I think that I speak for many artists when I say that being stuck in a creative rut is really tough. I feel I have been in such a place when it comes to everything I have done creatively: painting, drawing, doing handmade stuff, facepainting etc.
It has been quite a long time since I have done a facepainting. I have had some ups and downs in my personal life and somehow I just did not feel creatively prepared to just sit down and do something. Anything. On my face. At one point I wondered: where is that girl who loved doing facepainting? Where is she gone?
I remember discovering this passion 4 years ago. It liberated me as it provided a nice escape from a reality I was not willing to accept. While doing this painting on my body every worry disappeared and I felt blissful. I discovered this part of me in the toughest moments.
I now realize that from the deepest depths of our soul we can pull strenght and find the lost part of ourselves and the will to do what We want. Creative people do not like to feel trapped or forced to do what other people want. Unfortunately we live in a society where , with the early education we received, it seems like a mission impossible to be a wild bird. Flying with the wings of your creative mind. But as time has passed and I slowly gained some ( very useful and necessary) maturity, I realized that it is in the power of our mind to always pull ourselves from the creative rut. To find ways to make time for our passions and hobbies. To do what we want without the pressure to conform or to deliver what we think would be the best.
Just do it. Just grab a pencil or brush and paint. Start with a dot. With whatever. It does not have to be perfect and you do not have to know the end result. This is how I tackle with rut. I just make one step and do something, even if it is very small and maybe way too late.
It is also important not to chastise yourself because you have not done creative stuff for x weeks or months. It can happen. Be kind with yourself and understand that you are only human.
On this facepainting I tried to convey this creative rut, this form of inner desperation that artists can experience when nothing they consider good comes out. When they do not "produce" art. I wanted to convey sadness, desperation, frustration and inner agony. This is how artistic rut feels. It is dreadful.
I wanted to show this because it is easy to think that an artist is creative all the time just because you see the art they post. But the reality is that it is not a walk on the Creative Boulevard all the time. And it takes time, patience and strong will to dig deep and find a new source from which the infinite creativity hidden deep within can come to light. Again and again and again.
