I’ve got to be honest. I’ve been dreading writing this month’s post. I’ve been struggling to create. BUT I’ve heard a lot of other creators say the same thing recently so I’m plunging in to talk about creating art in difficult times.

Every once in a while my creativity hits a brick wall and refuses to cooperate. I know I’m not alone. It happens to all of us and it can be for any number of reasons. Life has been an incredible challenge (in multiple ways) and when that happens, it can be hard to create. It’s usually a sign that our well has run dry.

I was talking about this term, the well, with my illustrators group just a few weeks ago. Do you know what the well is? Remember me mentioning The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron back in December? Brace yourselves, I’m about to mention it again.

I’ve loved Julia’s work since I first discovered it years ago (oddly enough NOT through The Artist’s Way but a different book). She knows about creativity. But after doing the book study last year of AW, I’m now a die-hard fan. That book was a game changer for me (and for many other creatives). If you haven’t read it yet, do yourself a favor and do so. 

It’s very possible (as this book was published 30 years ago) that the “well” analogy came from her. We all have a well and we fill it with all sorts of things: books, tv shows, movies, life events, etc. We also pull from it constantly when we create. And we can DEPLETE it. It’s hard to realize we’ve done it, but more often than not when we can’t create it’s because our well has run dry.

So how do you fill it? You have to go back to the basics. In the AW, Julia posits that you need to make these two tools part of your everyday practice 1) Morning Pages and 2) Artist Dates.

I won’t bog down on the first. Suffice it to say that Morning Pages are exactly what they sound like. You get up and you write 3 pages long hand and let your brain dump onto the page. It gets brain chatter out of the way daily so you can then dive deeper into creativity. I’ve seen it work so I’m a fan, but I admit I’m not a morning person and struggle to get up even earlier to do it daily. I take something someone said recently (I don’t remember who) as a practice: I come to the page (or task at hand) most days.

Let’s instead focus on the Artist Date. That’s the key here for when you’re struggling. But before I dive in, let’s talk about my struggle a little bit. Maybe you’ll recognize yourself.

Work has been hard (our school possibly being closed, massive budget cuts, and a potential teacher strike have taken a toll this year). Life has been harder (death, hate, and fear at every turn). Amazing steps forward in unexpected ways with my art (leaving me filled with dread, comparison, perfectionism, and paralysis in some ways). Exhaustion (physically and mentally) have set in. Any of that sound familiar?

Artist Dates are vital in these times. Our inner artist is a CHILD. What do you do to play with your inner artist? If you’re a writer, it could be trying a different way of writing (a form poem like a haiku?). OR it could be trying some experimental art that no one ever sees (playing with collage? trying to play a musical instrument?). If you’re an artist, it could be playing with a new medium (you usually work in oil painting? why not try watercolor and glitter?). OR taking a new art class that will light you up. It could be as simple as watching all the Oscar nominated “best of the year” films (I used to do that every year) or going to a museum to look at art. It’s different for every person because our interests are always different.

Why are these dates important? Because every single creative person needs to play. We cannot fill the well without play. And the funny thing is, I knew this before I read AW! I’ve learned that teaching is demanding (I know, big surprise) and that life happens in seasons for me. As such, I’m ALWAYS drained at the end of the school year. And the summer is my prime creative season so I don’t have time to waste on sleeping for a week and waiting for my creativity to catch up. I somehow figured out a hack years ago that worked: sign up for a brand new art class or play with a new art tool immediately following school closure. I play and experiment without any pressure or expectation and voila! I thrive! 

I recently heard a speech by writer Brandon Sanderson talking about AI (an incredibly intelligent speech I highly recommend by the way) and it ended with a line I want to steal (but won’t spoil). Instead, I will twist it into what is going to be my new mantra going forward for a bit.

I’m realizing I’m struggling with perfectionism (a repeat battle for me) and coming to the page or canvas is a struggle. I wrote an incredibly crappy brand new first draft last month that was incredibly disappointing. I painted a watercolor that just didn’t work. I sketched “great” concepts but they turned out horrible. Why? Because I’m putting pressure on my creations and on my expectations for it. I wanted the story to be brilliant and marketable and funny and I wanted the sketches to be great for social media. ETC. 

Just stop it Jena! Stop putting all that pressure on everything! Let something be fun and let it be. JUST CREATE THE CRAP. That’s it. That’s my mantra: “Just create the crap.”

Without crappy first drafts, nothing gets created. And no one ever needs to see them. Just do it. Let there be ugly art. Hellfire, just scribble with crayons on paper, if that’s what you need to do. That’s what kids do. They’re perfectly fine creating nothing out of paper with scissors and glue (they do it every time). We lose the glee of our young creator when we only focus on the end products.

I marvel at the creativity I see in the 5-year-olds I teach. They are so thrilled to art. Every single time. So if you’re struggling, find time to play. Time travel and ask “what did young me enjoy doing?” Have you done that in a while? One of my Kindergartners brought a staff he had made in boy scouts to school yesterday. It had all sorts of animals carved into it and colored with markers. It was glorious.

Play with creativity and it will reward you. So go play. That’s what I’m going to go do right now.