In the last two weeks, I have been blown away by the great positive response I’ve received to two mandalas that I’ve shared. And it’s reminded me of a simple way to mix things up, break ruts and overcome feeling stuck about a creative project.
So what’s so special about these two mandalas?
The first one (Light and Shadow on the left below) was one of my earliest hand-drawn mandalas. It’s rare because it’s asymmetrical and in black and white. Nothing like the mandalas I’ve been recently drawing. I took a chance and shared it. The positive feedback was lovely.
Light and Shadow Mandala
Return to Self Mandala
That week I also had the pleasure of posting Jacinta Cubis’ The Creative Life Interview. In it, Jacinta talked about how she would ‘break patterns’ whenever she got stuck or felt in a rut.
So I took her advice, buoyed by the Light and Shadow Mandala’s feedback, and created the asymmetrical Return to Self Mandala (shown on the right). It was fun. I just went with the flow. Once again my risk paid off and this mandala was also well received. (If you want to receive future Mandala Inspirations directly into your inbox, then sign up here.)
That’s also why I’ve enjoyed doing The Creative Life interview series. Everyone I’ve interviewed has given some useful tips about what they do about breaking out of a rut or feeling stuck – from taking a break to doing something mundane. Click on each interviewee image below to read their full interview and get lots more creativity tips.
Thanuja Gunatillake. Image: Thanuja Gunatillake
Rosie Shilo. Image: Virtually Yours
Jacinta Cubis. Image: Sophie Read, Concrete Cloud Photography
Fay Chan. Image: Fay Chan
Their interviews also remind me how everyone is different. We all have our own take. The trick is to find what works for us.
Breaking patterns, doing something different, introducing random inputs, or performing repetitive tasks are great ways to take advantage of how our brain works. You can read more about it in this blog: How to find creative inspiration.
The other thing is to keep things small. When you’re feeling stuck, it’s not the time to be overly ambitious or push yourself. So you might find reading this blog useful: 10 tips to make your dream happen.
And last of all, I took a risk doing something different. There was no guarantee that either of these mandalas would be well received. I felt a little trepidation each time as I was about to press the Publish button. But luckily my belief that “Done is better than Perfect” outweighs any fears and helps me press that button. To find out what else I’ve learnt about facing your creative fears read this blog: Facing your creative fears.
What do you do whenever you’re feeling stuck or in a rut with your creativity?
