Back to Basics - Why you have to power through

This week in my series of posts about creative blocks and how to get through them I'd like to share a quote with you. There's a fabulous quote by Ira Glass that goes like this:
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through." 
The key phrase in this for those of us who are stuck is "the most important thing you can do is DO A LOT OF WORK".
This means that no matter how uncreative you may feel, or have that block that keeps you from making new work, it's so important to POWER THROUGH this and make more work.  It may not be good.  It may be cool and awesome.  But the most important thing is to KEEP WORKING. 
This is why thinking about working in a series or having a recurring creative reason (like weekly or monthly journal quilts) helps you get through these, as you are almost required to keep working. 
Next week, I'm going to post some thoughts about my Weekly Quilt project and why I do it, etc that may help you think about this process.  

Back to Basics - Work on a UFO

Believe it or not I have many UFOs(UnFinished Objects).  Yup, a whole box of them in fact.  Sometimes I pull them out for an emergency gift.  But I find most often that I go back to one particular UFO when the chips are down.  
My first quilt.
Yes, my first ever quilt is still a UFO.  It's not that I don't like it, because I do.  But I chose to hand quilt it, and well.... it's never gotten past that point.
When I'm not particularly inspired, but I know I need to keep my hands working on something, I pull out this quilt and the hoop I quilt it with, and start at it again.
Maybe something about handquilting just makes me want to seek some other, faster method of completing the quilting process... I don't know. Usually after a week of working on this in front of the TV will have me back at my machine happily. Strangely, I don't "hate" to handquilt. I have done it many times on lots of little projects. I do actually get excited to bring this quilt out, and I'm just as happy when I put it away again. For me, this quilt is a slump-buster.  
Do you have a UFO that you go to when you are not feeling very creative?  (Should I post a picture of my first quilt that is still a UFO?) 

Back to Basics - Slow Down

When working through a "creative block" I often turn "back to the basics" and that helps me power through creative slumps.  One of the ways I do this is to slow down, and really work on the "process" of quilting.
This may mean slowing down my piecing, and really get my seams and corners to match.  This may mean slowing down my free motion quilting and make nice deliberate designs instead of powering through it.  This may mean slowing down the design process, and crating fully formed designs before I even start.
Whatever the slowing down process you choose, use the time you add to enjoy the process.  Have soothing music on to help calm the mood. You may find that even the parts of the art making journey that you didn't like before will end up with new appreciation!

Back to Basics - Draw for 15 minutes a day

This is not just the comic book industry person in me talking.  Drawing for 15 minutes a day engages the creative side of your brain.  Now, before you protest that you are not capable of drawing, I'm not saying you have to sketch like da Vinci, the king of all scribblers.... Just put a pencil to paper and let your mind go.  It really is a skill anyone can do with repetition.  Lyric Kinard is spending a year drawing faces so she can get better at them, and her blog frequently posts about her efforts. 
The Zentangle craze has basically formalized a name for what I have been doing for years with my doodles.  If you need some structure, maybe you can check out the many Zentangle resources online to get some hints.
Many of my quilts start out as tiny pencil sketches.  I keep them in my sketchbooks until I'm out of creativity and I need something to work on. So when in a creativity rough patch, I get out the sketchbook and draw for 15 minutes at a time.  Maybe you'll draw your next masterpiece.
Does drawing help you bust through a creative block?


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Back to Basics - Take a Class

It's Tuesday and hat means it's time to think about "Back to Basics" when we look at going back to how we began to quilt to get us over a creative block!
One of the methods I use to get out of a slump is to take a quilt class.  I attend classes at most of the quilt shows I go to, and I also take classes that my local shop and local guild offers.
Most quilters have taken a class at least once, especially beginners.  Everyone had to start somewhere, right?  
There's some thought about taking classes that say that if you want to make it as an artist, you should not take classes so you are not influenced in your work.  I have taken a number of classes from people whose work I like.  I usually aim to learn a new technique.  I also like to see how quilt teachers teach, so that when I teach I am a better teacher.  Everyone who sees art is influenced in some way, so I don't worry so much about that, especially in a slump!
I have taken some classes that I knew the technique and method before I signed up, but took the class anyway.  These classes are to either refresh my memory or to get my creative juices going.  
Some of my favorite classes were ones where the teacher told stories while we worked, and that ended up being enjoyable for a whole secondary reason. 
Did you ever take a class that helped spark your creativity?

Back to Basics - The Go-To Book

***Welcome to my Back to Basics topic which I will blog about on Tuesdays on how I go back to the basics of art quilting to get through creative blocks or slumps***

Most people have that "go to" book that they refer to many many times over their art career.  For me, it's this one:

When I am in a creative slump, I reach for this book.  I try one of the many fabric manipulations out of it.  A sample on a scrap piece of fabric.  
For you it may be a familiar pattern that you have made many times. 
Maybe it's a book that just inspires you with pictures?  The book Creative Quilting: The Journal Quilt Project is one that always inspires me.  Look at these with "new" eyes.  Try to see a detail you never noticed before.  Think about the techniques used and see if it's one you haven't tried before.   
If seeing someone else's work isn't for you, you could try the book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life by Twyla Tharp.  It's got great motivators to keep you on track to stay out of a slump.
What do you reach for when you have a creative block?  Any books you like to read or patterns you make over and over?

Back to Basics

Do you sometimes get overwhelmed and find you can't create?  For me, it doesn't matter where the overwhelming part comes from: life, work, art, family...whatever.  When I get overwhelmed, the creativity shuts down.

Some people can quickly turn it back on again, and some people lose interest altogether.  I am in the middle.  It takes a while, but I can kick myself over like an engine that's sat too long in the garage and get myself going again. 

One of the ways I get myself going is getting "Back to Basics".  It's easy to forget that the basics of our chosen artform can be so satisfying, and then your mind is racing and full of new ideas.  

Things in the quilting part of my life are just as hectic as the rest, and I decided to pay more attention to the quilt "business" I'm building.  To that end I'm planning to do some more blogging about "Back to Basics" topics to explain what I do when stumped so that they can help you too! 
I hope you enjoy them!  Check back, subscribe to my RSS feed, or Follow me on the right hand side panel to get updates on the blog as I post them!