The Struggle is Real!

 It's been a minute,  but I'm still here, still struggling to get my creative juices flowing again. I think this may be the longest I've ever gone without making something crocheted, embroidered, needle felted, woven, written, journaled, drawn, painted, sewn, sculpted, beaded, stitched, photographed, cleaned, organized, etc. Not even any book reading, and very little blogging. And I hate it! I feel totally useless, and it's depressing.

It's not for lack of trying though. I made myself do these sketches with a water brush pen with barely any India ink in it at the end of May. They came forth from my imagination, but my heart wasn't in it. You can tell it in their faces. They look kind of like I've felt lately...

I forced these sketches at the beginning of June with the brush pen and ink and some words. I was trying to psych myself up to create something, ANYTHING. It didn't work...Creativity can't be forced. It takes patience, so I wait. 

This was a doodle sketch that I watercolored with Kuretake watercolors, in May or June, and left as a work in progress ...

This one is where I re-worked the one above in June, and this is where it is now. I wish I had left it alone. I like the one above much better, but, who knows, I might re-work it again!

Yesterday, July 8, I actually woke up wanting to sketch. I am a little rusty, as you get when you don't practice for periods of time, but I sketched these two from imagination, with a black gel pen on textured mixed media paper, while I drank my morning coffee. Look at the disdain on their faces, like they're saying, "What do you think you're up to?"

I didn't listen to them though, and found a photo of a Sasha doll, exactly like the one I have, on Pinterest and sketched it just to show them! I actually enjoyed doing these, and I sure need the practice!

I'm also thirteen weeks, thirteen memories, behind on the Storyworth memory book that our niece gave me for Christmas, but I have felt a glimmer of a nudge to write in the last couple of days, and I got up the energy to scan these images and post them here today, so maybe my little imp of a muse is about to decide to return. Fingers crossed!

Thank you for visiting, take care, and don't give up on  your creativity. Sooner, or later, it will come back!

I don't claim to be good, but I sure do enjoy trying!