Finding the fun and following that thread

Some musing on feeling burnt out and some ways I am trying to find the fun and rest.

Hello friends & forest dwellers,

Recently, I have found myself daydreaming about being alone in a studio with space to start a few big projects. A lot is going on for us recently in preparing to move, my desk/workspace is a mess (as is the rest of the house). I don’t have much room to work except on my iPad. A large painting I did in university hangs on our wall in our bedroom, I look at it and long to have the time and space to work on something on that scale again.

Not the most flattering picture of the artwork, it needs a better frame and is covered up a bit by our clutter, but it’s real life.

Kimberly Kuniko (she/her)

put a journaling prompt on her Patreon that was helpful to think through my creative process, and then to think through how I would advise a friend in my position. This helped me to realise what I’d known for a bit but hadn’t admitted to myself, that I’m burned out.

My relationship with burnout seems to be like an annoying neighbor who keeps coming over uninvited.

Maybe that is how most people feel with the current state of the world, maybe this is the reality of parenting while working part-time. I think what caught me off guard this time about the burnout is that I have been doing some things that are restful and helpful, but I guess those were only enough to delay the burnout and not mitigate it completely.

My tank has been running on empty, and I thought putting a few drops in would keep me going.

So here are some things I am going to try to help refuel my tank rfrom empty:

• Saying no to more things. The kids had gotten invited to several birthday parties this past weekend; looking back, I should’ve just said yes to one.

• Don’t even think about flying.

  

  image from wikipedia

  “Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at the scenery. Doze off at noon. Don't even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you'll be flying again.”

  - Ursula, Kiki’s Delivery Service

I’m trying to give myself more space to do other things I enjoy that aren’t art or creativity related ( like playing Oblivion Remastered, anyone else?). I tend to try to power through creative block, but that is very counterproductive when the creative block is caused by burnout. (Kiki’s Delivery Service is a great movie to watch if you’re feeling creative burnout, btw.)

• Chase the fun. Sometimes what my ADHD brain really needs is to be untethered, to be free to go down the rabbit trail of a creative endeavor that is exciting me. Sometimes letting myself hyperfixate on a new creative hobby gives me fuel and energy overall. I am annoyed when I have to put it down, but sometimes I am able to come back to it a little bit each day (until I abruptly lose interest) and use it as motivation to get other things done first, or just something to look forward to. I have a few creative projects that I want to start or are really exciting to me lately, but I keep putting them aside because I have other priorities. I think I am going to need to give them more room, even if that just means making and fiddling with a Milanote board for them for 10 minutes a day.

• Hang out with other creatives. Does anyone want to help me with this one? I don’t know about you, but just being around other creatives, talking about our process, venting, or doodling together gives me so much energy. I think this is why, even though I was DEAD tired in University (due to a lack of sleep), I was never short of inspiration, I was never creatively tired. I always had more ideas than I had time for. I still look back on Art School fondly for that reason, being around so many artists every day is something that I sorely miss. I would love to try and carve out time to maybe have a Zoom hang with other artists where we could chat or even do a little show and tell of the current projects we’re working on, and give feedback. If you’re interested, let me know!

Are there any tips and tricks you use when trying to recover from burnout or creative block? Let me know in a comment or in response to this email, as I clearly could improve in this area.

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Forest Folk

-Patreon & Ko-fi Rewards for April 2025"-

You can sign up at the respective tiers to get the these rewards through the 29th of April. I also post behind-the-scenes, process videos, sketches, and new art on Patreon & Ko-fi. You can join as a free member on patreon or make a one time donation on ko-fi to unlock some posts. Also feel free to join the chat here or on my quiet little Discord server where I post some sketches and have some space ot chat about video games and other nerdy things.

Thanks for taking the time to read this wee post about how tired and cranky I’ve been feeling along with my plans to hopefully improve my mood.

Rest up and stay curious,

Nicki