Artist’s Block and How I Overcame It

Hello to all my readers!  I’ve been absent for a while on my blog, my social media and my website.  I took some time off during the holidays to enjoy some creating for fun and spend time with family and friends.  I had a great time spending time with loved ones during the holidays, and enjoying time with our grandchildren, children, and with my husband.  I didn’t succeed in getting much creative time in though.  I do need to figure out a better way to carry on in my creativity during the holidays. 

So, the holidays ended and we put away the décor, and then life threw some curves.  A very dear family member lost her dad very suddenly, and then a loss of a very dear aunt to me.  We were with my aunt’s family for a week during her hospital stay, which was a blessing for us to be able to be there for support during a very hard time.  We came home for a few days, then my aunt passed away, so then we returned to be with family for her memorial service.  This aunt will be greatly missed by our whole family, but to me she played a very important role in my life.  We both are artistic, and we shared lots of fun times about our creativity and had many great conversations about creative adventures.  She was an encourager for me and always cheered me on in my endeavors.  She will forever hold a special place in my heart. 

Life does throw us curves at times.  It’s wonderful to have fun, celebrations, and joyous occasions, but in reality, there are sad and grievous times as well.  We grow in those times in different ways, and learn how to be there for other people in their grief.  Times like these can be hard to navigate in our normal lives, and find us struggling with how to get back to a “normal life”.  That is where I found myself a few weeks ago.  Usually, being creative helps me pull out of these hard times, but this time it wasn’t. I had no inspiration to create anything, and I found myself in a major “artist’s block”.  I would look through books, pictures, etc. just hoping to find something to inspire me and get me going again.  It just wasn’t happening.  I really had to lean on the Lord through all of this, allow myself to grieve, even though it hurt, and trust that my passion for creativity would return. 

Finally, I decided to just make myself create, no matter how I felt.  I pulled out a fun tutorial by a fellow artist of a mouse in a coffee mug filled with colored pencils.  It just looked fun and colorful, and I needed some fun.  I completed the piece and then decided to gift it to my grandson, who has a great love for art.  We love to draw together and he has become quite a good artist!  I thought he would like this piece to put in his own art space at home.  I framed it and wrapped it up to give as his Valentine’s gift from his KiKi and Pops. When he opened this up, the look on his face stirred something within me.  He was so joyful to have something I had created. It reminded me of why the gift of creativity is in us all, the gift is for others.  We are made in the image of our Creator God, and we create things every day, whether we believe it or not. The meals we make for our families; the atmosphere we bring into our homes or workplaces; the art we may create; the books, poems, or songs we write; the business we build, all of these are creative things we make for others.  Others are blessed by our giftings, also known as our creations. 

Seeing my grandson’s smile, sparked something within me for why God gave me the passion to create art, to write, and to inspire others to move forward in their creative giftings so others in their circle of life will be blessed and encouraged. Such a simple thing to reignite me!  I’m still trying to work through some things, but that’s okay.  I started another tutorial this week, by a very favorite artist of mine.  This project was something an art student of mine was going to begin this week as well.  I decided to work on this while she was, and take a different spin on it, using a different surface and some different techniques. It has been a very fun and inspiring piece for me, and she and I had fun while working together this week.  Sharing art time with others is always fun and inspiring.  I will get back to creating original art, but having these tutorials helped me get beyond this block.

In the midst of going through what I’ve mentioned, I also endured some problems with my vision for a couple of months.  I am glad to report the vision problem has been resolved and I’m so thankful being able to fully see all of the beauty around me.  The procedure to correct my vision took place just a few days before leaving on a cruise with my husband and great friends.  This vacation was a breath of fresh air for me after the last several months, and I’ve returned with inspiration to create and carry on in my artist’s journey.  I look forward to sharing my journey with you.

I know this has been a little long, but I hope it may have helped someone who has felt paralyzed and doesn’t know how to go on.  Find something you can create, and bless someone else.   

If you are needing a creative outlet, I offer art lessons in a five-week session (each weekly session is three hours long). One session is ongoing right now, and the next one will begin May 10th.   The medium is colored pencil, but I have lots of creative ways to use them, even with other mediums. For more information, please email me @kjkeys@kimkeysart.com.

Create something beautiful today!