How do you overcome creative blocks?

Do different tools or mediums change the style of your creative work?

Both questions have a simple and a complicated answer. For me, both answers are linked.

When I think of my creative roadblocks I think of sitting at my drawing table, staring at a blank canvas or computer screen and feeling as if "inspiration" cannot be found. I used to believe chasing the muse of creativity often meant pandering to my wishful thinking that when "inspiration strikes," I'd be ready to put pen to paper. The truth is, as with anything worth doing, creativity has its fair share of disciplines, and with discipline comes the need to cultivate consistency.*

The question "Does a Writer Write if No One is Around to Read the Writing?" is jokingly in reference "Does a tree falls in a forest does it still make a sound if no one is around to hear it?" The pursuit of a new writer trying to gain traction in a writing community, be it through representation or publication, seems similar to me. I have only had a few things publish, which at the time of this writing is recent, and so my views on this topic are my own, nothing 100% set in stone or guaranteed by any means. That is to say, I am still figuring out how to keep getting my work out into the world!

I decided to try my hand at some blind contour drawings myself. But before I did, I wanted to learn more about the process. As many of you know, I am an avid learner. I like to understand not just what something is, but why and how it becomes such.

I’ve been doodling an abundance of skulls and bones lately in my little sketchbook. In the wandering of my collective journey through art, I have had to learn through a few different methods--mentors, books, & Google.

These have become my closest friends (sometimes literally) as I struggle through a cut & paste creative arts education. I’ve made mistakes along the way and I have had a few small successes...both have come at the great influence of artists along the way. My mistakes have come by way of too strongly emulating others, while discovering my “style.” My successes have come by way of some of those same influences recommending to me opportunities I would not have considered otherwise. For both the mistakes and successes I have nothing but gratitude because it has appropriately positioned me to see my work differently than before.