Are you a creative? I am and I'm sure I speak for a lot of us when I say that this last year with the virus and all the increasingly nagative news in the world has sapped us of our creative potential at times.
It's been hard to keep on top of things this year. A lot of creative blocks and walls that are pretty much indestructable but at the same time, it's made me appreciate how much we need art and that goes for all facets of the creative industries. Maybe you're a musician trying to write that new hit song or maybe you're a landscape painter who has been told to stay at home. It's hard but we express ourselves through what we do and somehow we always find a way to adapt at the right time. I'll give you an example:
Before the pandemic hit, I was an artist who created detailed illustrations of scenery. When it got to us in the UK, I thought I'd be okay dealing with it as generally I am an introvert who stayed at home more often than not anyway. But as time went on after March 2020, I began to feel really down and anxious. I couldn't produce art due to the lack of want or inspiration. I was feeling all these negative emotions and I had to express them somehow so what I did eventually was get a pencil out and started to draw self portraits. It was something I dabbled in for a past project and I enjoyed it but I wasn't intending to continue with it. So I was essentially producing these emotional responses to how I was feeling through my art into portraits (that I used to HATE doing). I started to feel a different spark to my work and I developed that skill and combined it with several elements such as geometry and surrealism. Fast forward to now, I draw portraits almost exclusively and I want to do more. I'm doing digital art and I want to make books. I am a much stronger artist than I was when this lockdown began.
So yes it's been hard on creative ability but I got to a point where I could express the negativity and enjoy my work. Of course, this will work in different ways for different types of creators. My point is, find something that you can express yourself within. Sing about how you've been feeling, draw it out, write it down. Anything! We'll find a way out of negativity in the end. Do what's right for yourself and most importantly, take care of yourself
- Inkhall
James Hall