

How great artists have fought creative block - dchs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10766308

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todayiamme
I think that Elizabeth Gilbert's seggestion in her TED talk has to be one of
the best ways to deal with this. (see:
<http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html>)

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torial
The TED talk was far better than the BBC article. Thanks for the link.

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Shana
The very famous sculpture Eva Hesse once had a very famous mental block. She
wrote to the equally famous artist Sol Lewitt about how she was having
problems. He wrote back:

Dear Eva,

It will be almost a month since you wrote to me and you have possibly
forgotten your state of mind (I doubt it though). You seem the same as always,
and being you, hate every minute of it. Don’t! Learn to say “Fuck You” to the
world once in a while. You have every right to. Just stop thinking, worrying,
looking over your shoulder wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for
some easy way out, struggling, grasping, confusing, itchin, scratching,
mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, numbling, rumbling,
gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching,
moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-splitting, nit-
picking, piss-trickling, nose sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball-poking, finger-
pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-
scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding, grinding, grinding
away at yourself. Stop it and just DO!

From your description, and from what I know of your previous work and you
[sic] ability; the work you are doing sounds very good “Drawing-clean-clear
but crazy like machines, larger and bolder… real nonsense.” That sounds fine,
wonderful – real nonsense. Do more. More nonsensical, more crazy, more
machines, more breasts, penises, cunts, whatever – make them abound with
nonsense. Try and tickle something inside you, your “weird humor.” You belong
in the most secret part of you. Don’t worry about cool, make your own uncool.
Make your own, your own world. If you fear, make it work for you – draw &
paint your fear and anxiety. And stop worrying about big, deep things such as
“to decide on a purpose and way of life, a consistant [sic] approach to even
some impossible end or even an imagined end” You must practice being stupid,
dumb, unthinking, empty. Then you will be able to DO!

I have much confidence in you and even though you are tormenting yourself, the
work you do is very good. Try to do some BAD work – the worst you can think of
and see what happens but mainly relax and let everything go to hell – you are
not responsible for the world – you are only responsible for your work – so DO
IT. And don’t think that your work has to conform to any preconceived form,
idea or flavor. It can be anything you want it to be. But if life would be
easier for you if you stopped working – then stop. Don’t punish yourself.
However, I think that it is so deeply engrained in you that it would be easier
to DO!

It seems I do understand your attitude somewhat, anyway, because I go through
a similar process every so often. I have an “Agonizing Reappraisal” of my work
and change everything as much as possible = and hate everything I’ve done, and
try to do something entirely different and better. Maybe that kind of process
is necessary to me, pushing me on and on. The feeling that I can do better
than that shit I just did. Maybe you need your agony to accomplish what you
do. And maybe it goads you on to do better. But it is very painful I know. It
would be better if you had the confidence just to do the stuff and not even
think about it. Can’t you leave the “world” and “ART” alone and also quit
fondling your ego. I know that you (or anyone) can only work so much and the
rest of the time you are left with your thoughts. But when you work or before
your work you have to empty you [sic] mind and concentrate on what you are
doing. After you do something it is done and that’s that. After a while you
can see some are better than others but also you can see what direction you
are going. I’m sure you know all that. You also must know that you don’t have
to justify your work – not even to yourself. Well, you know I admire your work
greatly and can’t understand why you are so bothered by it. But you can see
the next ones and I can’t. You also must believe in your ability. I think you
do. So try the most outrageous things you can – shock yourself. You have at
your power the ability to do anything.

I would like to see your work and will have to be content to wait until Aug or
Sept. I have seen photos of some of Tom’s new things at Lucy’s. They are
impressive – especially the ones with the more rigorous form: the simpler
ones. I guess he’ll send some more later on. Let me know how the shows are
going and that kind of stuff.

My work had changed since you left and it is much better. I will be having a
show May 4 -9 at the Daniels Gallery 17 E 64yh St (where Emmerich was), I wish
you could be there. Much love to you both.

Sol

Interestingly, she took his advice to heart, and took her process apart. She
just did, and literally started with the idea of a line. And drew one line at
a time, until she literally re-figured out how to draw, how to sculpt. She
became a female monument to post-minimalism before she died at age 34.

I suggest when you are stuck, reading this letter. A teacher gave it to me as
a reading a long time ago.

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neilk
Mark Twain:

"For I knew quite well the tale was not finished, and I could not understand
why I was not able to go on with it. The reason was very simple. My tank had
run dry. It was empty. When the manuscript had lain in a pigeonhole two years,
I took it out one day.

"And it was then that I made the great discovery that, when the tank runs dry,
you've only to leave it alone, and it will fill up again in the time while you
were asleep, also while you were at work on other things and are quite unaware
that this unconscious and profitable cerebration is going on. There was plenty
of material now, and the book went on and finished itself without any
trouble."

\-- [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-
dec10/twai...](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-
dec10/twain_07-07.html)

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rdl
My strategy is to always leave a really easy "next task" when I'm done for the
day, so I won't feel anxiety about "what should I do next" with any given
project.

I call it "park on a hill", the way you park a vehicle without a (working)
battery/alternator/starter facing down on a hill, to let gravity help in push
starting it (farmers do this with tractors all the time).

Once you're immersed in something, creative block is a whole lot less likely.

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harscoat
the way to fight creative block is to feel... positively or negatively (it
hurts) but intensevely... The worst is not to feel and this can be a mental
pb, underwhelming neurotransmetters... lack of brain/thumos/heart fire.

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gigafemtonano
_Cheap Austrian wine_

Just this past Friday I had a bit of a Trader Joe's $2 wine binge, and while I
woke up pretty out of it on Saturday I somehow was also more creative than I
have been in months. I think inspiration travels at a certain speed and your
brain has to be going the same speed to catch it. I used to always get tons of
ideas while driving on the freeway; maybe being hungover helps you catch the
slow ones.

