"Damn!... BRAIN FREEZE"

[originalJAM]

No I'm not talkin about 7-11s' slushies....

I'm talkin about your brain locked and can't come up with new ideas and or even get in the mood of creating ideas given to you!
I know all you guys been there in one way or another!
How do you guys get out and break that RUT pattern! Share with us!

JAM,...............................

[LewMoxinsghost]

My brain requires me to pretend that no other artist has ever tackled a problem before, that I am the first, and everyone is relying on me to deliver something cool so I'd better not let them down. Sometimes this doesn't work and the pressure ends up crippling me and so I never get far. But I think a healthy amount of pressure is good- so do what you can to create it. Mostly, if I just let my mind wander and come up with stuff naturally then I do better. I write down random ideas whenever they come to me in a small notebook I carry and I review it later on when I am stuck. (I usually have no idea WTF I wrote, but that doesn't prevent the exercise from working). So randomness helps to- random events stuck into a regular schedule. This is especially true if you do projects completely unrelated to what you are trying to do- anything to get the mind's wheels greased up- force your project to the back of your mind where it is all instinct. (I think this is partly why paintings are so expensive- you are actually also "buying" all the work done prior to the painting in order for the artist to come up with that one particular painting.) But this is all just stuff I've done. I am as curious as you because I have been blocked before and nothing I tried seemed to work- it just sort of naturally went away. Can I get a second? Or a rebuttal? Bret, if you are reading this, what do you do?

[Spidey]

Pressure is indeed a rib poker. As evident by my last-minute runway challenge entries, but I think faking pressure is less effective. You have to incredibly assertive to be able to fool yourself. If you try to force yourself past it it only adds to your stress that art block gives you in the first place. Don't confuse stress with pressure. With stress an outcome seems hopeless, but with pressure you can see an outcome it's just that somethings are against you like time. Sometimes when I get really bad art block, I find it's best to step away from the table and relax by watching a movie, listening to music, drinking some tea or reading a book. The key here is to relax. After you relax and let your mind "breathe" a bit it's easier to tackle an art block. You should be able to create under your terms and have it be fun otherwise it's work.

[originalJAM]

Thanks you guys,..............

Real stories from ARTISTS that work in the real ART related situations. Though you don't have to be a pro to have that ART block, you could have an ART peice for Aunt Peggy and she asked you to draw her cat!
Which... the cat you can't stand, because she brings it over and it drives your Pit-Bull nuts!(just a scenario:))

Anyway, C'mon fellas(ladies) we all have those real life stressouts-ART related, what's yours and how do you deal with them/it!

JAM,...............................