For some time I’ve wanted to write about the devastating creative artist’s BLOCK, sometimes referred to as writer’s block. What do you do when you, a creative person, feel unhappy—and stuck? This elegant artistic portrayal, called “The Passion of Uncertainty,” by Leonid Pasternak (1862-1945), shows a writer wrestling with a creative block, but it reflects the painter’s own frustration. I experienced a creative block recently after the loss of a family member. So I emailed many fellow creatives to ask: What is YOUR remedy for becoming “unstuck?” I fall prey to self-criticism, apathy, resentment, and fear of failure. Many friends suggested I loosen the thought process.
History of “Creative Block”
Austrian psychologist Edmund Bergler first coined the term “Creative Block” in 1947. He said creative people should try to find ways to remove anxiety about painting a new piece or writing a new work. Some thinkers recommend “free writing.” Before Bergler came up with “writer’s block,” Dorothea Brande, in her 1934 book, Becoming a Writer, recommended free writing:
Write or paint for fifteen minutes each morning—forget about grammar or structure, or composition, and avoid the feeling of commitment to your art—just write, or just paint. Do not fear a blank canvas or a white page, and make no corrections.
Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac made this one of his main concerns. Along with Burroughs and Ginsberg, he pioneered free-form artistry.
Here’s what my creative artist friends, both writers and painters, said about my blockage problem:
Do the opposite of what you’ve been doing. If you’re working on a large project, do a small one, take it to a comfortable place. “Go to an extreme,” my artist friend said. “Move back to a more comfortable place.”- Go as far away from where you are as possible. Leave the house, the studio…. Observe chaos, see how it resolves in natural order. YOU are part of that order.
- When you feel stuck, remember that doubt drives your work. ‘Stuck’ is a part of the discovery of where you will go NEXT.
- Another artist friend said, “Adversity is wealth; you don’t need to get rid of this feeling. It’s one of the sources of energy and wisdom.”
- Ask your best friends about your project: Does this make sense? Are these concepts getting across? How can I improve on this project? Then listen but don’t always follow the advice.
- Go see art, listen to poetry or music. Make a mental note that the music or poetry or canvases you saw or heard were at one time new babies. Then write, paint, or compose—put things down…they are NEW.
- GO eat Noodles with friends.
- Read about someone who soothed themselves through a hard time, such as reading poems by Rilke or Browning. Creative people are sensitive—and they must KNOW they’re not alone.
- When you feel stuck, or stagnant, make circles, draw them u
ntil you don’t look at them anymore. Make notes under each circular drawing about how the circle helped you get un-stuck…then take a hot bath. Feel as much of the world as fits in one bath, drain it all, dry off—and walk away. - Look at Renaissance and Old Master paintings or read some Dante or Chaucer. Remind yourself that art and creativity are good, and you, as the creator, need patience, and you are one of a select group in this world.