THE BEST WAY TO BECOME "UNBLOCKED"

I was asked on Instagram awhile back how I get “unblocked” and it’s safe to say my answer wasn’t well received. This younger artist wanted an actionable tip or plan and the truth is…I don’t think there is anything you can DO to become “ublocked”….I don’t think that’s a thing, at least it isn’t for me.

Let me sum this up in the easiest way possible…which I think in my IG DM came across as pretentious but it’s actually anything but that. Everyone goes through seasons…seasons of mass creativity or production, seasons of rest, seasons of millions of ideas, seasons of obsession with one idea, seasons of nothing, seasons of self doubt, seasons of intense confidence, etc. When I feel “blocked,” not that I would ever word it like that I know that I need to take a break, my brain, my body and my heart just need some stillness and that’s totally ok. If I have this intense pressure to always produce work I’ll go mad. I make art because something’s in me and needs to get out, if I’m “blocked” then I’m manufacturing something that doesn’t come from a genuine place and it will flop. No good work ever comes from forcing anything.

I don’t take walks to free up my mind, I don’t journal, I don’t look at other artist’s work, I don’t read, I don’t actually do anything when I don’t feel an idea for a piece or a collection. I might do those things for fun but not to open myself up or gain inspiration. I just live my life and I know something will come when it’s ready and that hasn’t failed me yet. My paintings come from my life and the lives of the people around me very often. Years ago I was asked when I started painting the way I do now and what the turning point was…I responded “before this I had nothing to say, now I do” So there’s the real answer…you won’t be blocked when you actually have something to say and that’s what being an artist is, having something to say.

Catherine