How do you deal with creative blocks?

“Being able to show up in your studio and paint, whether you feel like it or not, is a cultivated habit. So if you get in the habit of just showing up and doing some work, then you don’t get blocked.

We all have times when the output sucks, but it doesn’t get better if you don’t go into the studio. Sometimes you have to make some bad work, so just give yourself permission, and don’t beat yourself up.

One thing you can do, which is really specific, is to go into the studio and give yourself a time limit. Say, “I’m going to make marks for an hour,” or “I’m going to make marks for twenty minutes.” Don’t set that in terms of finishing anything, or making anything that you like, but put it in terms of the process.

Just don’t let yourself go fallow. You can get through a block by working. You don’t have to work all day, or make beautiful things. Do the process. Put paint on paper.”

from an interview with Jane Davies