Wouldn't it be wonderful if every time we wanted to paint a picture, write a poem, or sculpt a figure the ideas would flow smoothly and the creation would be perfect? Unfortunately, that is rarely the case. Right now, as far as my art work goes, I might as well be living in the desert. No matter how often I sit down at the computer, I cannot envision anything. We all work differently. I need an initial concept. Without that, I am lost.

Have you ever wondered why at times, ideas keep flowing so fast that you cannot keep up with them, and at other times they are not present at all? Recently, I have been trying to analyze the situation to try to rekindle my ideas. I have the need to work, but I cannot create anything, so all I feel is frustration. Short of having to prepare for a show which always seems to spur me creatively, I have been trying to see if there are other avenues that I haven't explored yet. I will share some avenues that sometimes have worked for me since a "Creative Desert" is a state of mind that we all experience from time to time. I always wonder what brings it on because I have never found a particular state that precedes it. It is something that just seems to happen.

The following is a list of some of the ways that have helped me in the past overcome this blockage.

• Do something else that is creative but in another field - like write an article.
• Don't worry about not doing the art work; remember, the creativity will return.
• Do something mundane like scanning in all those negatives that have been sitting around.
• Stay away from the computer and catch up on all the things that remain normally undone.

©Paula Sanders 2002
from my Renderosity column July 10, 2002