Creative
Block essentially refers to being stumped for an idea. Often it relates to a
person involved in a particular creative endeavour, like an artist, an
advertising person, or a student in an art class for instance. So ensues the
struggle with what to do: What will I paint, what will I say, how will I make a
start? Time restrictions can exacerbate this situation, as does the pressure to
perform and the self-doubt that grows with each passing moment. There are a
variety of techniques and tips that can be useful in getting the creative
process underway.
Part
of the issue stems from creating for someone else, rather than one’s self — the
need to produce something that can appreciated by another person. If it was
just about satisfying ourselves, the process of ‘creating’ may not be so
daunting. Self-confidence and belief are powerful motivators through which
works can be created that allow us, and also others to benefit from.
At
times I’ve struggled with blocks, even Lego occasionally. I remember sitting at
home as a youngster struggling to develop ideas for my first comic strip — it
was called Supa Dropout. There were no monetary considerations here — it was
purely for fun. Still, the angst to come up with quality ideas and drawings was
often torturous. Over the years, the drawings and the ideas became more
consistent as confidence in my own ability grew. To my lingering
disappointment, my dream of becoming a cartoonist was never attained. To this
day, I believe I could have been a successful daily cartoonist.
Similarly,
as I evolved through a career in advertising I maintained a firm self-belief
that I could consistently deliver strong, well-executed ideas on a par, if not
better, than a lot of my ‘higher-profile’ counterparts.
Yes,
an idea might take me a while sometimes, but I can’t recall ever thinking I
couldn’t do this or that. Today, inspiration appears quickly in the form of not
just one but many directions. Ironically, it is turning off the ideas-tap that
can be a problem. I find concepts and inspiration occur without much effort at
all and in such volume that I need to archive them as a future resource.
In
this context, Creative Block isn’t really a problem for me. The block I suffer
from concerns the ‘creative potential’ that is blocked. This has been an
all-too-common occurrence in my personal, creative life, and a nemesis I long
to leave far behind. From cartooning that eluded me as a career; from designing
ads and graphics for agencies and clients that stifled creativity and
satisfaction; to inventions and projects shelved for yet another day. From here
derives the yearning to realise an outlet where both financial and creative
fulfillment can be attained, and a future full of ambition and potential can be
utilised to the max.
It
is this type of creative block that afflicts my work not just in the regard to
development and resource restrictions, but the ability to 'get it out there'
and in front of the people that matter. It’s not what you know, but who you
know; not what you can do, but what someone says you can do, that blocks
progress, ambition and opportunity.
The path and
direction can appear clear at some points, but at other times obstacles
materialise in an instant as if to deliberately block progress and prevent the
chosen path from being travelled. There’s no guide here to refer to.
Interestingly, the path behind seems darks and irretrievable, so I can’t go
back. There’s not much benefit standing still, so at this point I suppose it’s
a case of just getting over the block and pushing forward.
