When Your Muse Takes an Extended Vacation without your Permission

Big plans. That's what I had for the year. Except I've spent a good chunk of the year stuck. As in, my muse went on vacation without turning in a vacation request or bothering to return.  Except it's been worse than that. In the past, when I couldn't torch my way out of a wet paper bag, I could switch gears for a while: wire work, chainmaille, knitting, or SOMETHING. My hands were always busy while watching tv, in the car, etc. However, soon after the dawn of 2016, I lost the desire to do anything creative. I didn't have the drive to keep my hands busy, which is completely outside the norm. I was (still am) taking a yearlong online class in mixed media and didn't feel like trying any of the new techniques because once I got everything assembled, it was too much bother to actually MAKE something. 

This was all so far outside my norm, and I almost didn't even care that it was happening. Until I did. And then I knew I needed to make some changes. 

Maybe you have experienced something similar? The following are some of the steps I've taken to try to lure my muse home. 

"Art" journaling

Ok...there is absolutely nothing artistic or even mildly appealing for what I'm labeling as art journaling. However, I'm not exactly sure what one calls this...thing...I'm doing. Nearly one year ago I explained my planning and organization system, which includes a bullet journal. I still use this as my go to for to do lists, planning, tracking, and more. Over the summer I decided to start journaling in it too, even though I hate to journal. It's a super simple basic journaling. It may be a couple sentences, a word, or even a couple pages. It is whatever I need it to be so I don't forget every single thing that happens in my life, but also so it is a manageable task to accomplish each day. However, it's blah. And the daily calendar and to do lists are blah. Around the same time I was doing some reading about how important it is to just play without expectation and keep a super basic art supply in a location where you will journal and paint or draw. 

As you can probably guess by now, if something isn't easily accessible, I lose interest quickly. So I decided to accomplish two tasks and use the bullet journal as my "art" journal too. So now I use a waterproof Sakura Pigma Micron 05 marker to do all my writing. I keep a travel set of Winsor Newton watercolors and a couple water brushes pre-filled with water on my nightstand so it's easy to access last thing at night or first thing in the morning. 

Just so you understand, there is no thought involved. I pick a color that appeals to me and just start making marks. I have had zero contact with watercolor paints since I was in elementary school, so I mostly play with the colors and how they run together, intensity of color, etc. It isn't pretty. It doesn't make sense (usually). I just let go. If I were to try to sketch in this journal rather than just mess with color, I would feel too much pressure. This process I've adapted requires exactly 0% pressure on myself to make it look good. And I also don't worry whether all the words can be read afterwards. The fact is, my handwriting is atrocious anyway. 

Finish WIPs

There are so many unfinished projects in several different media laying around my studio and home. Sometimes I feel guilt about starting something new when I have so many others to finish. So I've started making my way through them. Interestingly I've discovered I love to do bead embroidery until it's time to finish the project. Then it just gets too tedious for words. This may explain why I finally just stopped doing bead embroidery altogether...I had about 6 projects in different stages of completion. 

For example, here's a cab by Caroline Dewison that I finished everything but a way to hang it as a pendant. It's gorgeous and I love it so much I don't know if I could sell it. However, until about two weeks ago, it was a very pretty dust collector because there was no way to wear it. 

This was the first WIP I tackled in an effort to restart my creativity. As you can see below, I created this copper bail contraption that I sewed to the back of the cab, and will attach to a weathered brown leather cord. 

The next project I decided to tackle is this gorgeous ammonite cab by Lesley Watt. Below you can see what it looked like January 31st when I took a photo of it for the Use Your Stash challenge. It continued to look like this until September 5th. 

I worked on several unfinished projects over the Labor Day weekend, and the ammonite now looks like the photo below. I didn't have additional beads or ultrasuede with me to progress any further, but I'm still happy with getting closer to being done. 

I think I've decided to add a row of the Czech glass beads in the photo below, then finish it off. 

I could show SO MANY unfinished projects, but thought I'd show this gorgeous donut by Kristie Roeder of Artisan Clay. I had this thing glued onto the stiff stuff fabric for MONTHS and never added a single bead to it until Labor Day weekend. I literally forced myself to sit and bead even though I didn't feel like it. However, as I worked, I could feel the excitement for the craft coming back. 

As I mentioned previously, I love to knit. It is definitely something I do in waves, often knitting obsessively for a while, then not knitting for months. Again, I have a ridiculous number of unfinished projects that feel like they are weighing me down. For example, the wrap in the photo below? I've picked it up off and on for the last SIX YEARS!!!! I finally finished it except for adding the buttons. To be fair, I had planned on using different Lisa Peters handmade buttons, but they didn't work. So I'm considering these instead, also made by Lisa Peters. 

These socks? They were completely finished except for grafting the toe of one sock and weaving in the ends. Why do I procrastinate the final details of a project? I drive myself nuts! And I also keep myself from the enjoyable process of digging into the next project. 

A Clean Studio

I totally should have taken a before photo. My jewelry making area was piled high with tools, supplies, findings, mangled wire, garbage, new art beads, etc. just a few days ago. When I find myself avoiding the studio because the idea of working in the mess is too much for me to bear, it's time to clean. Now you can see counter space AND the beading board thing that I mostly use to store small bits and pieces. Whenever there is a clear space, I want to make a creative mess again. 

