August 20, 2018
11 Comments
Elaineabella here, wondering how we ended up on Monday again!
Before I get into today’s topic, I want to thank you all for your responses to last week’s topic – Marker Geek Monday Approaching Colouring. It is fascinating to hear from you, and get some differing opinions and ideas, as well as to hear some similarities. I hope you will join me again today, and let me know your thoughts on another key issue we all seem to face from time to time.
I’ve mentioned a few times recently that my mojo has gone wandering. Where exactly it has gone wandering to, I have no idea. I also have no clue as to when it plans to return. This happens sometimes, and it is often linked to my general mood and things going on in daily life. Creativity can be such a sensitive, flighty, creature. It is also the case that the creative spark can be present, but the motivation to do the work has gone on strike. It would be fair to say that I mostly tend to experience the latter. The ideas are there, the focus to settle down to work and the energy to see it through have gone AWOL. An abundance of ideas seems to exacerbate the problem and create a sense of complete overwhelm.
What often works for me is to take the pressure off. This can be tricky, with commitments that need to be met, and lots of behind the scenes work in need of completion. I find that allowing myself to let some of the less urgent, non-priority work and creative ideas slide for a while often helps. I’ve seen it referred to as “refilling the well” – taking some time to relax and do other things we enjoy, allowing the inspiration and motivation to come back naturally. I make notes of ideas that come to me during this time, and act on them when the spark returns.
Another approach is to push through, to show up and do the thing, whatever it may be. I have found less success with this approach, and it possibly depends on what the underlying reason for the lack of motivation/creative spark is.
Taking a wander through past creations can help, remembering the feeling of enjoyment experienced when working on them. Looking at other people’s work can help to inspire, although I find it can also have the opposite effect, so it is a case of knowing yourself and finding a balance.
Something that does help me significantly during these times is to reorganise my craft-room – going through, finding stamps and supplies that have been languishing under piles of other “stuff” and sitting untouched in boxes for months. The act of tidying up and removing clutter also tends to help me, as I get quite overwhelmed by mess when I’m trying to work and create. It doesn’t always work, but it is a useful approach to try!
What do you think? Do you often experience this problem? How do you deal with it? Do you find it stressful, or do you just go with the flow? Have you found that there are specific triggers for it?
I’m interested to hear your thoughts and experiences whether you craft purely for pleasure, have design team commitments and pressures, sell your cards etc.
Until next week!
Elaineabella
Elaineabella, I can totally empathise with you on this feeling, in craft & life. My mojo often wanders from me but I find its took to sitting on a shelf mocking me while I struggle just sitting there giggling. My problem is two part, having tons of ideas but not the knowledge to fully do then so dissatisfaction occurs or my disability thinks I know she seems ok let’s give her some pain or let’s attack her with the inability to be able to hold anything so everything goes on the floor ! Depending on the severity of my pain I will either do as you do & move my supplies around, looking for ideas as I go or I shut all draws etc & spend some time doing anything but craft. I am lucky as a new card maker I have no commitments other than to my family so that’s a start & in far to insecure to try to sell anything I make currently. Good luck collecting ideas for mojo finding, maybe an afternoon in the garden may lift your spirits or a walk around a museum or display, anything may trigger calm & mojo returning . Look forward to reading what other Crafter’s do just as much as you I think , we may all learn off each other.x
My mojo leaves me after I have been absent for awhile such as returning from a vacation or whatever. It is hard to get back in there and pick up where I left off. I look at blogs, I look at past cards I have made or cards I want to make (I keep a file on my computer) and then slowly build up to it. I usually start simple and it comes back. And yes, sometimes I don’t want to make anything but reorganize and then finding all the stuff I forgot I had, makes me want to use it and the cycle begins anew!
This is great; I love hearing about losing mojo from others. I’m like you – it tends to go missing based upon other things going on in life. And right now, I don’t have any specific commitments I am required to do – which is great as I had oral surgery two weeks ago and have significant complications that have literally robbed me of all joy. The pain is intense, trouble sleeping, eating – you name it…and after 2 surgeons, no one seems to have an answer…
Just like last night, I so wanted to sneak in some crafty time; the girls had both left for college, the boys were on a trip so it was just me; but the pain was so intense, I just sat there and struggled to manage the pain. 🙁
I like to peruse other’s work, pin things, or save things on Instagram and also jot down ideas as they come – hopefully the mojo will return and I can have some fun!
Thanks for sharing; truly appreciate!!!
