Thursday 31 October 2013

LOST CREATIVITY

With packing, moving, Justin being away for a month, and my obsession with getting the garden established in the new house, my sewing machine has been forlorn and abandoned. I get inspiration for a garment, then Jarvis or my tired body draws me away, and yet again it is left sitting gathering dust.


I finally bought myself a desk to replace the one Justin borrowed (stole), but I think part of the issue is that my new sewing area lack inspiration, it is just plain and out in the open. The white wall, a dirty window, and (honestly) a bit of a dumping ground for my sewing stash, all of this does nothing to inspire creativity.

In my head I keep thinking if I make the space more 'me', I will feel the desire to create. But the double conundrum is, I am not inspired to decorate the space as it has no personality.

However, true to the blogging world Jane at Fight Platform Living gave the nudge along to set up the machine and put it to work with this post. All I made is one cushion at the start of Jarvis's nap. But fingers crossed this is the first step back into my sewing obsession.

Any suggestions on how to turn a plain area into a creative zone, when your own creative energy is missing? 


“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” - Ray Bradbury

21 comments:

  1. I'm thinking it's time to design for someone else and open up to sales. Pick a person real or imaginary and design something for them.

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  2. Not a bad idea. But the space :( Oh Lila, it is just so ho hum, I sit there and feel all uninspired.

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  3. I get it, we live in a very uninspiring place I think you need to take your mind away from it until it's ready to fill in the inspiration.
    Or you could always surf pinterest until something clicks?

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  4. wow you are the second person in under a minute to suggest pintersest... I was just reading Maxabella Loves blog with the week-end rewinds and she is talking about pinterest... Must have a look at what it is

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  5. I can NOT believe that you don't have Pinterest, seriously look and you'll see why I'm in love with it!

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  6. oh julie i am so happy that yes yes yes to pin the table is out the sewing machine is there! You throw out so casually...hey i made a cushion.....what...i can procrastinate over s cushion for months! yes yes yes to pinterest...seriously its amazing i have over 17,000 pins. seriously i am that addicted....find me here! http://www.pinterest.com/janeg/boards/ that fold out screen look fab....could you put that behind your desk and pin images that inspire, work in progress sketches onto it? my space is now full of mismatched furniture and units aquired for free ( all left behind at a house we rent out by past lodgers) really its such a jumble, i think im going to cover the lot in patchwork! shelves are you next thing babes i think.....with all your cottons out! can you nick that bookcase i can see peeping out! look at the windows though....loads of light! julie this made my day xxxxxxx

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  7. How about playing some inspiring music, whilst you sit in the room, scrolling through Pinterest or a magazine with a coffee, relax and see what ideas come to you in a moment of peace in your room/spacd.

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  8. Erica @ recycled fashion1 November 2013 at 02:58

    I liked Agy's recent blog post about finding creativity, although it is not focused so much on a small space, I do appreciate some of her ideas to get out of a creative funk! http://greenissuessingapore.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/lost-your-creativity.html

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  9. Once you find Pinterest, you can't go back! Loving that you have your own space for creating x

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  10. You are responsible for the cushion!! The screen is actually really precious to me, it is my Grandmother's and she was and artist. But it is falling apart. I want to restore it, but on the same hand I want to preserve it. The bookcase is filled with my art books.

    I want some sort of shelving/display system for my fabric and notions, have been keeping my eye out for curbside finds.

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  11. The space is also half of Jarvis's, you see the start of his area with the colour mats. I originally was trying to 'work' the two together. But I think I need to have my own designs. The concept is he can play while I sew. This worked so well in the old house, but here I am so uninspired

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  12. Excellent read! Thanks so much for the recommendation!!

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  13. LOL, I am now almost scared to go to pinterest! What if I get lost in there?

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  14. I think everyone has these times. Creativity changes with circumstance and seasons. It'll come back :) I totally want to buy a sewing machine because of you. I keep thinking of all the cute skirts and pillows I could whip out.

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  15. Is it possible to be too tired to be creative? I have done so much work in the yard of late I can barely move when I come inside. I do hope my creativity comes back, I feel so flat with out it.

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  16. From my own experience and from my study of creativity - I've found setting up challenges or goals or deadlines helps. From an academic perspective - one of the big creativity scholars particularly looking at motivation, Teresa Amabile, once had what she called an Intrinsic Motivation Principle - i.e. that you had to be internally motivated by passion, enjoyment, etc and that extrinsic factors like deadlines, surveillance, competition, rewards, money, etc were bad for creativity. Turns out that's a bunch of bollocks and after a bunch of other research was done disproving her work, she revised her principle to include extrinsic factors as enablers of creativity as well. Yes, there's the potential there for them to constrain or limit creativity in a variety of ways but they also can open up possibilities and get the bum in the seat when it's most needed rather than waiting around for "inspiration" to strike.

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  17. I have taken your suggestion. Last night I sat down and wrote a list of things I would like to sew for Christmas gifts. Already feeling more inspired thinking of fabrics and designs

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  18. I've really enjoyed having Softies for Mirabel as inspiration and deadline for making new things. Christmas is a great deadline for getting the creative juices flowing :)

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  19. I work well with deadlines, must be all those years of uni?

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  20. come link it honey to the first saturday workspace linky! it' up now! xxxxx

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  21. Will take photos of my new space!

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