Keep a Visual Record

This one might be a bit outside the box. Let's say you have 1 hour to create 5 days a week. That's it. Take a photo of what you made that day. Post it to Instagram or Facebook or wherever you want to share it. At the end of a week, a month, a year, you can see how much you have actually accomplished with what felt like very little time available. 

About a year ago I discovered Chatbooks, which is a super easy app to use. Basically you download it to your phone and it uploads photos from whichever source you choose, like your phone, Instagram, or Facebook. You select which photos, pay, then they print it. I've ordered two of these books so far and they are fantastic! 

I started the beginning of 2016 with the intention of doing a single photo each day. Except eh, I decided to break that rule because it's my Instagram account and my favorite method of journaling. Each chatbook can have up to 366 images. Because there are some days I post more than one photo to Instagram, I had the first half of 2016 printed as soon as June was over. I keep it out in the living room and just about everyone who comes over looks through it. 

Seeing my photos printed in this album got me thinking about how having a hard copy visual record of one's work could provide motivation and inspiration for those days when it feels like drudgery. 

Community

Do not underestimate the power of spending time with your people. If you haven't read Lesley's blog post about art camp yet, do yourself a favor and read it and also the one she wrote last year about her visit. I know when I am able to spend time with creative people, I leave with more energy and ideas and passion than before. I haven't taken the time to benefit from community in quite a while and that is next on my creativity reboot list.

What are some of your favorite tricks for pulling yourself out of a creative slump? 

My Creative Process

Do I have one? Yesterday was one of those dismal days that I think every artist I've ever known has encountered—that day when you wonder if you're really creative at all. Why are things suddenly so hard? Why are ideas flopping left and right?

Yes, that was me. And this was my work table—piled high with beads (some were on the floor too) for a tutorial design that had seemed wonderful all week and up until the very moment I sat down to make it reality. Nothing worked! Colors, shape, texture—they all disagreed with my design!

I began to wonder how designs like these came together. Were they just a happy accident? Do I really know what I'm doing? Am I crazy?

Haha! At this point I laughed and poured myself another cup of coffee… I was doing it again! I was feeling the effects of overworking myself and forcing creativity.

We all know that creativity can't be forced. Some days it comes easily and other days it would have been better to have never entered the studio… or even gotten out of bed, for that matter!

It was a day of reflection yesterday. Most importantly I realized that my creative process has never changed, but it is sometimes stifled. I think that creativity is a precious, and often fleeting thing, and it only comes when it is entirely welcome.

I paused for a bit to think about what's not working for me and why, and also, what has worked to overcome the issue in the past…

Re-evaluating the task: Stepping back and considering what has been completed. I like to know how much time I've spent and recalculate my estimate of time needed to finish. Hopefully I'm ahead of schedule (unlikely!) or at least on schedule (maybe!)… or if I'm behind (probably!) I can quickly determine what needs to be changed to meet my goal.

Re-organizing the mess: I'm an organized person by nature, but somehow things always get piled high on my work table. A few minutes spent straightening things always helps me! I get my work space back in order and find anything that was lost in my creative fury and am then ready for my next creation.

Completing monotonous, but necessary tasks: Marking things off my to-do list is always encouraging and I like to stick to the ones that require no brain power when I'm feeling uncreative. My hands are busy and things are getting accomplished and best of all, the monotony of the task allows my mind to wander on to new ideas.

Being inspired by accomplishments and mementos: I like to keep a few of my recent projects nearby for a reminder that I really do know what I'm doing. Mixed in with my creations on this shelf are several other mementos—a collection of found objects, gifts from friends and family… and one of my very first polymer creations: a little sculpture of my childhood pet rooster, Button, that I made early 2002.

I keep my jewelry boxes in my studio and often sort through them when I'm feeling uncreative. I've amassed way more jewelry than I have time to wear, but I love to go back through the creative process and reflect on what inspired each design. And I can't forget about the art beads that they each hold—from artists all around the world—each bead is an inspiration!

Breathing some fresh air: A must! Even just 15 minutes out to see the growing things (or in my case lately—the falling snow and rain!) goes a long way to lifting my spirits. The quiet of nature with its unmatched creative wonders and the ease of life where money and career are of no significance is a beautiful thing!

And now, today… I'm feeling creative again! I've rediscovered my creative process and I remember now that I do in fact love to create. And that is something that will never change no matter how often I lose sight of it!

My tutorial design is even taking on new life… I think it may become something after all!

So to you all, I'm wishing you a very creative weekend. And for those of you who feel you've lost your creative process and are maybe even going down the scary road of doubting your skills and dreams—remember it's okay! It's part of being an artist. It helps us grow and better ourselves. Don't be afraid to take a break. I hope my post has maybe inspired you to reflect on your own creative process and what it is that helps you move on and get back to the thing you love most: creating!