Oh this is a delema and we all suffer from it time to time. I sell my cards to friends and family and I’m on 2 design teams. It’s so hard when it wanders off. Myself I find looking through images I’ve saved also I have to agree that a good old tidy of your crafting space works a trick too.
But sometimes it’s best to just walk away from your tidy room for a while it will come back it always does. If you need to make for your DT then take it back to a nice CAS design.
Sorry it’s similar to yours Elaineabella but that’s how it rolls.
Hugs X
With all that we have in our lives, it’s no surprise that mojo can get lost in the shuffle. (I am hoping Michele in the previous post heals quickly) The various websites, such as Pinterest, have so much inspiration, they almost are overwhelming with too much, but it nearly always makes me want to rush to my craft table and PLAY. I agree that clearing up my space reveals long forgotten goodies, which lights the spark also. Perhaps just relaxing and enjoying the beauty around us…don’t force it…just turn on a favorite album and close your eyes. Relax.
oh wowza, lots of info to absorb. it looks like all creativity goes for a wander for what ever reason every now and again including mine. i’ve also done the tidying, decluttering and walking away from my craft room and i’ve realised i sometimes overthink things, have too many ideas, and not enough time to fit everything in and worry about letting anyone down so after making the heat wrenching decision to come off the one design team i was on a little while ago (some times i regret it) i now craft for me and do the odd craft fair (to make more room for more crafting projects). it’s now the one thing that gives me my escape from some of the hassles of my day job and also watching football/sport with the OH. lol. and when i can’t re-charge i go and sit in my garden with a drink of tea or coffee, cake or ice cream and watch the world go by and start over again the next day. hugs to you all. Ann
My mojo disappears for weeks at a time sometimes. Since I am not employed to make art, I can live with the absence, though I miss it. I tend to use this time to organize supplies, replace worn or mostly used up stuff and put things away and clean! Then I will turn to books to read and decide if there’s anything there to either spark the mojo or if it’s moved away from those techniques (which means taking old books to Half Price to sell off). If I’m getting desperate, I start haunting blogs and wander to our local art museum or look through past work to see if anything pushes me towards a new idea. Any of those three things tend to make me want to try something, so it gets going again. Good luck!
Oh I have had a lot of missing mojo over the past several months! There has been so much going on in my life that I haven’t had time to think. I so need my “me” time, but find myself too tired to even start. I read somewhere that going to the beach will help bring back your mojo….that is something we do every year, and I must say that when I return, I do seem to have some renewed energy. This year has been tough in my personal and my work life. My boss of 39 years lost his battle with cancer on the 5th of this month. My mother and step-dad had a fire in their home in June. My oldest brother is battling cancer. I’m thankful that I have been so busy so I don’t have much time to dwell on any of the three “bumps” in the road. But being so busy also takes away your mojo as you are just too tired. I have many things started as I can sometimes find 10 minutes here or 10 minutes there, but they need to get completed sometime. Sometimes I have a little more time, but just sit there and can’t seem to find the motivation to do something. I have always made cards for every one of my rather large family. This year, I have only made cards for the youngest ones. I’m hoping that after our upcoming trip to the beach my head will clear and my mojo can once again be front and center when time allows. I hope you find yours Elaine! 🙂
I am there with you right now, just a grey mood and I feel like all my creative juices are in a fog. Usually I just view blogs, Google searches and Pinterest to get my mojo back but this time I am just blocked. Took a break for about 3 months finally walked into my craft room this last weekend and played with inks and touched every stamp that I have this did make me a little happier but at the end of the day I finished 2 cards and had about 4 that were in my trash and even the 2 were just so-so. I will try again this weekend and see if it is any better. I would hate to give it all up since I really do enjoy it, I am glad to know I am not the only one out there!!! I do love your work, hugs to you!!
When my creativity goes awol I just start goofing around, maybe making backgrounds, or trying a new technique, or stamp and color a bunch of stuff. Sometimes I go online shopping (Stamping Bella stamps are my all time and forever favorites).
I also take a stroll through my photos of past projects and I enjoy seeing past favorite projects, which usually reminds me of an idea I haven’t made yet.
The worst thing is when I need a card right now, like a sympathy card, and I don’t want to make one. These are the most difficult ones for me.
A short (hopefully) story to start with… I had a beautiful craft room with anything and everything – I was the envy of a lot of craft friends – then the unthinkable happened… a fire that took my entire home leaving nothing but ash. A few years later now; I have a much smaller studio and I many times lose my & enthusiasm. A lot has to do with no organization but also when I get caught between what I have and what I THINK I have because I used to have it and can’t really remember… now or then, so-to-speak. Cleanliness & organization are what I fall back on.