Feeling Stuck? 5 Ways for Moving Past Creative Blocks

Have you ever had those moments of feeling completely uninspired? Do you ever struggle with the creative blocks that many of us experience? If so, you are not alone.

Creative blocks come and go but they feel impossible to overcome in the moment when you are experiencing a block.

How to Move Past a Creative Block

Moving past a creative block is not always easy, but there are things that you can do to try to spur creativity and move past these uninspired moments. Here are some ideas of things you can try to move past a creative block.

Creative Play

Give yourself time for creative play to move past a creative block. Try limiting yourself to a few materials. When we limit what we can use in our creative process, it can lead to something new or different. Start stamping random images or start drawing shapes and see what comes of it.

Try using a surface that you are not attached to. The idea of creative play is not coming up with a final product or even something that is beautiful. It is giving yourself a place to explore and see what comes out.

Even if the result is not something that you want to use in a project, you have still learned something valuable. By practicing with your art tools, you learn your tools better and improve in your skills, whether you realize it or not.

Inspiration from your Surroundings

Getting inspiration from your surroundings is another way to move past a creative block. One of my favorite places to help with inspiration is my garden. I will often sit in my garden and start sketching what I see.

This is also a place to look at what is around me and the colors that I am surrounded by. I am often inspired by colors or themes that can be included in my next project. Getting away from our usual environment and changing our surroundings can help with the creative block.

Reference Photos

Often when I do not know what to create, I will go through my photos for inspiration on what I would like to draw or paint next. If I am feeling like journaling or scrapbooking, these can sometimes be included in my next page.

Not everything we make needs to be from our imagination. By using reference photos as a jump off point, this inspiration can help us get the creative thoughts flowing. Reference photos do not have to be your personal photos, they can be from anywhere. Just be aware of copyright when you are choosing your reference photos.

Trying Other Artistic Styles

Sometimes the creative block comes from doing similar creative work all the time. By trying other artistic styles and emulating other artists, this can be a useful way to move past the creative block. This also might be a way to add new ideas to your current creative practice.

If you have been following me for a while, you will notice that I do not stick to one medium or one creative practice. This is one way that I keep trying new things and it prevents me from falling into the creative blocks that can often come.

Being Kind to Yourself

We need to be kind to ourselves when we get creative blocks. Sometimes half the reason we experience a creative block is putting too much pressure on ourselves. By showing ourselves love and compassion this gives us space to be truly creative.

I often find that my best projects are not in my favorite art journal or most expensive canvases. The pressure of trying to create something amazing is often enough to bring a creative block.

Understanding when our best creative time is can help prevent creative blocks. Personally, the end of the day is not my best creative time. I am often tired both mentally and physically and sitting there staring at a piece of paper is so discouraging.

I have learned that creating early in the morning is best for me. By creating when I feel rested gives me energy for the deep creative work. By listening to our bodies and by showing ourselves compassion, this can make such a difference in moving us past creative blocks.

Questions?

I hope that this has given you some ideas on how to move past the creative block. It happens to all of us, and it can feel hard to move past. I would love to hear what you think about what I shared and how you move past your own creative blocks. Please leave a comment below or contact me directly. I hope that you have a creative week and find inspiration!