Isn’t it incredible how art allows us to express our feelings, thoughts and dreams in the most magical way? But, sometimes we let fear creep in to stop us. We might think, I’m not good enough, my creations are crappy, or who cares about what I have to say?
Feeling uninspired and need to break through a block and get your creative juices flowing again? This happens to me all the time and I often question if I’m heading in the right direction with my creative journey. Losing your creative mojo can often lead to procrastination and it becomes so hard to create any momentum in our journey with art. There’ve been times when I’ve just felt like my creativity is totally zapped and I’ve got nothing creative left to give. But it’s simply not true. I believe we are creative beings, with so much inside of us to share with the world…and there’s room for all of us! Here are some of the ways I get back my creative mojo when I’m feeling blah:
01 DO IT FOR YOU
I got a message from a fellow artist the other day, struggling with lockdown and ‘artist life’ generally – which many artists can relate to, I’m sure! It was great to be able to try to give some encouragement that strangely turned around and encouraged me too. Here’s what I said… “Yeh it’s so frustrating, sweety. We pour our heart and soul into our art and when we don’t get the reaction we want it’s so disappointing. But I just keep creating anyway because I enjoy it. So just keep doing it for you. And you never know where it leads or who it touches!” So if you’re feeling a bit blah about your creative practice right now, hope these words encourage you too. Whatever you’re dreaming or creating, just keep doing it for you! Who cares if you don’t get the likes or comments you were hoping for on your socials? If creating gave you joy and your practice was calming, then you’ve achieved something and that is enough. You are enough!
02 JUST SHOW UP
Sometimes simply showing up to your desk is the first and most important step in your creative practice. Whatever it is, your pencil, brush, knitting needles, ukulele, just pick it up and start. I often find just being in my studio helps me to get my mojo back. I often just start doodling on a blank piece of paper, or look through art books, or my old sketchbooks. This process of just starting is often enough to stimulate my mind into sparking an idea to work on.
03 LEARN SOMETHING NEW
Sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed by all the talent I see out there on instagram, Pinterest, etc. I find myself thinking, “I have SO much to learn!” Or “I’ll never be as good as them!” The first statement is fine because I’m a great believer in the importance of continual lifelong learning, but the second statement sucks. Comparing myself and putting myself down is not helpful at all. Instead of wanting to be ‘as good’ as someone else, I now just focus on improving on my own skills and bettering myself. Submerging myself in education is something I can be proud of. The more I learn about art or different artistic methods, the more confident I become in my own practice. So if you’re feeling like you’ve lost your creative mojo and you’re stuck in comparing yourself to other artists, shift your focus. Liven things up by taking an art class, or watch some YouTube tutorials (there’s zillions of them out there). My mottos is, “Always be learning and discovering new things!” Through education, we become more confident in our newfound knowledge and in practicing that knowledge, we become better at what we do!
04 GET SNAPPING
Whenever I’m stuck for ideas or inspiration, I tend to grab my camera (or my iPhone usually), and just start snapping. I get outside into nature and start looking at my surroundings from a fresh perspective. The key is to just take photos of anything and everything that catches your eye. Don’t be too precious about it, as you can always go back and delete crappy shots later. You just never know what you’ll see through your lens and it may just inspire you to create something magical from it.
05 BE OPEN TO INSPIRATION
Looking at work by other creatives is a great way to get inspired. Of course, Instagram and Pinterest are treasure troves of ideas and visual magic, but you can also indulge your senses in art books, design magazines, fashion blogs, art galleries (in person or online), movies, listen to music and so on. Inspiration is everywhere … you just need to be open to it.
06 REVISIT OLD IDEAS
I have notebooks in which I write down lists of ideas – many that never get finished, or even started in the first place. But there are times when I’m feeling really stuck that I revisit these old lists. I find that looking at an old idea with fresh eyes often spurs on a new perspective that I can work with. The moral of this story is to never throw out any of your ideas – you never know when they might come in handy!
07 EXERCISE
We all know the benefits of exercise for our body and mind. I find that when I make a point of getting away from my desk to go for a walk, it really helps to free my mind. It gets those endorphins working and by just changing up my environment for a bit, it’s all I need to get my creative juices flowing again.
