, etc (and usually it works) but sometimes - nadda. nothing. it's not gonna happen.
While no less frustrating, I have come to appreciate these times.
I recognize that this is not a waste of a day, it's exactly what I needed.
Apart from creating jewelry, I work full time, I am a single parent, I have a house and yard to take care of and other various commitments and friends and family and, and, and...... Sound familiar?
Does anyone else lead a busy life? Wear more than one hat? Feel like you are chasing your own tail sometimes?
Seriously, sometimes 'life' just catches up to us. And that void when you go to create just may be a signal. It's letting you know that it's time to shut it ALL down.
No sketching, no planning, no creating in another medium. Rest. Read, watch a movie - take a nap!! Disconnect.
And breathe. JUST breathe.
We tend to push ourselves. Whether at work, at home, or in the studio. Always trying to make something happen. Finish a project, write a post, fix this or that, the list goes on and on and on and on and can be endless.
I believe we need, at times, to resist the urge to push ourselves, especially in areas of creativeness. Embrace the idea of being a fallow artist, no stimulus at all - just rest, breathe, renew. Embrace the down times when they come. You just may find the soil of your creative energies richer for it.
