Discussion How to create art while paralyzed by misery?

[Asya]

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[a-lien]

I can feel it in a way, cause living in a noisy place make me like paralyzed... so I can only sit here and maybe write on my laptop and that's it. (nothing creative).
In april I started with something small, like I force me to began ( no writing) only small part and then I went on.. and it was ok.. the beginning is the hardest sometimes. and then it worked, that I could go on. I sometimes listen so something (podcast or something like this , while I do this (would not really work with writing maybe lol, but with painting or something like this)

I'm nearly ready with what I want to do, only a few things left (took me 2 month, with many days of doing nothing, and I had not really a "plan" and just decide this week what the final result is )
I mean maybe it's ok to allow us breaks ;) and take longer on it.

also like body doubling could be something, meeting with other people (maybe online) and everybody does something (what they want to do, to be more motivated to do) , not togeather but at the same time, must not be the same...
and then reach out to each other after a specific time... (something that sometimes help with ADHD to start, when they feel paralyzed so maybe also here ? )

i also read from some person, that they can't do anything creative, when they are at their lowest, and started to write after this "I can not do anything". (think it was from a musician)
or maybe start with "today only 15 min". maybe with a clock that stops you. just small amount of time, with less pressure. You don't need to write like 3 hours constant... 15 min is ok too

 

[mofumofucat00]

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I'm struggling with literally the same thing, so I don't know if I can be too much of a help :p

Usually, when I get a really cool and unique idea it ignites a flame inside me, like, a river inside my brain was blocked by a fallen tree and now the water can flow again. I stroll around my room and delve deeper into the idea, adding more details and forming a solid direction. Hell, even write a few pages. I start to think of more random details while doing daily work then I fall back into the pit. I suddenly don't want to create anything lol.
But, currently I'm working on a group project with friends and that helps a lot. I guess, writing for a blog that people can see, a fanzine or something similar could help too? The feeling of being responsible, I mean.

You can already express yourself pretty well, though. I'm wishing good things for you!!

 

[TheBag]

I can relate to not getting any creativity done due to anxiety or depression. But I have to say that AI can greatly boost your creativity and motivation as well. All with relatively little input on the user's side. Wether it's music, writing, pictures or video. Example: feed SUNO one of your poems for instance. See what song comes out!

 

[Asya]

I can relate to not getting any creativity done due to anxiety or depression. But I have to say that AI can greatly boost your creativity and motivation as well. All with relatively little input on the user's side. Wether it's music, writing, pictures or video. Example: feed SUNO one of your poems for instance. See what song comes out!

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[Forever Sleep]

Sonetimes trying to get inspired by what other people have created helps me. Sometimes even looking back over what I've done. Not that I am overly pleased with it necessarily but it can make me feel like- I shouldn't just throw it all away and give up.

Practically for me- it's my job too. So, there's less choice in the matter. But- I actually do need that reason to create. To be working towards an end project that needed to be finished. I'm not great at just creating for myself/ for pleasure or expression now.

During covid- when work fell off, I started up on Etsy to try and create a new reason to do stuff. Not that it was wildly successful but, I suppose it helped for a time. I also went back to uni in my late twenties- to develop/ learn skills in a different area. Again- I felt lost at the time and like I needed set goals tp work towards. The prospect of failing the course if I didn't work- I felt would help me focus- and it did.

I suppose you can argue that more commercial art or- creating for a specific purpose somewhat kills creativity but then- sometimes you can find a compromise- where you are still able to be creative but for a cause.

I hope you find your way back. Being creative has been my strongest coping mechanism throughout life. Things are currently bad because I've also lost my passion for it.

 

[TheBag]

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What's with the acid rant, hu? Working with AI a little can get you out of the slums. If only for the sometimes, unexpected results. Just for getting some new/different inputs, or just for fun. After which you may feel some new motivation and energy.

In my case. I've been a singer- song writer for over 40 years. I've written, produced, and arranged more than 250 songs. Some really top shelf stuff. Still, when I redo one of my songs with AI apps the result is sometimes better. It all depends on how creative and/or experimental I'm writing my prompts.

Am I getting all ****** up and sour over the fact that AI improved my songs? Of course, not. Get real!

Just saying (or keep on suffering, and go nowhere, your choice).

 

[X-sanguinate86]

Yeah I feel this. The most I can handle are haiku. Some rants that have impressed people but that's not really the same. Writing always just feels like a lot of work.

 

[alivefornow]

When I was young and full of life I was creative. Depression killed this in me. So I'm sorry, but I don't know the answer. I would rather do nothing.

 

[The Eternal One]

I've been struggling with this low of not being able to create and commit to my creations for years. Just like passive suicidality in my life there was this constant passive inability to start creating, for which I've been bashing myself endlessly, blaming it on laziness, lack of character on my side, cowardice, etc.

Recently I've arrived at a point where I really crave creating stuff and get to it as soon as I get an opportunity (and strength - sometimes I'm just mentally exhausted after work), but it was achieved through changed mindset:

1. I recognized that I should be doing art ONLY if it's something that's super relaxing and fun for me. If I enjoy the process of pushing my pen on the surface of a graphic tablet, I should keep doing it for me. The process itself is the reward.

