Thursday 3 December 2009

Stuck Fast

During the last few weeks I have been feeling very lost with my practice, and maybe in general. There seemed to be more questions than answers. I have been feeling as though everything is beyond my reach; in a haze.


What do I want to say?

How can I say it?

What is the context of my work?

Where does it fit in a professional market/context?

Am I achieving what I set out to?



Everyone keeps telling me that everything will become clear when it is ready... but what if it never does?

Today I pinned up my work to reflect on what I have been doing. I hoped to find a pattern in the chaos or to have some kind of eureka moment, but it never came. I suppose what I was really wishing for was for someone else to see my work and make some helpful remarks, but I was out of luck!


Thanks to Fiona & Polly for giving me a good impromptu 'tutorial' on the train home from Manchester. They persevered and managed to squeeze out of me the gist of my subject. I also think the suggestion to get drunk and then write about my work may pay dividends - although I am currently drinking tea and entirely sober!

Any help or comments will be gratefully received. Thank you!

2 comments:

  1. Jacqui Calladine4 December 2009 at 17:39

    Hi Hannah...I've been following your practice for a while and have enjoyed reading your blog. Much of it resonates...I had a big creative block this year after a personal loss & struggled to find a meaning in anything I was doing. I had no problem in creating work, I just couldn't find any meaning in it & felt like I was just going over old ground all the time. What pulled me out of this was writing a personal journal everyday...not a diary, more a stream of thoughts. It's an exercise from Julia Cameron's fantastic book 'The Artist's Way'. I'm not usually a fan of 'self-help' books but this one was recommended by another artist friend & it certainly makes you question what you are doing & why. I don't have all the answers now but I feel like I know what I want from my practice which is a huge breakthrough!

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  2. Hi Hannah, I know what you mean - turning around in circles. Once I followed a workshop with Irene van der Wolf (in the Netherlands). The most important thing she learned me was that there are two ways of making a. that what is known b. that what will be discover. Important is you have to ask yourself 'what is the feeling when observering your own work' and than going further with that feeling. She has a book in dutch and english. see www.kunstwolf.nl Hope this helps you a bit, suc6 Dorie

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