In 2022, I decided to create an art account on Instagram. 

The idea was to dump all the different things I’ve created so far in my life – sketches, foam armor, digital paintings, and even poetry, and then post regularly about the current ones, but I left it inactive for so many months and felt guilty that I couldn’t bring myself to produce anything. 

I was in what they call an artist’s slump, and this had been going on for so many years. It was frustrating because I thought, if I finally have a job that encourages work-life balance, I could attend to the hobbies that were put on hold. I thought I could finally have the time to hone my talents and stop telling myself excuses that I’m busy, exhausted from the day’s activities, and that it’s the external factors around me that’s hindering me from reaching my full potential. But a year into my current work setup and I was still in said slump.

The truth was, I was the one hindering myself. I was very low in confidence and kept bomboarding myself with negative self-talk, self-doubt, and thoughts of comparison to other people. A lot of irrational fears kept my mind occupied and the days went by with me just scrolling mindlessly and endlessly through social media. I kept telling myself that I need to finally start doing what I love, but I never acted on these thoughts. And I loathed myself all over again. It was a never-ending loop. 

Looking back now, I realized that I was being so hard on myself.

I’m not sure how I came across this video, but it was such a blessing at the time because Chelli Look’s encouragement was exactly what I needed to hear.

(If you’re reading this and you’re currently in an artist’s slump, I highly recommend watching!)

I forced myself out of the slump. I tried different hobbies.

I tried going back to drawing.

Tried again with Conté à Paris crayons.

Pushed myself to write more consistently in my journal.

Forgave myself when I wasn’t improving as fast as I wished. Gave myself grace and just enjoyed the process. Ignored the negative looming thoughts.

Explored air dry clay and made a few trinkets out of it.

Then, painting.

The idea of painting on a canvas taunted me because I was afraid of the lack of control and how easy it was to make mistakes. My overwhelming need to be perfect at something stunted me to learn the craft in the first place. So I started it slowly by buying a paint-by-numbers Taj Mahal template in SM.

My goal was to paint everyday after work for 2 hours max, but I found myself so deep into it that when I was done for the day, it was 12am and everyone was asleep. 

Finally, I thought. I missed the feeling of immersing myself into my craft and losing track of time because of it. This was the therapy I needed.

Taylor Swift was absolutely right – she said the more she wrote songs, the happier she was, and I could say the same thing about crafting. It generally improved my mental well-being.

I won’t say I have totally overcome the slump. There are still days when I have to fight past the self-doubt and lack of inspiration. But here’s the simple things I learned:

1. Set aside some time each day dedicated to just making art.
2. If what you’re crafting is not going well, fight the urge to rip the paper apart. Just trust the process and finish your work. 
3. Create a series – one that you know you can achieve without getting overwhelmed.
4. This world needs your art. You owe it to the world to show up.

“I give myself permission to just make for the sake of making without any thought to the outcome, which can be surprisingly hard. … What I would tell my younger self is this: There is no ‘right’ way to make art. The only wrong is in not trying, not doing. Don’t put barriers up that aren’t there — just get to work and make something.”

Lisa Golightly