One of the biggest problems all creatives face, the forth post in the series is all about creative block

What do you do when creative block hits?

Courtney Sanders - Editor, Cataloguemagazine.com.au

Go running! I often find myself, like, tired or burnt out and I’ll go for a run (even though I can NEVER actually be bothered) and then when I get back I often find myself having light bulb moments and have to get to my computer right away and start typing

Guy Shield - Illustrator www.guyshield.com

Sigh, the achilles heel of so many industries. When I hit a creative block, I make sure I step away from everything, for as much time as possible. I think it’s important to firstly acknowledge the block and distance yourself from it, rather than just draw until something sparks. That breathing space can quite often breed new ideas and provide new perspective from what often feels like single-minded vision. I also take a look at other people’s work, because sometimes putting yourself in someone else’s problem-solving shoes can shed new light on the creative block, and great things can spark. I’m not saying theses are the be-all and end-all of solutions to creative blocks, but they certainly help me most of the time.

Jo Duck - Photographer www.joduck.com

Generally if I'm in a rut it means I just need to get away from my computer. The first thing I do is leave the studio. Generally if I do one of the following 5 things (in no particular order) I can get back into it pretty quickly

 Swim, rollerskate or exercise. Nothing better to clear your mind. There's a rollerama I go to a couple of times a year for a skate - wish I could go more but it's so far away. The floor, carpeted walls and ceiling are all different shades of blue and it has a disco ball. Heaven.

Hang out with a pal! Either in person, on skype (a lot of my friends are overseas) or on the phone. I'm a big people person so just talking to a pal or my family usually clears my mind and get's me back into it.

Watch a movie. My guilty pleasures are ice cream and daytime movies. If I have the time, I'll drive 40 minutes to get to my favourite cinema, buy a choc top and generally talk to the seniors who are also at the session. Otherwise I'll try to cross a movie off the never ending list I've created from reading my giant pile of books on cinematography/directing etc

Ok this is kinda going back on my word a little, but putting on good music and going on an internet spiral. As I mentioned I love researching, so I might start looking at something I'm interested in, like film noir or sea creatures or lobotomies then let the magical internet hole take me from my starting point inevitably back to the xfiles. Hopefully I've taken some good notes along the way and have a new starting point to get excited about.

Watch football. Mmmm hmmm. NOTHING clears my mind and relaxes me like watching NRL. Yep. A bit weird.

Luke Lucas - Typographer www.lukelucas.com

Creative blocks generally hit me most when I’m stressed out or my head’s not in the right place so stress management is a really important part of my weekly schedule. I make sure that I meditate every day, mostly twice a day, I try and do something physical like surf/skate/walk most days too. I feel like if you’re head’s in the right place creativity flows but sometimes blocks just happen.

 On the occasion when I might be stuck for an idea, and I don’t seem to be getting anywhere, I stop what I’m doing and will do something completely different. I feel like you can’t force inspiration or an idea, it comes to you when you’re in the right place to receive it.

Doing something completely different or doing something the encourages some kind of flow, even if it’s seemingly irrelevant to what I’m working on nevertheless encourages a flow of creative energy which clears a blocked state for me. It’s kind of like considered procrastination. Over the last month or so i’ve taken to setting up photos of my little die-cast 4 inch kombi model at various locations around the northern beaches of Sydney. It sounds kind of dumb but I enjoy it and it’s good way to break up my day doing something not overly demanding. I’ve set up the instagram account @minikombi to document its travels.

Dan Ahwa - Fashion Editor for Canvas Magazine and Viva Magazine, The New Zealand Herald www.danahwa.com

A good book is always important to provide some kind of escapism, otherwise I like to watch films or a good TV series. Lately I have been watching a few more of Pedro Almodovar's earlier films. Recently I watched an Italian film called Human Capital that I found inspiring. I've seen the first episode of Penny Dreadful and although gruesome, I also found creatively inspiring and look forward to watching more as the series unfolds.

Image credit -  Jo Duck 

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