Comments on: Overcoming Artist’s Block.

By: natalie

natalie — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:57:45 +0000

Thanks for the inspiration, I am no longer freaking out just drawing a purple tree and listening to Adele…I am going to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s that always makes this cloud of blah lift…

By: erin

erin — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:07:07 +0000

you’re so welcome, guys — glad you’re enjoying the vids!

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 03:27:53 +0000

thaks for this. ^.^ I’ve been struggling with artists block on and off for what seems like years now and It’s always nice to have some inspirational words, to help you out of that funk a little bit every now and then.

By: Freakin’ Artist Block « CharMod

Freakin’ Artist Block « CharMod — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:34:56 +0000

[...] I really need to start drawing more. I found this link to be useful: http://www.designformankind.com/2009/04/overcoming-artists-block/ [...]

By: jean

jean — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:24:57 +0000

i loved this video as well. and i will go to my studio and make piles of crap right now.

the concept of working though a block is new for me. i’ve always held the opposite perspective. that if the work doesn’t come- i will do nothing and wait for the dreams to overwhelm me again. i’ve been an artist all my life and my work has come and gone all my life. sometimes for a few months, sometimes for a year or so- but this time i’ve been blocked for 5 years. it’s been such a long time that I’m starting to doubt myself. Oddly, for the past 5 years i have continued to think in the same way- like an artist. I just haven’t been a happily fulfilled one.

Evenso, i am going to try this and i am excited about it. A few things have changed- one of which is my level of patience. I actually have patience now. So, maybe this will work for me? Maybe my former view was wrong? or maybe it worked then but a different method is needed now? years ago, when i was in school for art, one of my professors gave me a hard time about not working through my blocks. it was weird. she affirmed me as one of her best students but then she made comments like, “students who get into art too young end-up not being artists later on.” At the moment this comment is haunting me. Maybe she was just trying to make herself feel better for not getting into art as early as I did? Oddly, she let me know that I intimidated her with the intensity of my focus. Weird. I’m a very different teacher. And generally i think these kinds of comments are bullshit. There is no hierarchy. Whenever I hear that so and so is the “greatest artist of the 20th century”(and of course it is never the same person) I dismiss it. seems like someone is making absolute, static statements in order to make sense of a chaotic world. Why not accept flux? ..now that I think about it. These statements are generally made a the beginning of a blockbuster museum shows, maybe its just a marketing thing.

By: blog crush :: pia jane bijkerk «

blog crush :: pia jane bijkerk « — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 19:42:40 +0000

[...] a couple months now. As crushes go, this one’s a doozy. I first saw Pia Jane Bijkerk on the Design for Mankind Series: Dialogue (episodes 2 and 5). Since then I’ve seen her featured many times in blogland and each [...]

By: Ms.Bonafyde

Ms.Bonafyde — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:06:22 +0000

Loved this vid!
Whenever I experience Blockage I find that doing something quite opposite helps….My method is to get busy moving my body either through exercise, walks or my favorite… rigourous housework. I tune into some inspiring & creative podcasts and put on my fun & fancy dish gloves and get to work. I am constantly amazed at how many inspiring ideas come to me while cleaning and once everything is clean and organized I feel so charged and inspired to go and make stuff!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:56:03 +0000

I’m in a bad art block right now and this video is exactly what I needed to see! I’m in the process of sketching the piles of crap right now :). I’m very inspired and overflowing with ideas, but my high expectations and self ciritcism are working overtime, so when I sit down to draw, all I produce is tight, timid chicken scratch. I’m so glad to know that I’m not alone and that this doesn’t mean my skills are gone for good!

Patience helps a lot too. I find that when I’m too impatient and want to see drastic improvement instantly, I’ll end up regressing even more and become even more discouraged! It’s interesting how the greatest of sketches can be some of the most spontaneous and unplanned too :)

By: tessa

tessa — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:45:38 +0000

http://oneword.com/ is a great site for writers block.

By: jerusha

jerusha — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:04:19 +0000

i don’t agree. making piles of crap is making piles of crap. it’s self-indulgent in a less than positive way. if you slow down and truly consider what you love, take care of yourself with good food and naps and whatever it is that makes you smile, and then return to creating, what you make will not be crap because it will be nourished from within. and worries come from. powering through your fear or your block by making, making, making might work some of the time but in another way it’s just as avoidant as not making anything at all. and it assumes that everyone works through their worries with their hands. some of us use our minds too ;)