As we head into the New Year, many of us are making our lists of resolutions and aiming to establish even one more good habit in 2024. Through countless artist interviews, we’ve learned that among the most frustrating struggles of the creative life is knowing what to do when things just aren’t clicking in the studio. Luckily, a number of artists have figured out their go-to tricks for getting “unstuck,” whether that’s chowing down on Chinatown noodles with friends, reading poetry, or heading out into the great wide open. Below, find 10 artists’ go-to rituals for getting around creative blocks.
Anne Buckwalter
Anne Buckwalter in her studio, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.
“There’s this project that Brian Eno did with Peter Schmidt back in the ’70s called Oblique Strategies. It’s a deck of oracle cards that are meant to guide you through creative ruts. The prompts are poetic and ambiguous, like ‘Repetition is a form of change’ or ‘Ask your body’ or ‘When is it for?’ I love them so much. The original edition is rare and I think hard to get, but I got a bootlegged version as a PDF from my friend Liz years ago. When I feel stuck, I shuffle the deck, pull a card, and let that dictate what happens next. The most recent one I pulled, when I was struggling to figure out how to organize the composition of a big painting, said, ‘Go to an extreme, move back to a more comfortable place.’ So I made myself tussle with this large painting. And then once I got it to a place that felt good, I started working on a very small painting, and it felt like approaching it from a new angle.”
Dustin Yellin
Dustin Yellin, 2023. Photograph by Martyna Szczesna.
“I try to go as far away as possible, throwing myself into the most unpredictable and remote environments. Last month, a week before the opening of my exhibition, I trekked into the world’s largest known cave in Vietnam, so vast it has its own ecosystem. I have a need to observe the chaotic, natural processes of our Earth.”
Li Hei Di
Li Hei Di in her London studio.
“I normally take a day off and stay at home. The last time I got stuck and depressed from painting, I sought comfort from loved ones, read some poems by William Carlos Williams, and watched Lust, Caution. I also looked at Old Master paintings and reminded myself art is good, and to be patient.”
Nari Ward
Artist Nari Ward shot in his Harlem studio for Lehmann Maupin.
“I never feel stuck. And here’s what I mean by that: doubt drives my work. So, ‘stuck’ is not a word that resonates for me, because, to me, it implies that you know where it is you want a work to go and have been temporarily waylaid. But I’m always excited when I’m not sure where I’m going or how my materials will respond. And in that way, everything is a discovery.”
Song Dong
Portrait of Song Dong, 2023. Courtesy of Pace, New York.
“Let nature take its course. Adversity is wealth. You do not need to get rid of this feeling. It is one of the sources of energy and wisdom.”
Cosmo Whyte
Photograph by Matthew Kroening.
“I have a very small circle of close friends I can talk to, to work through a project, writing, or idea. It’s reciprocal; whenever they’re bouncing around an idea, I try to make myself available to help. I trust them to be honest with me and value their opinion. Typically when I reach out, I am asking questions like: Does this make sense? Are these concepts getting across? How can I improve upon a particular piece? While their input goes a long way, ultimately, I must decide on what’s right for the work and my vision.”
Natalia Gonzalez Martin
Natalia Gonzalez Martin in the studio. Photo by Naomi Rea.
“I paint, which is probably not what I should do. I should either be drawing or maybe focusing on the research or again, going out and looking. I just sit here when instead I could have spent the day seeing galleries but I feel like if I’m in the studio, this is what I need to be doing. So it’s a bit like, this is why I’m telling myself: don’t do this. Go and see some art, which is the best thing to open up a bit. But I just paint. It means I have a million disgusting paintings that I hope they never see the light of day because they’re proper essays, like: bad.
“The thing is again that sometimes you get hit by divine inspiration or something. And it becomes very straightforward. Sometimes you do know actually what you’re doing in the studio. And so this, all of these, I started last week. So they are a week old, they’re babies basically. The things that are put down, I knew exactly what I was doing—it’s the rest that I would probably take a couple of weeks with. Like getting the details of this fabric. I know it’s going to be a lot of work.”
Ivy Haldeman
Courtesy of Ivy Haldeman.
“When I feel stuck, there’s nothing like some cheap Chinatown noodles with friends.”
Maya Varadaraj
Maya Varadaraj, 2023. Courtesy of Wassaic Project.
“I might just give myself a complete break and watch TV or read. When I was prepping for my last show, I had a lot of those days because a lot of the stuff I’m painting felt heavy. Even though it’s therapeutic, I also need a break from thinking about it. Reading Rilke’s poems was a really nice reset. Instead of having to soothe myself, I was reading about someone else who was soothing themselves. When you read the book, it feels like two artists just giving each other advice. It felt as though I was talking to a friend and they were telling me to take it easy and that it’s okay. It was very centering for me. And it didn’t feel as though I was procrastinating but progressing somehow.”
Tara Geer
Tara Geer. Photo by Fredrika Stjärne
“I have been trying to standardize this re-entry. The past few years, when I feel stuck, or even stuck-ish, I make circles. I close my eyes and, as slowly as I can, I brush uneven ink circles, in a probably un-kosher, jerry-rigged version of the Zen Buddhist monk practice called Enso. I make the circles, over and over, until I am not looking at the drawing—even in my mind. I am feeling out into the world. Then I leave notes below the ink circles about what worked for the next time I get stuck. Sometimes, I say, just get your hands dirty for the length of one good song. Or, feel as much of the world as fits in one bathtub, and then walk away.”
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