It’s amazing to me how quickly a bout of creators block can come on and how long it can linger in my system. It’s always unexpected too - like one morning I wake up and that creative part of my brain rebels against productivity as soon as I sit down to complete a creative task. Even observing the signs, taking care of myself, and balancing my work/life schedule, it still catches me, and this one has been persisting since December of last year.
I think that 20 years in the creative industry has taught me that while creativity is an awesome thing to utilize when you feel creative, in the business world, creativity on demand can be difficult to sustain. And while good scheduling and good productivity practices can help get the most out of the creative mind, sometimes, it’s a slog. It’s also why as an artist, I believe that deadlines are a fluid, living organism that evolves and morphs over time. My clients though, tend to disagree. ;)
But when these unfortunate periods of non-creative-productivity pass with a bit of time, it’s my personal work that tends to suffer the most. Editing photos, creating art, posting to social media - all those things kind of take a back seat as I use my more narrow windows of creative focus to finish current projects.
Thankfully, I feel like this spell is passing, and to be honest, I’m also excited to get out of the USA for a while and stimulate my creativity a bit. That’s why with all the uncertainty in my upcoming travel plans, I’m really excited to take a trip to Sharjah for the Xposure International Photography Festival, February 9th - 15th. It’s my 3rd time speaking and teaching workshops at this amazing event, and it doesn’t hurt that the venue is surrounded by stunning cityscapes and beautiful deserts and coastline. Hopefully, this gives me a nice creative boost!
