4 Practical Tips to Overcome Creative Burnout and Reignite Your Art Practice
Feeling stuck creatively? Learn how to restart your art journey with 4 actionable tips, including overcoming perfectionism, using timers, and embracing the process. Scroll to the end for a mini-challenge!
TIP #1-
Clear the Clutter and Just Start
I know, I know… it doesn’t sound like much of a tip. (Really, Emily? “Just start?” That’s like telling someone to just stop being anxious, or just don’t crave sugar anymore! ) For me, though, one of the most difficult things about getting back into creating art is getting started… just doing the thing. (That is actually one of the most difficult things about almost anything I do Hello laundry still in the drier from yesterday and folded clothes still in the basket from two days ago.)
Take a deep breath
In my studio “just starting” means getting my space ready to “be” in. I’m not sure if you’re like me, but I need a tidy-ish area before I can work. This season I started cleaning out and organizing the studio. I walked into the studio, took a deep breath, and started clearing the clutter by creating a space on my drafting table. I moved on to organize a few of my art supplies and then turned on some music. It isn’t always that involved though. sometimes “clearing the clutter” just means pushing things over to the side of the table.
TIP #2-
Use a Timer to Create Manageable Boundaries
It doesn’t have to be a lot of time- maybe give yourself 5 minutes to clear a space to work, and 15 minutes to create, or 15 minutes to clear space and 30 minutes to create- whatever feels like a manageable amount of time for you and your schedule. You may just find that when the timer goes off, you turn off the alarm and keep on creating!
For me, setting a timer takes the pressure off. It removes the worry about the need to work all day on something… I’m not committing my entire day; I only have to commit a few minutes. And vice versa- it restrains me when I get too deep in what I’m doing. Sometimes I don’t start a project because I’m afraid my ADHD brain will take over in hyperfocus mode, and I won’t resurface for hours on end, forgetting to eat and/or hydrate. (It happens more than you’d think.)
A timer keeps me in-bounds.
TIP #3-
Confront the fear of a blank page, and just make marks.
If you’ve ever stared at a blank page feeling paralyzed, you’re not alone. Many artists feel this way, especially after a break. Coming back to art after a period of burnout can feel very overwhelming. My perfectionism can get the better of me, and a blank page can be terrifying because I’m afraid I won’t “do it right”.
Take the pressure out of it by giving yourself the freedom and space to just be messy. It doesn’t need to make sense. Your muscle memory will take over after you warm up a bit.
Take out a blank sheet of paper (or canvas, or whatever!) and fill it up with random marks/brush strokes. It helps deter the fear of “doing it wrong”. Write down words that are taking up space in your brain… get them out. Loosen up those creative juices and let your mind relax. No one has to see this page but you.
Here is a quick exercise in filling a blank page:
Paint random circles or other shapes in different colors, allowing the edges to touch and bleed into each other. Quick color studies like this one can help fill a page without the fear of “messing up”.
One of my favorite things to do before I paint is to make swatches of my paints and inks. I’ll mix colors, and brush them onto paper, mixing and matching, and layering with inks. It’s productive in that it helps me find new combinations I might love, but also there is no pressure in making it “pretty”.
TIP #4-
Embrace the Process and Give Yourself Grace
I tend to think that everything I work on has to become a perfect, final work that I can hang in public, or sell. It is just simply not the case. I can be so hard on myself if I go into the studio hoping to leave with a completed painting, only to completely flub it up. Some days we have “it” and some days we don’t.
It’s important to have grace with ourselves.
The more often we take a few minutes here and there to create, the more natural it will become. It all comes back to us even after a long sabbatical, or period of creative burnout.
MINI-CHALLENGE!
Set a timer for 15 minutes today and share your messy mark-making process with me in the comments or tag me on social media!
I would love to hear how you implement these tips!