Spoiler: Spirituality example

If you've ever practiced spirituality, or perhaps, tried creating a tulpa, there's a similar process with interactions with the deities. A beginner might start worshipping in hopes of a reward: heaven, freedom, material success, etc., but the longer you go the more you recognize that the contact or recognition itself is the biggest reward and you never ever want to ask anything from them - just knowing, feeling and remembering the divine touch is the reward itself. Same as having a friend is the ultimate reward, not getting stuff from them. I adapted this outlook for my art - it's a holy process done for the sake of it, not for good stuff that comes afterwards.

2. At the same time under any circumstances I SHOULD NOT expect a good result out of it or look forward to sharing it with other people.

3. I must double down on enjoying other people's artworks selfishly, i.e. get inspired by how cool it looks/feels, but never put pressure on myself to be just as good. Spoiler: I won't be anyway, and this pressure would immediately kill the enjoyiment from the process I described above.

4. Last but not least: internalize that you can quit anytime and it won't destroy you or your sense of self-identity.
Internally give up on the idea of being an artist/writer. Recognize that this path might not bring you happiness any longer, that you won't succeed as you wished, that it might not be something for you at all. Then turn around and recognize an abundance of other talents behind your back on which you could double down. The moment you kill your inner self-identification as an artist, it allows you to be reborn as one OR something else entirely.

An example, that lead me to this conclusion: I know a fellow artist, whose strength lays in portrayal of animals and taking live pictures of them. However, this artist insists on drawing and developing their human OCs with very particular variety of unsettling fetishes and imagery attached to them - the coctail so specific nobody else can relate to their art. Not to mention, that when it comes to their portrayal of humans, it's just not good - neither technically, nor emotionally. With a certain regularity they complain nobody cares about their OCs and cry, meanwhile, everyone else is able to recognize that if they just quit and start doing animal photography and animal drawings, the success they'd experience is beyond description. Their talent in this field is immense. After observing this situation for years, I started paying attention to other struggling complaining artists and noticed, the pattern stayed the same for all of them! One can't draw or design things well, but they're a prodigy at music. The other can't write, but they can draw. The list goes on forever.

Then it clicked for me: if I hit a road block and become miserable at this thing I'm doing, then my true talent and fate might be lying somewhere else, and I have to be open minded to this currently invisible talent. This was the last step to truly release me and remove my artblock. Giving up early paradoxically brought back the joys of drawing I experienced as a kid and a teen - mindless fun.
_________

I recognize that our fields of expertise are different, so this advice might be completely off-base for which I apologise. Also, my inner struggles and artblocks, perhaps, the depression and suicidality itself, stem from a strong hyprefixation on perfectionism, therefore my advice to overcoming such struggles is based around overcoming perfectionist tendencies and might not be applicable to other people.

Anyway, I sincerely wish you good luck and happiness. I hope you overcome this roadblock on your path soon.

 

[NSA]

Halfway decent meds. And I still struggle with procrastinating away even when I want to paint. Like right now.

 

[xXiloveyouXx]

channel your misery into art

 

[NSA]

channel your misery into art

OK I actually want to try this but i have no idea what that actually looks like lol.
I have the emotional awareness of a chunk of lead

 

[xXiloveyouXx]

OK I actually want to try this but i have no idea what that actually looks like lol.
I have the emotional awareness of a chunk of lead

i wish i could help with that but it depends on the person and type of art haha. heres some of the depression fueled art ive been making over the past few months as an example. it honestly feels really good to be getting the indescribable feelings out and into something tangible like drawings. Maybe think of what all your problems have in common, themes of your life that you've internalized, your deepest desires and hopes, and take inspiration from your favorite artists. Analyze the things they do that you like, think about why you like them. Someone above mentioned an artist they know who makes art only they can relate to and is chock full of fetishes- this is good. It's the goal. Make art for yourself first and foremost. You got this G

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[Asya]

channel your misery into art

That's the idea, but not so simple or easy in practice.

 

[hurts2b]

It's an unsatisfying answer but I lower my standards. Can't do a drawing? Make a 10 minute doodle instead. Can't write stories? Write vents or journal entries. Doesn't really solve the problem fully (still feels like I'm failing a lot of the time) but it's better than nothing I guess.

 

[Yakui]

i ask myself that every day. i would consider writing my only skill but just can never work up the energy to do anything, it all just feels so tiresome.

 

[negi-maguro]

I feel like misery have often castrated my (and to that extent everyone's) ability to be creative. However if you treated it more as an escapism, then creation should less about producing and more about giving yourself a room to breathe (if that makes sense).

I hate my life with all the problems and expectations/pressure that came with it so i naturally seek escapism. At first it was just by consuming media, books, games, films, but it all felt like work at some point. The more I read, the more I felt that I want to be represented more in some way. Naturally, I tried to create something myself.
The thing that I most comfortable doing was writing. I started to write a scifi story as a form of escape. But it soon becomes a chore when I start writing and editing it. I ended up worldbuilding a lot because I just want to escape, whereas writing demanded that I produce.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that escapism led me to creativity, but then it became a productive work :/

 

[oneirataxia]

You just kind of have to force yourself, no excuses. I'm not saying push yourself too hard, but if you're in a rut where you're just not creating anything at all, you need to force yourself to do the things that you want to do. No amount of thinking and worrying about how to solve the issue will solve it, paradoxically. Try to break down the creative process into small steps if that's what you're struggling with that.

 

[Pluto]