Hitting the creative wall

Hitting the wall. In endurance sports hitting the wall describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests by fatigue and loss of energy. In crafting or art it describes not having the right tools or proper technique in order to create your vision. Creative fatigue. In crafting and art the key is working around those walls, or bringing the walls down by learning.

Yesterday I hit the wall. A piece that I have been working on (my first real art piece which I will feature in a future blog post) requires the riveting of curved, domed metal. the rivets are hand-made and are about 3 mm big. I really did not think this through when I designed this. Not only is riveting a new skill to me, the curve and tininess will be difficult to master even with the right skills and tools.

In crafting and art the key is working around those walls.

When faced with this wall I could have done a few different things.

• Watch a few tutorials on rivets and cold connecting on youtube.
• Take a break and come back to it later.
• Practice on some easier pieces.

Instead I kept trying on the same piece....for hours....hitting the same wall over and over....

If you are a crafter or artist or artisan who is just starting out, please, please do not make the same mistake that I did yesterday. You risk ruining what you are working so hard to finish. Thank goodness my piece did not get overworked to the point of obliteration. There are so many resources out there to help you along, inspire you...when faced with the wall you will be able to work around it. It's part of the creative process to learn not only how to refocus your energies but also that the need even exists.

Lesson learned.


and now for something completely different:

It's Getting Steamy...

 So, people I know and interact with on a regular basis (in this other dimension called rural Maine) that have seen some of my jewelry, and have asked me about it usually reply in two ways: "steam-what?" or, alternately, "what-punk?"  It's becoming more mainstream but I suppose it's certainly not "Maine-stream" yet (we are about two to three YEARS behind California in almost all things ie: tech, trends, economy, etc.)

Steampunk has gained so much popularity and respect that the Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford opened an exhibit exclusively featuring this sub-culture. On the behalf of everyone who has not  experienced the beauty of Steampunk, or for those already embracing the movement, I present the following video, courtesy sajohnston61 on youtube :