Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Fractured Creativity

Okay fellow Artful Quilters Webring members, and other creative types - here is a question for you. How many of you suffer regularly from days of fractured creativity? You probably know what I mean - those days when you pick up a project, work for half an hour, get distracted by something else, find yourself pulling fabric and embellishments for a new project that hasn't gelled in your head yet, work on some WIPs, drop everything to zone out at the computer, etc.

I had one of those days today, and am very frustrated. I hate getting nothing productive done! What I have noticed, however, is that those days really seem to be more common when I am close to completeing a project that I have spent quite a bit of effort on. Could I be suffering from separation anxiety? Or is it just procrastination? Aargh!

On the positive side, those are usually the days when email gets answered, the house gets tidied up (somewhat - not too much - gotta keep DH's expectations of cleanliness good and low, don't want to set a clean precedent), and a nice dinner gets made, usually with dessert.

These are also days that are generally followed by insomnia, which I both enjoy (get lots of net surfing done and find cool stuff) and dislike (can't sleep, can't get comfortable, grumpy the next morning). Ah, the addled brain of a creative person on a fractured day.

3 comments:

Karoda said...

Yeah, I get those days frequently. I either give myself permission to not do any sewing and move on to something totally different like reading, or watching a movie...OR I either stop and think about what I really want to do with my quilting, where to I want to go as an emerging artist, etc. that reflective stuff that Gabrielle at Handmaiden blog writes of periodically.

Lisa said...

I get those days, but I suspect it's because I dislike the finishing parts of quilting. My favorite part is the designing, second favorite is the creating. Finishing is just way down on the list and if it wasn't for the fact that I *need* it, nothing would get done!

Anonymous said...

This happens to me all the time.... As I push/pressure myself to make something I end up destroying alot nice fabric or hating anything I make. Very weird, like trying to swim against a current, on those days I get very stubborn, quiet and have insomnia......and surf on the computer until I am ready to come out unto the world again. Thank goodness my husband doesn't dare come around asking for dinner!