Do you have a creative process that frees you?

What to do when you get stuck in the messy middle of a project

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A few weeks ago, I took a 5-day Art for Good workshop by New Zealand Mixed-media artist Judy Woods. The subject was mixed media design. There are gaps in my knowledge in that area, so I signed up for her 5-day workshop.

The class was well-designed, with a daily live video call and short “why” and “how” videos. The “why” ones explained the purpose of each step in the process, and the “how” videos showed how she did that part. Every day, she repeated some form of the mantra that a good process frees us to experiment.

As someone who has flailed around, especially in the messy middle part of creating something, my ears perked up each time she said that. It took a little while to wrap my mind around the idea.

Judy’s not one for rules, but believes in the benefits and freedom of having a solid process to follow. She graduated from art school without feeling that she had developed her own style or confidence as an artist.

The workshop option I chose began with large light and dark swaths of color and a horizon line. Another step was to tape off an area and play there. She uses inks, contour drawing, and adds texture at different points. I don’t want to share too much of her process. You can take one of her classes. She seems to offer this 5-day workshop once a year. It’s worth taking, whatever you create.

Judy’s made Art for Good a pay-what-you-want enterprise. Those donations add up when so many people take it. This year, she gave $10,000 US to UNICEF.

The first day, I realized I already had a process for starting a new piece. I savor creating textures in heavy-bodied white acrylic paint. Then I begin adding color. After that, I layer some papers, fabric, or bits of nature I’ve collected. I choose whatever gives me that leap of joy inside when I place it in the right place on a piece.

I liked the idea of starting with light and dark swaths, and I’ve always been partial to a horizon line. Those, I kept, but inks weren’t for me and neither was contour drawing. I substitute some stencils for the latter. I also may adopt taping areas off and painting over them.

The beauty of working in multiples

My art mentor, Gina Louthian Stanley, had taught me to work in multiples. Judy Woods emphasized the importance of that as well. It doesn’t matter what you use as a substrate: paper, canvas, or wood. Just work on three pieces of the same-sized material simultaneously. When you get stuck on what to do next on one piece, stop and work on the second or third. Often, you’ll try something there that will give you an idea for the frustrating one.

Art by the author

I also knew about working on multiple pieces at once from writing. My projects flow best when I have two or three going at once and move each forward every day. That might be two novel manuscripts, or a novel and a nonfiction project. Sometimes I switch between a mixed-media project and a writing one. You wouldn’t think an idea born of experimenting with a painting would spark one for fiction, but they do. When that happens, it’s fascinating.

My experience is that the creative process takes similar forms regardless of the genre or medium. Stories need both conflict or action and quiet times, just as good paintings require busier areas and places for the gaze to rest. Books need a hook at the beginning, and paintings have a focal point. All creative processes can have a messy middle. In a novel, the plot can lag in the second act. In mixed media, you can see problem areas you haven’t a clue how to address.

The Woods workshop provided me with tools to move a piece forward when I hit that frustrating stage with visual creations. She gave us a series of “What if” questions and recommended we add the opposite of what you have in the piece. If you have thick lines, try thin ones somewhere, smooth surfaces, add some texture. If the piece is abstract, try a section with something concrete. These may not be new ideas, but Judy created a useful template for a process I can use whenever I don’t know what to do next on a piece. I’m not a seasoned artist. Knowing how to begin to experiment and move a piece forward again is crucial. Without that starting point, I might end up with analysis paralysis and abandon something promising.

I seem to have to keep learning that I can’t figure everything out in my head. I need to jump in, try one approach, and then another until I discover the essence of that creation. Judy’s questions prompt me to try something. Once I do that, I’m off and running. They are only a way to begin again. I may know to try adding circles, but where should they go? Which colors should I use? Do I use paint? Oil Pastels? Fabric or paper? What materials will work best? Those are all questions I need to answer on the way to my unique style.

The key for me is to remember that I have such a useful tool and to use it when I’m stuck about what to try when floundering in that frustrating midway phase. The same is true for my emotional toolbox.

Having a process doesn’t end the uncertainties. In a way, uncertainty, what we don’t know, is the point of creating. We follow what sparks our curiosity. We are open to surprises. In pottery, people are excited to see what unexpected effect the kiln has made in the glazes during firing. We write essays to explore our thoughts and feelings on a subject without knowing how the essay will end.

Judy Woods gave us a great step-by-step process for mixed media design. I need to create the writing equivalent or see if someone has already developed one.

Creative Crop Rotation

Singer-songwriter extraordinaire Joni Mitchell is also an amazing painter. She calls switching from one form of creativity to another and then switching back, crop rotation. That makes perfect sense to me. When the same crop is planted in a field over and over, the soil becomes depleted of nutrients. Farmers know to sow a different crop in that field to enrich the soil again.

Many famous creative people were accomplished in different mediums. Everyone knows about da Vinci and Michelangelo, but did you know that Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Stevie Nicks are/were all painters? What about Sylvia Plath, David Bowie, & Michael Jackson? Antonio Banderas writes poetry and composes music. Actor Hugh Laurie is a talented jazz musician.

In the past, for the most part, society believed people could only create well in one area. Thankfully, that myth has been put to rest. Cross-pollination through working in different mediums sparks unique ideas. I once read that the most creative people make connections between disparate things that others wouldn’t. Playing with different genres and areas of creativity fires the synapses that make those fascinating connections occur more often.

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What about you?

Do you have a process that helps you dive into a new project? Does it include steps you can rely on when you’re unsure what to do next? Let us know in the comments.

Resources & seed pods for you:

Judy Woods Art The 5-day workshop I took was exceptional. Not every artist can break down a process into its component parts and pass it on to others. Judy offers courses called Starts and a year-long course in which she teaches six different ways to begin, troubleshoot, and finish mixed media pieces.

Gina Louthian Stanley's website. Insta: Check out her classes! Gina is an inspired teacher as well as an amazing multi-medium artist.

List of famous writers who also create in visual form

Parade.com lists celebrities who are artists as well.

The Creative Mind.net has a piece about multitalented artists