Saturday, April 21, 2007

Ever have artistic block?

It happens to all of us, we settle into our spot to start making beautiful things, look down at our piles, boxes and bags of supplies and feel completely uninspired ....... Sometimes I feel a bit of panic "Time is so precious - I need to get something done before this window of opportunity closes." Sometimes a bit of dread, "I'm not really an artist - who am I fooling, I can't even think of a new thing to make" and other times I just feel stuck.

What to do? There are many things people do to get over a mind block; take a walk, look at books / magazines for inspiration, listen to music or call a friend. My own favorite thing to do is clean up and organize my studio area. This may sound crazy, but it does the trick for me. As I pick up, fondle and think about all the pendants, beads, clay, glazes, chain, brushes and various tools to be put away, many of them will spark a new idea or rekindle one I had days or weeks ago. It seems that as my physical environment becomes organized, so does my mental environment. Give it a try and let us know of any great ideas you come up with!

And now for a bit of studio inspiration:

Lisa Peters shared her solution for storing her beautiful art beads.
This studio Caroline Sandlin is constructing would inspire me!

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