Rebekah Payne
Tree Wings Studio
Blog: treewingsstudio.com
Shop: treewingsstudio.etsy.com

Revisited: The D Word

I'm just coming off a week in the Texas Hill Country for the Roadhouse Arts jewelry and design retreat - an amazing time of creating and exploring what it means to be an artist. In addition to sharing the experience with the awesome retreat attendees and my dear friends Gail Stouffer and Melissa Muir, I also got to meet and get to know Connie Fox, whose work inspired me to get into metals in the first place.  I'll have something to say about it all once I've had a chance to process it a bit, but in the meantime, I thought this post on the essential nature of discipline was a good fit for where my head is at. Enjoy!

* * * * * * * *

In yesterday's post, the very awesome Louise Goodchild asked a terrific question: "What do you do to kick start your creativity if your muse has done a vanishing act?"

Several versions of this question have been rattling around in my head since my business partner Lisa gave a presentation to the San Antonio Glass Art Guild on a similar issue a couple of weeks ago. How do we motivate ourselves? What's the difference between people who long to make a creative life and those who actually do? How on earth do some people make dozens of gorgeous components or pieces in a weekend while others of us spend the same amount of time with the jewelry equivalent of a writer's blank page? How is it that some makers manage to become unique and recognizable artists while others struggle to find the "it" that speaks to and about them?

Beautiful ceramic components by Karen Totten

Rebecca Payne's leather feathers - yum!

Gorgeous ceramic components in progress by Diana Ptaszynski

It isn't that they're more talented (sorry ladies!) - though they are indeed extraordinarily talented. It boils down to discipline - they sit down and do the work, whether they feel like it or not.

I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.

- Pearl S. Buck

Ouch. There have been lots of times I've chosen a movie or a nap over pushing through and doing something productive at my bench, because I didn't "feel it" that day. What did I miss by not requiring a measure of discipline from myself?

You may not be a Picasso or Mozart but you don’t have to be. Just create to create. Create to remind yourself you’re still alive. Make stuff to inspire others to make something too. Create to learn a bit more about yourself.

- Frederic Terral

I've been in a funk - both personally and creatively - for several months, and I wrote about it recently on my blog. But this recurring question about the "how" of creativity has jolted me into looking at it in a different way: I can't expect to be creative if I'm not creating.

(Insert "I coulda had a V-8" headslap here.)

Let me put it another way:

So, my answer to yesterday's question?

Go make something.

Until next time -

How funky is your creative funk?

Mine is pretty funky. I have absolutely no desire to head to the studio. I'm not inspired by anything. My brain is in 5 billion different places the last few weeks (lots going on here)...none of which includes bead making. Oh, sure, I've participated in a waxed linen challenge and blog hop, and the April AJE design challenge. But other than that? Not really much of anything happening.

Over the long (United States) holiday weekend, I realized a couple things. My brain is now officially on vacation at the lake house. And second, that needs to change because I have three months to prep for Bead Fest Philly.

And while I spent very little time on Facebook this weekend, this photo of ceramic pendants made by Natalie McKenna (Grubbi Ceramics) immediately caught my eye when it showed up in my feed.

I can't find the original comment she made regarding the pendants, but it was something like they were based off photos she took in Scotland. (I would ask her directly, but it's like 5am her time as I write this. I highly doubt she's going to respond in the next 15 minutes or so that my eyes are going to stay open to finish this post.)

Hello? DING DING DING!!!! Remember my lake vacation brain? How about combining my love of the lake and love of making beads? I'm sure you're thinking "Duh, Jenny. How slow are you?" 

But I've never been someone who makes beads based on something. I'm more inspired by color and reactions than anything else. 

Even my AJE teammate, Rebekah, was inspired to create this set of beads for me based on photos I took at the lake. And I absolutely treasure them. 

I think it's time to create my own "lake series" beads based on my own photos. Next thing you know, I'll be sketching bead design ideas too. That would just be plain crazy...

Hopefully I'll have something worth showing for my next post in two weeks. 

Have a creative week! 

-Jen Cameron

Glass Addictions

Creative Block!!!

Good Morning.  There has been a flurry of beading going on and some deadlines that were met.  Custom pieces that were completed and in process of completion.  A clean or almost clean bead tray actually freaks me out so I went to my stash.

Look at all those.  The centers are artbeads and the little file cabinets are seeds and do you know what happened?  None of them are talking to each other.  Creative block attack!  I know it happens to everyone and it has happened to me before but this time it was so strange.  Strange because I have amazing artbeads.  I have a good supply of seeds to match why oh why cant I seem to find the inspiration?

This is my overflow tray.   
 

Things that need to be finished but how to finish has stumped me.  

There are groupings of seeds and beads that work well together but the way to do them is stumping me.  

Also there are a couple of pieces I need to get tutorials written for but for some reason each time I get to photographing them the pictures are turning out incredibly blurry and for me that doesn't happen very often.  

I know if I force it I will not be happy with the results.  The other issue for me is I have found that I work so much better with surprises.  I am actually thinking that the next time I have the bucks to buy beads I am just sending payment with a request to surprise me!

I think I just need to step away for a bit.  I hate doing that because for me beading is very therapeutic.   So what do you do when this happens to you?

Kristen