If you’ve found yourself here it’s likely because you’re having a hard time getting your creativity out. I’ve been there, lots of times. It’s hard to keep coming up with new and exciting ideas. It can be draining to work in the creative business, even if you love it.
I’ve been there, lots of times. And as someone who depends on her creative business to pay the bills, it can be really scary to suddenly find yourself without inspiration or motivation to make. But I’m here to tell you, I’ve always gotten through it to the other side, and you will too.
Over the years I’ve developed these ten ‘tried and true’ tactics for getting out of a creative rut or slump or whatever you’d like to call it. Pick a few to try, or try them all! They’re guaranteed to get your creative juices flowing again.
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10 Ways to Get Out of a Creative Rut
1. Try a new medium
If you normally love working with a certain medium but find your creativity lacking, it almost always helps to step into a different one for a little bit.
I usually love working with clay, illustrating, and painting, but sometimes I tire of them, and when I do, I jump into fiber arts for awhile. It helps me continue to be creative but gives me a break from thinking in certain cycles.
Here are some ideas for different mediums and types of art to try:
- Clay– air dry, kiln hardening, polymer, paper clay, oil based
- Illustration– pen and ink, pencil, colored pencil, chalk pastel, oil pastel, markers
- Painting– Watercolor, oil paint, acrylic, air brush
- Sculpture– installation art, land art, paper mache
- Woodworking– woodburning, furniture making, whittling, carving
- Fiber– needle felting, knitting, crocheting, weaving, embroidery
- Crafts– Basketry, macrame, sewing
These are just a few ideas to help you step out of your box, but the options are practically endless. Play around with different mediums, combine them, do whatever you like, just have fun and cut loose a bit!
2. Take a Dang Break
Sometimes the best response to burn out and creative fatigue is to lean into it.
You don’t need to work all the time. There’s no animal or plant in nature that works 365 days a year, except for most humans. Sometimes the perfect thing is a period of rest and time away from your work.
Have a month off to just live your life and do other things that you enjoy. You can’t endlessly create, everyone needs some time off once in a while.
I find that taking a hiatus from creating is essential to the process. Taking time off to spend with my family, enjoy other hobbies, and just live gives me the freedom to open my mind a bit and get unstuck. When I do come back to my work, I do so with fresh ideas and new energy.
3. Make something completely different
Set all those half finished projects aside, completely forget about your style, your focus, your customers. Just try something totally new, without any consideration for anyone else.
I normally love drawing animals, monsters, robots, and other really imaginitive playful things. But when I’m in a rut, I make a point of drawing something totally different.
One time I climbed out of a rut by spending a week drawing architecture and landscapes, something that normally I’d find a little boring, but I found ways to make it interesting and enjoyable. The practice opened me up to new possibilities, but more importantly, it just got me back to work.
Trying your hand at a totally different type of art than your norm can jerk you out of that rut, put your imagination and creativity to use in a totally different way, and hey, you might even find something you’ve never done before that you totally love.
4. Change up your daily habits and routine
We can feel stuck in creative ruts because we’re stuck in daily ruts too. Maybe your day to day life has become a little too predictable and ordinary. Shake things up a bit!
Do you normally brush your teeth with your dominant hand? Of course you do!
Try it with the opposite hand and see how it feels.
Take a different route to the grocery store.
Try getting up super early, or sleeping in super late.
Go out for coffee or make it at home, whatever is new and different for you.
Changing up your day to day routines and habits can be just the ticket to get you out of that same-old same-old mentality. When things feel new and different and exciting, it’s easy to start to feeling inspired.
Maybe go for a drive when you’d normally do laundry, stop into that antique shop you’ve always wondered about. Take yourself out to lunch in a new place instead of having the same old sandwich at home. Try watching something totally different on tv, something you’d never seen before or never even had any interest in.
Julia Cameron wrote in The Artist’s Way that it’s important to take yourself on an artist’s date, to go out and do something inspiring, exciting, different, and new. Treat yourself to an experience. Not only does this make life more fun, but it’s the perfect way to find inspiration to get back to work.
5. Clean and organize your studio
I’m the type of person who has to be able to SEE art supplies in order to feel inspired to use them. If they’re locked away in a drawer or cupboard, I forget they exist and don’t reach for them, ever.
If you’re a similar type of artist, maybe try re-arranging and re-organizing your studio so your supplies are in reach and visible, ready to inspire you or jump into action at a moment’s notice.
