Did you miss me last week? I had to take a break to get my dad’s BIG birthday gift done. I enjoyed researching and illustrating it, it made me remember little things that I’d forgotten. Here’s a sneaky peek at what I made (he’s not signed up to my newsletter so he won’t see it until tomorrow when we all surprise him).
Your past is a great place to start when you have creative block. It’s also cathartic. I find it’s a great way to work through some of things that happened during my early life and to reflect. Sometimes I explore some of my personality traits, quirks, conditions - anything really. Some of my best work (in my opinion) has come out this way.
To get started just think back on funny moments or repeated behaviour you had as a kid - maybe you liked to play dress up, maybe you used to draw on walls, maybe you had an imaginary friend, maybe you remember feeling isolated or overwhelmed. Sometimes, you don’t understand or examine those things fully until you start exploring them and reflecting on them in a creative way.
Give it a try - your past is your context. It all feeds in to who you are as an artist. I’m not suggesting you bare your soul or any details you aren’t comfortable with, just the nuances, snatches of memories or times that stick out to you. You don’t owe anyone an explanation, and you don’t have to show every piece of work on social media either. These are the ways we develop and grow. We are in control of who sees these behind the scenes reflections.
Max