ďťż E16 Intro Section
Creative Ruts and How to Escape Them (Without Burning It All Down)
Ever looked at your creative space and thought, âI should be making something⌠but I have zero ideas, zero motivation, and I kind of want to set it all on fire and start fresh?
You tell yourself âI should want to make something right now. I used to love this. Whatâs WRONG with me?!â
Yeahâwelcome to the glamorous world of a creative rut.
We donât talk about them enoughâbut every fabric creative, every maker, every artist hits the wall at some point. And sometimes, itâs not just a wallâitâs an entire fortress of no energy, no inspiration, and maybe even a little burn-it-all-down-and-start-over fantasy.
Now, when we DO talk about ruts, we always hear the same worn-out advice: try new materials, rearrange your studio, just make something small to get the wheels turningâŚ
And listenâIâve done all of that. You probably have too.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesnât. And when it doesnât? It can feel like youâre just going through the motionsâand you still remain stuck.
So in todayâs episode, weâre going to get real about creative rutsâwhat they feel like, how to spot one before it spirals, and most importantly, how to shake yourself loose when all the usual tricks stop working.
Iâm going to share a few unexpected resets that helped me when I hit the wall recently. These are not your typical Pinterest hacksâtheyâre a little unconventional, but shockingly effective.
So, if youâre tired of hearing âjust light a candle and make a vision board,â this oneâs for you.
Letâs talk about why waiting for âinspirationâ is a trap, and 3 unusual ways to get unstuckâwithout throwing your sewing machine out the window.
How do you know youâre in a rutâand not just having an off day? Thereâs a bit of a clue in that statement. Hint - an âoff dayâ is singular!
Letâs be honestâthereâs a difference between âeh, I donât feel like it todayâ and that deeper, more persistent feeling of not being able to create at all.
For me the two can feel similar â and the first (I just donât feel like it today) can drag into the latter (Geez, do I even want to do this anymore!) For some, even a small âdonât wannaâ can feel like a true rut, if it happens more often than not!
Hereâs what it looks like for meâand maybe this will sound familiar.
You avoid your creative space entirely. Not because you donât love it, but because just being in it reminds you of what youâre not doing, what you âshouldâ be working on, and that low-key guilt starts to simmer. So you just⌠avoid it. Thatâs a true rut.
Or maybe, you walk in there and immediately feel overwhelmed. Like, you canât even think about starting anything because youâve convinced yourself itâs going to take too much time, too much energy, or youâre going to mess it up anyway. Now you might also hesitate if you already started something but just canât figure out the next step â although thatâs not usually a true rut.
Orâand this is a big oneâyou find yourself wondering if you even like creating anymore. That thought alone can feel scary. I mean, this is something you used to love. Itâs your outlet, your identity. And suddenly, youâre staring at your fabric or yarn or machine thinking⌠âmeh.â
Hereâs the truth: sometimes itâs not a lack of ideas at all. Sometimes, youâve got too many ideas, and theyâre all vying for attention. Thatâs decision fatigueâitâs real, and it can paralyze your creative momentum.
Or maybe itâs burnoutâyouâve been pushing so hard for so long, the wellâs just empty. Or maybe itâs perfectionism sneaking inâthe pressure to make something amazing every single time, and it just feels like too much.
The point isâitâs not always obvious that youâre in a rut, because it can disguise itself as âIâm just busy,â or âIâll get to it later,â or âI need to be in the mood.â But when later turns into weeks, and you still havenât touched your materials?
Thatâs when itâs time to pause and ask yourselfâŚâWhatâs really going on here? Am I actually stuck? Am I in a rut and need to shake myself loose? Have I gotten comfy down here?â
And if the answerâs yesâdonât worry. Because weâre about to dig into why waiting for âinspirationâ to magically show up again isnât the answer (spoiler alert- it wonât)âand what you can do instead.
Hereâs where a lot of us get stuckâwe think weâre just waiting for inspiration to hit. Like itâs going to show up, unannounced, in a flash of brilliance and weâll suddenly feel motivated, energized, and ready to create something amazing.
But hereâs the thingâand this is a little tough love for all of us: inspiration usually follows action. Let me say that again â Inspiration FOLLOWS action.
Itâs rarely the starting point. Waiting for it can keep you stuck for days, weeks⌠sometimes longer.
Iâve heard it said like this:
âYou canât steer a parked car.â
And itâs true. You have to move, even a little, before you can change direction or gain momentum.
Now, Iâve had plenty of times where I forced myself into action just to see if it would work. Sometimes it didnâtâbut sometimes, it completely shifted things.
Let me give you a recent example.
Iâve been trying to work on this new art collection. And I was stuckâbig time. So I thought, okay, letâs go back to basics. I pulled out the mohair yarns, the paper, the fabric, my bins of findingsâall of it. Made a giant mess on my table and told myself what Iâve told myself for years:
It has to get worse before it gets better.
And you know what? It worked. Ideas started flowing, sketches happened, the color stories started to form. I could feel that familiar creative energy returning.
âŚAnd then, I hit the wall.
I stalledâagain. The next step, the part where I actually create the compositions, just⌠wasnât happening. I kept circling it, but nothing felt right.
Now, hereâs the secret: this is normal for me. It always has been. But it took me years to understand that this IS my normal rhythmâŚso now I use it to my advantage.
See, those first stepsâpulling materials, playing, sketchingâthose are the seeds. And my brain? Itâs happily working in the background now. Iâve learned to trust that the final ideas will come. And when they do, itâll be all at onceâlike a floodgate opening. So Iâve got to be ready when it happens.
I keep the space prepped. I keep it clean and organized so that when the spark does hit, Iâm ready to go.
