Finding ways to be inspired

There are some days when I don’t feel inspired, when creating feels heavy and not light. Deep down and logically I know I can break the creative funk but it’s so hard to get moving and doing what I know I need to do.

When this happens I have a few tactics I use to break the creative funk. It follows the principle of motivation/inspiration coming after you’ve started the work but these are a few ideas that work for me;

1. I find challenges on instagram that I create work for. There are plenty of great challenges that go all year round ( Inktober52 and Jehane’s Golden Thread have a new prompt every week). Ive incorporated a couple of these into my creative rituals to help me draw/ create in ways I don’t usually.
2. I draw from life – usually my dog sleeping ( as that’s what he does most of the day)or flowers and leaves in the garden. Try setting yourself a time limit of 15 or 30 minutes -realism or perfection is not the goal here- its just a way to dust out cobwebs.
3. Doodle for fun and then see what happens. I usually find myself creating patterns when I doodle which then sometime become a carer more interesting design or just remains as a doodle. The idea s that I give myself free rein to play. If I decide I want to draw a dragon, it doesn’t matter if I deicide the dragon wears flower pots as shoes or if I’ve a whole collection of swirls.
4. Go for a short walk outside and resist the temptation to look at my phone. Really be present, and notice the sounds and smells and everything around me. I find when I return back home, I’m usually quite happy to start some creative work.