This week, we’re talking about ways to get the joy back in your creative practice. I’m the kind of person who leans towards burnout as soon as I start a new project and I need to consciously slow myself down to avoid the inevitable art block.

If that sounds familiar, I have some ideas of quick things that can help break you out of that cycle and bust through art block like a champ! These are things that I need work on, or have worked for me in the past. I hope they’re helpful. Thanks for letting me chat at you!

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* Journal

* Journal podcast episode: https://open.substack.com/pub/beckyhelms/p/15-8-reasons-i-love-journaling-with

* Some prompts:

* When did I start to feel stuck?

* What do I love about my creative job/practice?

* What do I hate about it?

* What’s a small change I can make today?

* Try a new medium

* Snart episodes: https://open.substack.com/pub/beckyhelms/p/24-snart-theme-for-may-with-becky

* If you’re an illustrator, grab some clay. If you’re a ceramicist, carve a linoleum block. If you’re a print maker, crochet a granny square.

* Get out of your comfort-zone and do something wildly different, but still creative.

* Go for a walk

* No music, podcast or audiobook.

* Just be alone with your thoughts and clear out the cobwebs.

* Bring a small sketchbook or notebook if you need them to remember epiphanies.

* Go to a place

* Visit a museum, arboretum, plant nursery/garden center, park with a sketch book or notebook.

* Sit and sketch, or write. This is purely for inspiration

* Take a class or watch a YouTube video

* Do this with the express purpose of throwing it away.

* You can keep it if you want, but it’s just for you.

* Jennifer Perkins Junk Journal

* 5 minute free form drawing every single day

* No thoughts, just scribbles

* Use creative prompts

* Lindsay Jean Thomson’s 100 Day Project

* Adam Ming’s Ten Minute Artist

* Art journaling specific: https://joyfulartjournaling.com/57-art-journal-prompts/

* More abstract and detailed: https://gelpress.com/blogs/art-and-inspiration/30-creative-drawing-prompts-for-artists?srsltid=AfmBOoqJjKdZbGV0Hs2g4VPqBZIqbsG6Si9xKpwy2mJ2bVRE-OkAb4-9

* Buddy drawing/crafting

* Get together with someone else and work together

* Even if you’re just working quietly, or over zoom, not interacting at all, having that other person there for you in the moment is the key.

* You can collab, or not. No pressure.

* Recreate a favorite classic artwork

* Pick something super old and try to mimic the techinique

* Or go another direction and do it your style

* Go eat something and take a nap

* Sometimes we’re tired and hungry and need a break

* The juxtaposition of your wellbeing and productivity can get out of whack very quickly in capitalist society

Find me all over the place!

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeckyhelms/

* Substack: https://substack.com/@beckyhelms

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeckyHelms

* Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thebeckyhelms/_saved/

* Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/beckyhelms.bsky.social

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