And the point here is this: inspiration didnât just arrive. It followed action.
That little bit of momentum cracked something open, even if it didnât finish the process. It started it.
So if youâre waiting for that magical moment to show up before you take a stepâdonât.
Take any step, no matter how small. Because even the smallest action could shake something loose.
BUT, letâs talk about what to do when the usual tricksâlike pulling out the materialsâdonât work at all. Iâve got three unexpected, out-of-the-box resets that actually helped me get unstuck.
Now, the best way Iâve ever found to lure inspiration out of the shadows is still to just go to your space. Sit in it. Be in it. Touch your materials, organize your tools, light a candleâwhatever it takes to show up. You might not make anything. You might stare at a wall. Thatâs okay. The point is to let the muse know where to find you.
If youâve already set aside time for your creative work, the best thing you can doâwhether you feel inspired or notâis to show up anyway.
But hereâs the thing.
Weâve all heard the âget back into flowâ advice about a million times:
⢠Change your materialsâtry a different fabric, a new tool, a bold color.
⢠Make something smallâjust create for the sake o f creating, let it be messy.
⢠Change your environmentârearrange your space, go outside, browse a fabric shop.
Sound familiar?
Yeah. Been there. Done that. Spent hours on it. And you know what? Sometimes it worked. But other times? I was still in the exact same spot, wondering why I wasnât getting anywhere.
These resets are supposed to re-energize youâbut sometimes, they just feel like spinning your wheels.
Now donât get me wrongâwhen they work, they REALLY work. But what if they donât?
What then?
Thatâs what I want to share with you now. Letâs step outside the box a little. Here are three things Iâve done when the usual tricks failedâand guess what? These worked better than I expected.
1. I cleaned.
Not just a little tidyingâI cleaned. A serious overhaul of the closet. Deep cleaning the laundry room. Pulling everything out from under the bathroom sink and reorganizing it. The kind of cleaning that isnât glamorous, but needed to be done.
Now, I know this goes against everything weâre told as creatives. âStay in your space, stay with your materials, let the muse find youâŚâ Yeah, wellâif sheâs taking her sweet time? Sometimes you need to hang out somewhere else.
Hereâs why this works:
When youâre stuck, your brain is running this infinite loop. Itâs like that old conversation:
âWhat do you want to eat?â
âI donât know, what do you want to eat?â
âI donât know⌠what do you feel like eating?â
Itâs just spinning. That little blue circle on your mental desktop is twirling away, and nothingâs loading.
You need a hard shutdown.
Doing something completely unrelatedâsomething you needed to do anywayâbreaks that loop. And it comes with a bonus: you feel a sense of accomplishment. Youâve completed something, crossed it off the list, and freed up space on your mental hard drive. And that can make a huge difference when you head back to your creative work.
2. I stopped making and started teaching.
Now hold onâI donât mean I ran out and taught a class. I mean, I sat down and wrote out a tutorial for a past project. I documented exactly how I did itâstep by stepâfrom memory, from my notes, and from what I know.
Hereâs why this works:
Sometimes, the block isnât a lack of inspirationâitâs fear of complexity. Or fear of not getting it right. When you go back and break something downâsomething youâve already doneâyouâre reminding yourself, âHey, I know how to do this.â
It shifts your brain into clarity mode. It reconnects you with what you love and reminds you that youâve done it before. Youâre not starting from scratch. Youâre building from experience. And confidence? Thatâs a spark. And by the way â hereâs where I discovered that I ALWAYS have that space in the process â you remember the one â where I plant the seeds and then step away while they germinate? Yeah â I discovered I do it all the time â not a rut â a formula!
3. Accept that creativity might not look like you expect it to.
This oneâs real-time, straight from my life right nowâConfessions of a Creative, Part 93.
So, Iâm in the middle of forming a new art collection. Iâve taken all the first stepsâgathered the materials, made the sketches, laid the groundwork⌠and then? Stalled. Completely.
I tried the usual stuff. Didnât work.
And then I realized: itâs not a lack of desire. Itâs a side projectâsomething here at home that popped up and now needs my attention. Itâs taking priority because, quite frankly, itâs going to help the inner workings of daily life run a whole lot smoother.
Now hereâs where the creative muse surprises you:
This projectâthis thing that isnât even artârequires planning, sketching, testing materials, constructing forms. Itâs got me drawing schematics and figuring out solutions. Itâs not in my usual wheelhouse, but itâs fun, and Iâm engaged. Iâm creating.
The muse didnât leave me. She just shifted her attention. And Iâm not about to ask her to multitask.
When weâre done with this projectâand we will be, because Cosmo has opinions about the timelineâI know she and I will head back to the collection, and weâll hit the ground running. As we always do!
This is how I work. Iâve learned to trust it. Sometimes your creative energy just takes a detourâand youâve got to let it.
Patience, Virginia. Patience.
Hereâs what I hope you take away from today:
Creative ruts? Theyâre normal. They donât mean youâve lost your spark or that youâre not âreally creativeâ anymore. They just mean your brainâor your bodyâis asking for a reset.
And resets donât have to be massive. Sometimes all it takes is a small shiftâa tiny sparkâto reignite the whole engine.
So if all you can do today is touch your fabric, open your sketchbook, or clear one little corner of your spaceâthatâs enough. Truly. Creativity builds in layers. Let that first layer be light and easy.
Pick one of the three ideas I shared todayâmaybe you clean something totally unrelated, maybe you write out how you did a past project, or maybe you give yourself permission to follow where your creativity wants to go, even if it doesnât look like what you expected.
Try just one thing this week. Let your creative spark simmerâand trust that itâll catch fire again when the time is right.
Youâve got this. Iâll see you next time.
