Monday, October 7, 2013

Roadblocks to Creativity 2 (Raining with a chance of poodles)

RAINY WITH A CHANCE OF POODLES
First of all, if you can read this, thank an electrical engineer. Our internet system went down this morning, and despite being late for work and looking at impending storms all day, DH fixed it. Oh he says he knows nothing about computers, but he always saves the day. Thankful, that's me.

So let's talk about roadblocks again. It's Monday, as if that isn't a roadblock enough.

I have a long list of possible roadblocks and abandoned the one originally chosen for today to discuss weather. Yep, sometimes weather actually gets in the way of creativity. I heard someone last week say she'd start a new quilt but the weather was so wonderful, she had to be outside instead. Lots of people have a hard time staying in the studio when gardening is a possibility. Some are more productive when it's cold and snowy. Once again, you have to know your preferences,  know what turns your mojo on or off.

We hate rainy days around here. The "check poodle" light comes on and he hides in the hallway or becomes comatose.I have a similar reaction but fight against it.

I have always been depressed when the sky is cloudy and gray.  My emotions are down those days and creativity can suffer. ( people with Seasonal Affective Disorder  know what I mean)
I cope by lighting up the world! Then I turn up the sound, comedies or old musicals for me.
 I turn on all the house lights. The studio is loaded with  daylight  ( full-spectrum)  bulbs so that when I flip the switch it's daylight in there. As my eyes age, I could use even  more.
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 If I can get to the studio and  turn on the lights, my mood will lighten too,  which allows me to focus on making something. NOTE:  These are the days for  mindless sewing, since I'm creative but not on full-power.

  Those are the days I will pull out the scraps and sew, either pull out paper piecing patterns and make components to combine later or sew free form curves.


 I love what I call medicinal sewing, and teach a workshop called "from tiny scraps come great quilts", which you could check out CLICK HERE








The important questions to ask yourself  are:
> does weather effect your emotions or not  IF SO
> does weather effect your emotions (creative mojo) in a positive or a negative way?
If it's positive, and for instance you love rain, then as much as possible go with it. Plan to spend the day making art when rain is predicted.  If it's not positive...
> how will you overcome emotions to get back to your energetic creative mood?
Again, my solutions may help you or you may need different solutions, say chocolate and caffeine, rock n roll, paint by numbers, whatever.

However you cope with weather, keep making something through the low moods. It's easier to change direction than start from nothing. Even if you aren't creating something original today, make something that brightens your mood, and the muse will return. She always does eventually....
LeeAnna 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The sky is bright blue here, the air slightly cooler than yesterday. I'm working on mindless things for the weavers' sale. All the thinking has been done, now I'm just in production mode. I need the iron so I can't be doing this outside. Darn.
That Poodle in the Pink Hat would make me laugh all day rain or shine.
Diane

Maria said...

First off..... Tell Cole that hat is definitely his look! As for the rain today, well it was very gloomy but it did help allow me get a lot done on my Halloween Bulldog Witch quilt, woohoo! That is one thing about rainy days for me.... Since I can't spend the majority of the day outdoors.

Pawesome Cats said...

We like rainy days, but we find it hard to be creative without natural light. Then of course when it's sunny, we feel like we should be enjoying the great outdoors rather than inside the house. PS. The poodle is adorable, I think the dog would inspire my creativity regardless of the weather.

Unknown said...

The sun always brings out my smile. :-)