There comes a time in likely every creator’s life when they will feel uninspired and, arguably, there will be many times. I recently have felt this way - tired and uninspired. Instead of focusing on the why, I want to talk about how I’ve been working through it.
I used to think that I had to feel inspired or motivated, or have the right kind of environment to produce creative works. I would spend so much time either waiting for inspiration to kick in or adjusting my space to see if that would help me feel more motivated: none of it really worked. Finally, after some self-reflecting and listening to some artists I admire, I realized that you just have to do something. Anything.
In the case of pattern designing, I was feeling drained after gift knitting. I was tired of the amount of knitting I was doing and it definitely had an affect on my creative brain. However, moving into the new year, I knew that I would need to start designing again. So, instead of banging my head against an imaginary wall or hoping that I would suddenly feel inspired, I decided that I just needed to make something. Anything. A pair of matching hats for myself and my husband is what I came up with. I didn’t follow a pattern, I made it up as I went and then duplicated it for the second one. There was no writing done - just making and it seemed to help. I even doodled some pattern ideas down in my notebook the other day - not ideas that I plan on doing right now, but ones that I can look back on to continue or get new inspiration from. Just doing something helped me get through a creative block.
I encourage you, whenever you feel uninspired or have a mental block, to just do something. It doesn’t have to be perfect or inline with what the end goal is; it just has to be something. This will get you thinking and doing. Hopefully, it will help get you over the hurdle and clear your mind.