Unblocking creative blocks – The Artists Way – This Creative Life
Lately I have been working on my “STUFF”
The truth is, I didn’t know what my STUFF was and for quite some time now I wasn’t really sure I had stuff to work out.. I mean I thought I had dealt with all my life changing stuff years ago right??
In saying that though, there was something there… I mean, WHY do I kept sabotaging myself when it comes to creating art, what was stopping me? I finally get the time to sit down and do something and BANG! there is it suddenly there are other things that are seemingly more important than creating something, [insert about 10-20 different justifications in here] and I would go do those and then feel bad about the fact that i didn’t get to do what i wanted to do and pissed off that things just weren’t working for me etc etc etc… does it sound familiar??
Don’t get me wrong this is ok, every now and then but when it happens AGAIN and AGAIN over a long period of time it doesn’t take a genius to work out that something else is going on there and i need to get to the bottom of it! I have tried all types of programs theories and processes to try to work better / SMARTER or to IMPROVE myself to finally get to where I want to go in my creative life … some of them worked for a short period of time and ofcourse then i kept reverting back and going back to where I was…we are talking YEARS here . . of thinking its all good and BANG I am right back to where I was!!! ARGHHHH!!!
So… I succumbed, realised there is something going on here and decided ‘lets just call it a BLOCK’ but what the hell am I going to do about it? ENTER serendipity…
In my facebook feed I kept seeing a friend of mine Felicity O’Connor was running a new program called This Creative Life – which was 12 weeks of running though the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, which i already owned and had started to read through on my own but never quite finished a few years ago. Many thoughts crossed my mind when i saw this, I was tempted BUT: Do I really need to start another program ie. add ANOTHER thing to my already growing list right now? etc etc etc. I was skeptical, was this really going to do anything for me what would make a difference to what i had already done? AND I am not really a book club person. Being in a group with other women going through this book, I don’t know if that’s me? In the end, things came into play and here I am on this journey with these women, after all, what’s the worst that could happen it could be really good?
Fast forward to 11 weeks into this book, almost at the end of This Creative Life …
Rather than go on about the whole process, I am just going to say that working on your STUFF is hard work!! “
It’s been a journey, that seems like a long time at the start and has flown by all too quickly .. and that’s probably why I haven’t been doing much here on my blog, there has just been so much stuff happening in the background! To be honest, I had to reserve my energy for me and there are some days there that everything seem to be all over the place and I didn’t know where I was, but at the same time THAT IS GOOD!!!! ! I knew before starting that I was “blocked” but I didn’t really know why.. this book and this program with a group of fabulous creative and support women I will say has changed my life! Felicity O’Connor is a amazing artist, I have attended a couple of her workshops, she is also a psychologist, and her facilitation in this group has meant that there is a powerful combination and understanding that I don’t think you are going to get many places. She just gets IT ! I had hoped that going through this process would hopefully help me to work out WHY i kept sabotaging my art – it has opened me up to so much more than that. It’s life stuff, its about morning journalling, questioning myself in terms of WHY, seeing others’ go through their journey and thus reflecting on my own, it’s been about sharing, caring and looking forward each week to that Skype call to hear about what others took from this week’s chapter and more often than not things that I hadn’t thought of that I wouldn’t have come to on my own but realised was also part of my journey as well!!!
However, I digress… this is about this artwork! It is not for sale (not that i am sure anyone would want it) but its one to hang in on my wall, it represents my blocks, something that I have put up as a part of my self-protection, it’s like a ninja … it heads up so fast I don’t even see it coming or was aware I was doing it .. yet its there! Knowing about it means I can know understand or be aware at least that I am putting it up and with that i can start to break it down, there is a crack because if there is nothing allowed in there is also nothing allowed out! The BEST thing about this I have also identified that one of my son’s also tends to do this, guess who he learnt this from? ARGHHHH (not allowing myself to take this as a #parentfail) but rather FINALLY a way to learn to be a better mum and thus for both of us to let some things IN and OUT!
For everyone else, to be allowed to be present and to allow emotions, feelings things to FLOW. It is so important and this is WHY I share it with you, because if I am honest do I really do I want to share my inner most struggles on the internet? NOT really.. but I have had people write to me to tell me how my sharing has helped them in their journey.. how here this space has helped them and just my DOING has encouraged them to do and THAT is my GOLD!!! I might not write about it each week or post it with each post but thats where it comes from, if this helps one of you then that brings me JOY and in some weird way validates the journey.
If you follow me on instagram i have been hashtagging [bctt tweet=”#artisticflow this is to remind myself to be in and to experience the flow, the flow is good! ” username=”creativehardt”] If you do something in flow please do so also I would love to celebrate with you!!! I will give you a cheer because we make it look easy on social media but its not always easy stuff.. its tough sometimes!!!! Work through your shit if your having feelings about something ask yourself why.. and if you can’t answer that .. can i just suggest buying the book and working with the next round of The Artist’s Way with Felicity O’Connor.