This tip might not make you feel energized and ready to work, and that’s okay, everyone is different. If cleaning and organizing isn’t your jam, feel free to jump to the next tip!
6. Create some ugly art
This is one of my favorite tips, because it’s SO easy and SO freeing.
Make a point of trying to make the ugliest art you possibly can. It’s truly super fun and a great way to get really creative.
How do you make ugly art you may ask?
There’s no right way to go about this, but the point is to set out to make something that is not beautiful, not enjoyable, not fun to look at. Make the ugliest thing you possibly can.
- Break all the rules of your medium
- You can mix up paint colors that don’t go together
- Draw with your non dominant hand
- Make a clay sculpture and drop it on the floor, see what happens!
- Make some pottery then break it to bits and put it back together a different way
Make art that’s unpolished, imperfect, wonky, and unideal.
This may be totally uncomfortable for you because you spent years honing your craft to avoid these mistakes. But I’m telling you, the more uncomfortable this makes you, the better. You’re in a rut for a reason, you’re bored because you’ve been doing things the same way for a long time. Change it up, make some ugly art and see what it opens in your mind.
7. Practice Self care
I know, I know, self care has become such a buzz word and we’re all just… over it. But how many of us are actually taking good care of ourselves every day?
Between work, taking care of kids, and taking care of the home, there’s little time for yourself in there.
So make some time. Time for you.
Do whatever it is that charges your batteries and gets you feeling good. For many artists, that’s making art, but in this instance, try something different on the list.
Some ideas for self care:
- Journal
- Take yourself out for coffee
- Take a bubble bath
- Read
- Do Yoga
- Take a nap
- Go for a long walk or a hike in a beautiful place
- Practice meditation
- Get under a cozy blanket and watch your comfort shows on netflix
- Bake or cook something delicious for yourself
8. Get a change of scenery
Going to a new place can spark a lot of creative inspiration. Whether you go alone or with others, drinking in new scenery is sometimes exactly what you need to get creative juices flowing.
Spending time in nature is a great way to find some creativity. I find myself imagining new pieces while I’m out on a hike or sitting in my backyard amongst the trees. Just be sure to bring a notepad with you so you can jot down ideas when they pop up!
Cultural places like museums and art galleries are a great way to see different types of art and interesting artifacts that can inspire your new work.
Shops with unique items are also a great way to find inspiration. Flea markets and antique shops offer items from decades ago that can spark something in you.
Ideas for new places to go:
- Aquarium
- Zoo
- Park
- Hiking
- Drive through the country
- Go camping
- Antique shops
- Art Gallery
- Museum
- Flea Market
- Thrift shops
- Farm
- Animal Rescues or cat cafes
9. Spend time with kids
Kids are endlessly creative and imaginative.
Just being in their presence is inspiring. They can make a game out of anything, they draw with no inhibitions, and tell stories that come from absolutely nowhere.
Tap into that flood of amazingness and spend some time with them. If you don’t have kids of your own, maybe a niece or nephew would like to have some quality time with you.
I find myself inspired by my kid all the time.
He can draw the silliest scribble on a piece of paper and can see monsters in it.
He puts together words that I’d never think could form a sentence. His naivety about the world makes him the most creative person I know, he doesn’t have filters or expectations for himself blocking his creative output.
Kids are the perfect inspiration for new work, give it a try!
10. Read Books
When all else fails, flipping through my books or reading a new book is always what gets me out of my creative rut. We have piles of art books in our house, both instructional and showcase type books. Looking through them always gives me ideas for new work and inspires me to get back to it.
Sometimes reading fiction books is what I need to put my mind in a new setting with new people.
Here are some of my favorite art books that always inspire me:
The Artist’s Way– this one is a must read, with tons of suggestions to spark creativity.
Steal Like an Artist– All of Austin Kleon’s books are excellent, but this is my favorite.
Women in Art– Reading about other artist’s lives and what inspires them might be just the ticket to get you making again.
Find your Artistic Voice– Lisa Congdon is a remarkable artist and writer, her books are super inspiring and her suggestions in this one always help me.
365 Days of Art– There are lots of drawing prompt books out there, I like this one because every day is a new creative exercise. You can go in order or just randomly choose, but there’s definitely something for everyone in here.
I hope that this list of things to do when you’re feeling stuck in a creative rut helps you to climb out of it. These are the things that always help me when I’m stuck, and my goal is always to help YOU become a better artist!
Please don’t be shy and let me know what tactics worked for you in the comments below!
