The Spider and The Mountain copyright Rick Arthur. All rights reserved. Page layout. Pen on 8.5x11 inch bond paper. WIP. Artist: Rick Arthur. A lone samurai runs in freshly fallen snow while facing an unstoppable demon. From the upcoming graphic novel originally inspired by a failed 24-hour Comic Challenge.
"The Brain Is A Funny, Funny Thing..."
We sail into history.
Many creative artists have encounters with all different types of "creative blocks." White paper or canvas, a blank screen with the subtle, blinking cursor, and job specs pile up mocking your existence. Anyone who has faced artistic tasks has all been there. Honest artists that push themselves to achieve more with their work than just making a buck or two will know this gut-wrenching feeling.
Just how damaging can "blocks" be for creative types?
Ideas tumble, fall, drift, sharpen, and are coaxed from hiding in a large number of ways. There are indeed numerous tricks for starting and finishing creative works. Creativity is not just a function of memory directly but of insight. When a jumble of disconnected ideas presents itself, you need to be able to both decipher and place them into context.
As I continue on my art making and storytelling journey, I feel as though it is really the flood of possibilities that becomes the real problem. When I discover a block, usually it is because there are actually too many variables, and I become stunned by the complexity of my potential choices. It can be both numbing and paralyzing. I will complain about not being able "to see" the idea. I should be grateful.
Thousands of hours of problem solving in art has not given me the ability to solve all problems, but it has given me confidence that there is usually more than one solution.
"Here, I'll make it easier for you."
In the film Searching for Bobby Fischer, a perfect illustration of problem visualization is conducted in a single scene. Ben Kingsley tutors a young chess prodigy named Josh who must picture chess pieces and their moves in his head and not rely on his physical senses. In order to perform this mental feat, distractions must be swept aside, and his stern chess teacher then sweeps the pieces from the chessboard and onto the floor.
What we as an audience witness is a physical representation of creating an ability to focus on the main problem and not on a host of smaller problems that block our thinking. While it is shocking to watch the pieces dramatically crash to the floor, the real breakthrough is achieved when Josh stops staring at the chaos and returns his attention to the now-empty chess board. In that moment, he accepts the challenge of becoming a great chess player, one who can concentrate.
Jack Ryan, as played by Alec Baldwin, is shaving and thinking out loud in a scene for the action thriller, Hunt For Red October based on the popular Tom Clancy novels. He is desperately trying to figure out how the rogue Russian sub commander, Ramius, will get his crew off a nuclear submarine in the middle of the ocean. The consequences of not solving this riddle is at the core of the film. Is Ramius trying to defect and how can Ryan deduce what actions to take?
We get to follow Ryan's thought process from the point of being stumped to his "aha" moment of finding a solution. Script by Larry Ferguson.
"The average Russky, son, don't take a dump without a plan. Wait a minute. We don't have to get the crew off the sub. He would have had to do that. We just have to figure out what he's going to do. How is he going to get them off the sub? They'd have to want to get off. How do you get a crew to want to get off a submarine? How do you get them to want to get off a nuclear sub... I know how he's going to evacuate the sub."
What is it that STOPS you from starting?
In creating artwork, the blank page can be an intimidating force that crushes you down. It can be nerve wracking. Hidden somewhere in future of that blank expanse, there are lines, shapes, and tones waiting to communicate your idea. What freezes you in place at the half-way point between idea and action? I simply submit that the brain becomes transfixed by too many possibilities and associations. The real problem may be ill-defined focus making solutions seem impenetrable. Yet, the solution is always there.
I look at creative blocks as distractions where too many possibilities stifle an artist's decision-making prowess. The first trick to getting out of the block is acknowledging that you are in it and realizing that it can be overcome. Put something on the page, even if it is just a panel border or a squiggle that can be erased later. You need a prompt to not only clear your mind but to give yourself permission to start.
If an idea won't come, you can't force it.
Quit banging your head. Take a deliberate break and if you have to, set a timer for 15 minutes. Pick up the nearest book and flip to a random page. Look at a random word or picture. Train yourself to see associations between things that don't go together. Dig into some artwork you really enjoy and just try to think about why it inspires you. Is it the shape, the color, the style? Thinking too hard directly to solve a problem can actually create an art block because it builds anxiety around the problem instead of seeds for possible solutions.
Take a nap, a walk in nature, or a shower. Listen to music. What you want to do is allow the subconscious mind to do what it does best which is ideation. Relax. The subconscious brain, at the edges of our conscious decision-making, tugs and pulls at the conflict you have created and often steps in with solutions. That block really doesn't stand a chance. The only variable is time. How long will a block take to overcome?
A creative block can't last forever, can it?
I am a firm believer that where you put your effort and energy is important. If you strive and seek solutions and put in the effort, you will discover answers. Strengthen your visualization muscle and start understanding how to use your immense powers of association to solve problems. It is literally what your brain was designed for.
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Thank you for participating and collaborating in this storytelling experience. Good luck on continuing your own creative journey.
RICK
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