08 CLOSE YOUR EYES
At times, when all else fails, I close my eyes and basically zone out for a while. Whether it’s some mindful meditation, deep breathing or simply falling asleep for a bit of a power nap, sometimes you just need to switch off. I find this completely recharges my body and mind and allows me to start back at my art practice again feeling ready to create some joy. So if you’re feeling uninspired and need to break through a creative block, I hope some of these strategies might help to get your mojo back!
I find putting pencil or paint to paper and watching the magic happen to be really calming. For me, creating art is basically a form of meditation or my way of journaling with colourful marks rather than words, that is therapeutic and puts me back on an even keel when I’m feeling out of sorts.
I’m not a medical professional or an art therapist, so this isn’t medical advice at all, but I’m just wanting to share my personal experience with art in case it helps others, especially during this Covid catastrophe we’re going through right now.
I’m not going to get into all the technicalities and science of art therapy or give you any specific exercises – but speaking from my own experience, art has helped my anxiety and health challenges over many, many years and I’m beyond grateful! Here are 2 strategies I use to recollect and bring more zen to my life. Hopefully they may help you turn off any stress you might be experiencing in your day too:
DRAW YOUR EMOTIONS
For this one, DRAW could be substituted for paint, sing, dance, bake or whatever creative practice you are passionate about. Whether you’re feeling sad, anxious or angry, think of your pencil, wooden spoon or creative tool of choice as a pen and paper you might use to journal. The space I create with shapes and colours on art paper are my visual form of journaling. In other words, it’s writing down my feelings without using words! Maybe at the start, this is not a comfortable thing to do, but once you let go and let yourself be expressive, it may just bring you some peace – like hitting the refresh button. It doesn’t matter what the final result is – who cares if it’s not a masterpiece? Turn off your busy conscious mind and just let your subconscious play for a bit. You might just surprise yourself and how good you feel afterwards.
CREATE YOUR OWN PEACE
What does peace look like for you? For me, it’s a field of flowers in every colour of the rainbow. I’m most at peace when I’m in nature – morning walks in the countryside with my hubby, or afternoon walks along the beach. These are my happy places whenever life is a struggle or I’m feeling anxious or stressed. But if I can’t get there, I take myself to that happy place by creating it in my art – colourful, joyful flowers of all shapes and sizes.
Not every artwork has to be perfect, but it’s an exercise in visualising the peace and calm that I’m wanting to bring into my life at that very moment and for me it just works.
Drawing or painting is always calming for me, helping to still my mind and recalibrate. Whatever it is that you love to create with, a rolling pin, dancing shoes, or whatever, I encourage you to grab it and give it a go the next time you’re not feeling the best. It may just be the thing that your mind and body needs to get back to that zen space you’re craving!
The Covid-19 pandemic has been tough to say the least. Lockdown continues for many in NSW where I live and some days it’s hard to see a light at the end of the scary Covid tunnel. I’ve used a few strategies at home with my family …. I even made a poster and stuck it on the back of our powder room door downstairs, to remind everyone that better days will come. We just have to take one day at a time, help each other to get through these challenging times and stay safe.
My “How to Live Wisely” poster may be helpful for any time, not just during lockdown. So I thought I’d add it to my Etsy Shop for you to print and put up as a reminder in your home too! Hoping my tips for living wisely might help you:
- Enjoy home time!
- Get creative
- Breathe
- Be kind
- Stop, bend & stretch
- Do one thing at a time
- Smile
- Rest
- Eat well
- Love the ones you’re with
- Keep calm
- Remember this too shall pass
- Dance it out!
- Take 1 day at a time
Jennifer xo
I’m intent on continually learning …even if it’s something simple daily.
Do you know I’ve been dedicated to ‘creating’ for almost 10 years now since my first cancer diagnosis in 2009? Using art as therapy most days, I feel I’m finally finding my style that I love, my own unique voice.
