It’s Winter Break! Or, as I like to think about it, the multi-week, family-filled, classwork-less span of time that is perfect for personal art project growth!
To think that Winter Break is almost over! I feel like I just got home from the Fall Semester. Truth be told, I am super excited to return to campus and take on my new semester of classes! I could almost bid this refreshing reprieve from classes ado — if it were not for one, teeny, tiny, detail: I have had art block all break! All that school-free time at home squandered, all because my brain said “not today!”
Upon leaving campus, I had taken my supplies home with me in the hopes that I would create some pieces, and at this point, they have only taunted me. My kindle and stylus lay charging next to my bed, untouched, but for two afternoons of undercooked Legend of Zelda sketches (pictured below). My kindle glares at me, watching, judging, as I pick yet a different activity to spend my days. My paints are still locked up in my drawers, and my canvases stacked the same way they were when I arrived home. To say that I am frustrated is a little bit of an understatement.
Unfortunately for me, I do not do well with dealing with art block. Some artists suggest forced drawing exercises — just to make something, not the best something. Admittedly, I could be better about forcing myself to draw even when I don’t feel like it. On the other hand, I’ve heard from other artists that the most effective strategy is to take a break. The art will flow when the mind can rest. I suppose that this has some merit — but after three weeks of not drawing, I feel like the jig is up. Dozens of strategies exist, and somehow, I still have not quite found what works for me.
That being said, I think that the real problem here is that I haven’t really been trying. I hate to admit this shortcoming — I really do. But all break, as I look at that judgy kindle, or my still-blank canvases, and I think of drawing, I have felt that I just cannot pick up that pencil. I’m drained, exhausted. To be quite honest, this has terrified me. As an artist, I pride myself on my creativity and passion for making my imagination come to fruition. I love to make and create and build with my own two hands, so having no drive to do that this break has been alarming, disheartening, and most of all, discouraging to my journey to be in a creative career. Can I be a successful illustrator if I can’t bang out show-stopping ideas, nonstop? Am I less of an artist if I’m not always eager to create? I don’t say this to be depressing, but to be honest. To be real. I think this is the side of art and creation that should be talked about more because everyone does have their moments of questioning, and everyone does have their moments of art block.
Am I less of an artist if I’m not always eager to create? I don’t say this to be depressing, but to be honest. To be real. I think this is the side of art and creation that should be talked about more because everyone does have their moments of questioning, and everyone does have their moments of art block.
To my questions, I think that these issues can exist and a person can still be a successful artist. Maybe I’m naïve, inexperienced, and unaccustomed to the way the art industry works. Scratch that — I am! I’m just a fledgling student, trying to find her way and voice as an artist, so yes, I am inexperienced. BUT — I think that every artist has their not-so-stellar ideas, and every artist has their days when they just need a break. Nobody is perfect, and it is human to struggle. What makes someone a good artist is their willingness to bounce back from that struggle — not to transcend these obstacles entirely. Maybe these sketches of mine aren’t so great, but the next ones will be better. And if they are not better? Try again. And again. And again — and eventually that progress will make its appearance. Maybe I’m not feeling art today. Maybe I would rather binge the entire Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions this weekend. Fine. Let it happen, and tomorrow I try again. I will keep working on those sketches, despite my disdain for their current states. When I can’t work on those sketches any longer, I will keep being creative, whether in my reading or writing or drawing. My progress certainly is not be linear, but that is not a reason to give up! As my favorite fictional hobbit, Bilbo, would say, ““Go back? No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” (from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit). So, go forward!
I guess what I’m trying to say is this: It is easy to dwell in our anxieties when we struggle, but this does not make anyone less of an artist (or any other career, for that matter). While striving towards improvement is important, giving ourselves grace among those challenges is just as significant, if not more. A good artist can adapt and grow, and to do that, they need to struggle first.
As we enter this new year, I hope that all you artists (and non-artists) reading this carry this grace into your own lives! I wish you the least art block this year — and I invite you to share some of your best strategies of breaking through art block!
Here’s to the most creative year yet!
-Rebecca Prowse