Downed Tools...

1. designer's block

When any form of a designer can't come up with creative ideas.

Similar to writer's block in the sense that nothing gets done.

I can't think, I have terrible designer's block!!

Once again a big gap has formed between my posts, in my drafts box there's three which were supposed to proceed this one, but I thought better of posting them. I've got to admit I'm in a bit of a slump at the moment. Before Christmas, I left uni feeling so enthusiastic about getting back to making jewellery properly, but after the Christmas commissions, I've just stopped. The last week has probably been the worst, at least before I'd been trying making a few pieces and I organised my workshop, getting everything into a place where it really flows when you work and everything's at hand, but also has a place to be put away. But this last week I've just looked at everything I've done, everything I've designed over the last few months and everything I've made previously and I've thought, "god that's useless!"

The honest answer is I've been depressed about a lot of things recently, but especially the terror of the future. I turn 25 in a few months and the idea of still not really knowing what to do with my life is scaring me. I know I want to do jewellery, but I've got no confidence in my design work and if I want to consider teaching, I'll need to do a PhD and that terrifies me more! I just don't think I would cope doing a PhD! (I'm not pandering for praise or anything by writing this, I'm just saying that this is the reason I've not been posting much.)

Another thing which has got to me is a lot of my friends from uni have been setting up Facebook fan pages. A lot of them have a year on me making wise because of me doing the Masters, but I look at them and I can't subscribe even though I want to because I'm (a) a bit jealous and (b) terrified because they seem to have a very defined style and I don't think I do. I still feel kind of all over the place.

This is the piece I was working on most recently and I got so excited about it and worked out a load of other designs to go with it, but within about a day the slump set in and it's still sitting waiting to be finished. At which point I started avoiding it by trying other things, like knitting my friends daughter a momerath for her birthday, working out new window displays for work and making buttons out of the repetitive textile prints I've been playing with:

I'm a little all over the place as you can see, though it has led to a revamp of the old blog which I'm really pleased with. I think I'm going to try and take my dad's advice and just sit down and make some stuff, good or bad, old or new, just to get making. I think being stuck at home all the time and not being in touch with my friends anywhere other than the aforementioned social networking site hasn't helped me going in on myself. If anything it was inevitable going from seeing people every day or not seeing anyone ever.

The perils of living in a town where none of your old friends now life and none of your uni friends would ever come and visit. :(

Least for now I have a backlog of Adam and Joe podcasts to keep me going :)

SAVE 6MUSIC!