Facing My Creative "Funk"

This condition is not new to any artist...the demon known as "artistic block" sidelines us all at one point or another. Lately, I have been feeling a drought of sorts and have had little to no interest in creating at my art desk (even if I did have the time, which has also been in short supply.) The combination of outside commitments, limited free time and near zero interest, has led to an awful creative funk.

I've gotta tell you, I'm not enjoying this drought/funk/block...it's filling my head with all sorts of self-doubts and pesky insecurities. So...what to do...what to do?

"Turn to an art friend and pour out your heart and you will be heard, nurtured, encouraged and kicked in the pants."

Yes, that's what I did, and I knew I would get sage advice and cheerleading and just what I needed to get off my duff. This is not to say that my funk is gone entirely, but I did throw myself back into creating and actually wished I had more time to devote to it today. That's a good sign.

This journal page started out as a lesson for an online portraits class that I am taking. However, en route to becoming a portrait page it took a U-turn and became more of a collage when I didn't like the direction it was headed. And that's okay. I'll try again on the portrait and perhaps will have better luck next time. In relying on my tried and true collage/journaling tricks, I took the page from..."eh, not too hot" to "yea, it's okay." Reworking is okay. Not everything needs to be perfect the first time nor wind up the way it started. This realization was supported when I read an article by Samantha Kira Harding in Somerset Studio. (Funny that I should read that article today right after reworking this page.) Samantha speaks right to the notion that going a different direction than what you had intended is A-OK. Thanks for that affirmation, Samantha.

And thanks to my dear friend Pam Carriker, for always being there and for an awesome portraits class too...and I promise, I won't flunk out...I'll keep trying.

© Nancy Lefko