I know there’s nothing really new in the world, as there’s always someone doing something similar to you as a creative, but I truly believe that if you are creating from within yourself and your own personal life experiences, nobody else can bring exactly what you bring to the world. Only you can be you in the things you create, just as long as you are true to yourself. After all, you are perfect just the way you are.
Now that doesn’t mean that we can’t keep growing and learning throughout our lives. In fact, after years of following creators I love, doing courses here and there and lots and lots of practice, I feel my creative soul constantly growing. Finding myself and feeling more fearless along the way and sometimes sharing with the world is great fun.
I’ve always dreamt that someone would look at a random piece of my work and say hey, that’s Jennifer Reid’s work! I’d love for people to easily recognise my art through my unique colour palette, quirky subject matter or whimsical characters. I feel honoured that people would even follow my blog or Instagram in the first place, let alone the day I become well known enough for people to recognise that I have a consistent style.
I’m excited for the day I eventually discover my own style and unique voice … that prized creative pinnacle that everyone seems to talk about. But maybe my style is actually a ‘bit of this and a bit of that’ and that’s okay too!
I’ve always got a huge list of creative ideas on the go. I love the App Trello for keeping myself organised and if you haven’t tried it yet and you like making lists, you’re going to love it. I’m not sure I’ll ever tick off all the items on my creative ideas to-do list though because the ideas just keep coming. As a new idea springs to mind I add it to my list and this could happen quite a few times a day. I guess that’s a good thing as I’ll always have something to be working on.
Since unashamedly putting my work out into the world, people have been showing how much they love and support my work by actually purchasing and wanting my art in their homes …which means so much and is a source of encouragement to keep plodding along.
Someone very close to me, who is also an artist I admire very much, once said…
“That’s all you need to do – keep going. The biggest part of this (art making) is about mental health. It’s so good for your brain and mindset to be creating. Making money is just a bonus. There are many opportunities for projects that have good outcomes for people and the community.”
If I can help just one person through sharing my creative journey and my work, that to me is creative success.
To finish, I’m sharing this quote I love, to encourage you to talk to yourself like I do and tell yourself to believe that there is nothing you cannot do if you persevere:
“I’ve learned to TALK to myself rather than LISTEN to myself. When I listen to myself, all I hear is fear, doubt, lies and failure. But when I talk to myself, I can tell myself anything I want to. I can feed myself good thoughts of hope, confidence, truth and victory. I can tell myself I can do it. When I learned to talk to myself rather than listen to myself, I realized that there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
~ Dr. James Pitzer Gills II, Eye Surgeon & 6 x Double Ironman Triathlete
Never stop dreaming,
Jennifer xo
As an artist, I have always loved ‘creating’ beauty in my surroundings. Although I have a diverse range of skills and experience (having worked in teaching, finance, beauty therapy, fashion retail and radio), ‘creating’ every day truly makes my heart sing. Freedom of expression and creativity not only improves my own wellbeing, but my intention is to make a difference in the world around me too.
Through a recent personal experience of gradually re-styling my new home, I have come to realise just how important creativity and design can be in changing a physical space, but also in potentially impacting one’s emotional space.
Prior to living in our current home of 2 years, my family and I lived in what I would consider closer to the home of our dreams, complete with spacious, open plan living, lovely light-filled spaces and an outdoor oasis with a sparkling concrete pool as the centrepiece.
Unfortunately, after I was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and again in 2016, the family finances became so strained that we decided to relieve the pressure by selling this beloved family home. We managed to greatly reduce our debt, but in so doing moved to a suburb much further away from the city, into a house that we don’t wish to live in forever.
My attitude towards this property was not a positive one and this in turn affected the way my husband and children viewed the house. For a long time we lived with blank white walls, cold rug-less tiled floors and not much in the way of soft furnishings or treasured ornaments to breathe life into our new surroundings. I didn’t want to be there, so I wasn’t wasting any time or money on decorating.
Until one day I realised I couldn’t waste another moment of my life wishing I were somewhere else, for my own sake as well as that of my family. We deserved to be happy. Suddenly grateful for what I already have RIGHT NOW, I promptly got to work creating the space of my dreams.
