Sometimes, even creative people can suffer from a lack of ideas. This happens often as an artist is building a following—he/she starts to feel the pressure to create, and the creativity doesn’t come.
It’s important not to get frustrated, but instead to use the opportunity to refresh your inspiration and gain some new ideas for further artworks. Taking a break from your studio, office or usual workplace and changing your environment will help you find new inspirations to express your creativity.
Consider the following tips:
1. Change your environment—Go for a walk, visit a garden, travel somewhere new. Get outside of the four walls where you usually work.
2. Take photographs—Photos are an excellent way of jogging your memory and providing your with a new scene for inspiration. Remember how you felt when you visited that place. Leaf through your photo albums from holidays past.
3. Visit an art gallery—Nothing invigorates an artist more than seeing great works of art. A trip to a local art gallery or museum will provide you with the opportunity to see works completely out of the realm of what you work on yourself. It reminds you that the possibilities for creative development are endless at a time when you are feeling lost. Getting inspired by your favourite artist or artwork, spending time viewing your favourite artworks is always very grounding and inspiring.
4. Meet with other artists—talk about how you deal with creative burnout with other people in your field. More than anything, this will help you cope with natural peaks and troughs in productivity. Spending time with friends is always a welcome way to reaffirm your strengths and remind you that a lapse in creative productivity does not amount to being a failure.
5. Take a break—Do something completely different and non-work related. For creative types, the mind is always open to inspiration, so even doing something you wouldn’t normally do will bring you new ideas and inspiration.
6. Head to the local library—Find writing, art or music that inspires you, or try something you’ve never read before, listened to, or a band you’ve never heard of. Look through art books and read about artists who inspire you.
7. Go to a live concert—See what other creative people do. There’s nothing like appreciating another artist or musician and seeing later how they have influenced you.
8. Relax! Most importantly, try not to get stressed about low points between projects. Often this is not creative burnout at all, but just a natural expelling of creative energy after a long creative project. Learn to enjoy the downtimes between projects where you are free to soak up new inspirations for future projects.
Now go get creative!
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