Your materials are gathered. You have time. You have a space to work. But when you sit down to create… nothing.

Over the years I’ve gotten many questions from students and blog readers who feel stuck and don’t know what to do. Some wonder if they’ve lost their creativity altogether, even doubting their identity as an artist*.

The past two-plus years of the pandemic have been especially difficult for creatives. We often look to our creativity for solace, but when life is extremely stressful, this doesn’t always work. When we’re in the middle of a slump** the very fact that we can’t create puts pressure on us, making it even harder.

Even before the pandemic, I experienced many creative ebbs. At times I beat myself up for this, but I’ve learned that treating myself with grace is a better idea.

Creative slumps are a natural part of creativity.

Our energy ebbs and flows. It can be seasonal or follow other cycles. As uncomfortable as it can be, sometimes we can’t avoid it. In fact, ebbs are an essential part of the cycle of creativity. We need time for rest and immersing ourselves in inspiration as well as time for creating.

A few years ago I put together the class Overcome Creative Slumps with Easy Art Play. In it I talk about how identifying why you’re feeling blocked can help you move through it. This is especially true if your slump is related to self-doubt or negativity.

Some common feelings around creative slumps:

• feeling like you don’t have any ideas***

• feeling inadequate (especially after spending too much time on social media or otherwise comparing ourselves to others)

• feeling that your skills aren’t up to your expectations

• feeling daunted by a large project or lofty goals

Life changes, personal challenges and world events can have a huge impact on your creativity. Creative slumps can also follow a successfully finished project or, on the flip side, a failed project, rejection or disappointment.

It’s not always obvious why we feel the way we do, so it can be helpful to spend some time thinking (and feeling). Writing in my journal helps me. Take time with this. Think. Feel. Observe. Wonder. Write. Don’t rush the process.

Learning to be present with discomfort, with the messy middle, the ebbs, the failures is the only way to get through them.

Don’t put pressure on yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. Treat yourself with grace.

A few other ideas for handling creative slumps:

• Rest

• If you’re spending a lot of time on social media, take a break from it****

• Do something different, embrace a different way of creating

• Get out in nature

• Soak up inspiration (read a book, watch a film, visit a gallery, take a class, etc.)

• Choose an easy, fun project or a low-pressure way to create (sketchbooks are wonderful for this!)

• Talk to a creative friend

• Push through

“Inspiration exists but it has to find you working.” — Pablo Picasso

Every artist has creative blocks, slumps or ebbs. While writing this post I kept coming across examples:

• Jeanetta Gonzales talks about breaking through creative blocks in this episode of the Dear Handmade Life podcast

• Helen Hallows shares her thoughts about the cycles of creativity and ebbs and flows in this blog post and this video

• In a recent email, Tara Leaver discusses feelings of being uninspired and stuck

• Jen Dixon recently talks about this (and “turtle steps”) on Skillshare

• The May/June/July 2022 Issue of In Her Studio Magazine has an article of 48 Ways to Get Through a Creative Block

• Craft Industry Alliance and Creativebug are co-hosting a webinar on May 5th about maintaining your creative spark

• Kelly Holmes talks about dealing with burnout (which can be very similar to slumps and blocks) in this recent email

What about you? How do you handle creative slumps? What techniques to you use to help you move to the other side?

*I am using the term “artist” loosely here as anyone who creates something. I know for many people “artist” is a title or label that’s hard to claim. I get it. I felt that way at one point, too. I don’t any longer and I urge you to loosen up your definitions as well.

**for lack of a better term. Creative slump, creative block, creative ebb… What I mean is any time that it’s difficult to create for whatever reason. Lack of energy. Lack of motivation. Lack of ideas. Or something else altogether.

***in truth we are never without ideas. Usually we just can’t think of our ideas and need a way to remind ourselves. This is one of the reasons sketchbooks and journals are so important.

****read more about my thoughts on social media here