Research reminded me of the magic of interior design… I binge-watched renovation shows, read a multitude of home interiors magazines and trawled through Pinterest for hours on end …and soon had the perfect plan to bring the sparkle and joy back into my family home.
A vibrant wall hanging here, a plush rug there, a brave lick of paint, some bargain furniture discoveries and voilà – it was as though we were living in our dream home again.
It is now our comfy haven, both attractive and functional, with beautiful walls at every glance, soft rugs comforting our footsteps, relaxing outdoor areas, a unique mix of bold colours and eye catching textures everywhere.
This personal passion project has not only resulted in a positive change to our physical space, but it has also had a positive emotional impact on my whole family. We love our house now and are grateful to call it ‘home’ for as long as we need to.
My hope is that I will be able to share this experience with others, by using my creative passion with the inspirational delights I discover, to bring joy into physical and emotional spaces everywhere!
If you’d like to go for a wander, you can follow my creative journey over on Instagram. Would love to see you there.
Never stop dreaming,
Jennifer xo
When my artist niece told me a while ago that it’s okay to steal from other artists I was a little bit horrified to be honest. But she promised that in art school they were taught ‘art appropriation’ is all above board…really it is!!
Because here’s how it works – you take a well known image or a pre-existing object someone else has painstakingly created, then whizz it around, mash it up, reverse and rotate it and voilà! You’ve created new meaning, made it your own, created a brand new piece of art…simple as that.
I still struggle with this concept a bit, but Austin Kleon in his book ‘Steal Like an Artist’ sums it up perfectly when he quotes one of my favourite Bible verses:
“There is nothing new under the sun” Ecclesiastes 1:9.
Then I realised, it really is true. All new ideas are just a remix of all the other ideas and influences that have come before it. As Austin says, nothing on this earth is completely original.
This book basically blew my mind and has managed to somehow free me up. It has finally given me permission to be inspired by artists I love and images I’m constantly bombarded with all over the place, particularly the internet. You can probably tell from the image from my journal below, that I learnt a huge amount from this tiny little book.
Austin’s chapter titles shown in the image above makes the contents of his book quite self explanatory, but I’d like to share some of the snippets that sparkled for me. I think they’re bits of advice that are not only great for people wanting to create good art, but wanting to live a good life…
- Don’t wait to create, just START NOW!
- Fake it ‘til you make it …or as another saying goes, practise don’t plagiarise. So don’t steal or copy the STYLE, steal the THINKING behind the style. Austin quotes writer Wilson Mizner, which explains this a little further…
“If you copy from one author, it’s plagiarism, but if you copy from many, it’s research.”
- Channel your anger into your art. I love this one…I’m a big advocate of using art as therapy to get through any challenges life might throw your way.
- Eat good food, hang out with awesome people, take care of yourself.
- Keep a calendar, get organised.
- Take time to wander, get bored, THINK. I think this is another way of encouraging us to stop, breathe, relax. I love yoga and meditation for this or just going for a nice, long walk.
- Google everything! LEARN LEARN LEARN!
- TRAVEL – it makes the world look new.
- SHARE. Give your secrets away. People love it and this is how you build community, by learning from each other.
- Do good work by practising every day, then share it on the internet. Don’t overshare though – choose wisely.
- Use your hands: move, use your body, step away from the computer, mix digital and analogue creativity.
- Stay out of debt.
- Have fun.
- Be nice.
These last 3 tips are simple and self-explanatory but are truly awesome for living a good life.
And last but not least…
- KEEP YOUR DAY JOB! Now this one completely blew me away so I’m going to quote Austin word for freakin’ word…
“The truth is that even if you’re lucky enough to make a living off doing what you truly love, it will probably take you a while to get to that point. Until then, you’ll need a day job.
A day job gives you money, a connection to the world, and a routine. Freedom from financial stress also means freedom in your art.
A day job puts you in the path of other human beings. Learn from them, steal from them.
The worst thing a day job does is take time away from you, but it makes up for that by giving you a daily routine in which you can schedule a regular time for your creative pursuits.”
All I want to end with here is…
AMEN, BROTHER!
Never stop dreaming,
Jennifer xo
