Creative cycles

[Susan Hosken]

Dear friend,
I have pronounced cycles of super creative time and then quiet time on a 10 to 21 day cycle. I was interested to know how other peoples cycles are. Do you have creative and quiet times or are you creative all the time. How do you deal with the cycles? How do you cope when you aren't being creative? I find the time when I am quiet and uncreative except for my writing the most challenging. I love being creative. i'd love to read your reactions to this post.
lots of love from susan in australia
PS The photo is one of my first bracelets. I just learnt the other day how to do them

[NITA]

Hello Susan,

I am in the what i call 15minutes creative cycle stage and it has been this way for about month - I found myself thinking to the point of over analysing a creative project or activity and so decided that instead of thinking just to go with flow for about 15mins - for example sketch for 15mins - just give myself 15mins - telling my mind just 15mins - then if i felt i could carry on if not....then move onto soemthing - i usually find listening to music and dancing, taking photographs, collage or cooking to be great 15mins activities....

as for the quiet times...yes i do get anxious...oh no how long will this last...and as always it is not forever!!!!...i am learning and yes getting better to go with the flow, after all it is a cycle....and i have found the quiet moments to be can be great and affective reflection time and time to reward one self and really take in now. I can understand the need to be moving but for me personally when the need becomes to make myself busy i know i am no longer that wonderful creative artist.

i try not to be too hard on myself - if its anger that rears its ugly head in my non-creative moments - i use that energy - write it down or splash some paint and show my emotions - release and let go.

if i am dealing with boredom ....sometimes i allow myself to be bored and have a day of nothingness and uncertainty because it there is one thing for certain things can only get better...even if its a small bit action like going on an artist date.

I also find 'hanging out' with other creative buddies very uplifting and refreshing whether its coffee and chat or here at ccs!!

[Susan Hosken]

Nita, Thanks so much for commenting about your creative cycles. i found it very interesting and helpful for me. You gave me some great idea.
lots of love from susan in australia

[Jules]

Susan- what a beautiful bracelet! Horah for you :-) I remember you saying you did not know how when Barb put on the swap...you can't say that anymore :-)

I never took the time to notice my cycles Susan. I will have to see if I can look backwards and remember. If not, I will begin to keep track of it in my journal and let you know what I discover.

[Susan Hosken]

How kind of you Jules to study your creative cycles. Mine are very pronounced and I am trying to learn to honor the different phases. I'll be interested in what you discover.
I love knowing I can make bracelets now.
susan

[WildCherry]

Lovely bracelet Susan! Well done:-)

Funny you should mention this cycle thing because I'm just emerging from my annual non-creative cycle which generally lasts roughly the first two months of the year. I used to think it was a creative block but now I've seen it happen over several years I have realised that it is just my personal winter rest cycle...My energy is very low at this time of the year and I sleep and eat more than normal. I guess I'm hibernating but I think I'm also incubating at the same time as I tend to emerge in spring full of vitality and creative energy. So I've decided next year that I will just not plan to do anything creative at all during those months.

I also notice a creativity boost in the last week of my menstrual cycle and can often produce more in that week than in the rest of the month put together.

I think its great that you've started this discussion as I think being aware of our cycles of creativity - if we have them - can really help to (a) be more productive when we are at our most creative and (b) not get too disheartened when we are in a non-creative cycle but instead use it as a time to nurture ourselves.

[Susan Hosken]

Wild Cherry, Thanks for sharing your creative cycles. I am very interested in other peoples and how they work with them. I have found mine very challenging but am now working with them.
lots of love from susan in australia

[Anne Westlund]

Susan

I'm in a creative cycle right now. I think I will have to journal, like Jules said, to figure out if I go in regular cycles. I'm thinking of using a calendar to mark my creative and not so creative days. Thanks for this discussion!

Anne

[Susan Hosken]

Anne, Look forward to reading about your creative cycles. Mine are very pronounced but I am learning to smooth them out and enjoy them more particularly the less creative time.
lots of love from susan in australia

[Dan Goodwin]

I'm not sure I have creative cycles from week to week or month to month. I do find that in this country (UK) people are obsessed with the weather and from about September to March talk endlessly about how dark and grey it is. There's a lot of talk about hibernation too! I just get on with things whatever the weather, but there's definitely a different feel amongst people when it's a sunny day as opposed to a rainy day.

People say things like: "I don't mind the cold I just hate it when it's cold and damp" with the kind of voice and attitude as if they've ordered lobster thermidor in an expensive restaurant and instead being given a plate of fishfingers and soggy chips in a greasy cafe. Like they've only just realised it's often grey and dull and rainy here and it's their birthright to have endless sunshine! Move to the Mediterranean or Australia if you don't like it!

Of course when Summer comes that's not right either, it's too humid, too hot or too bright. Guess it's the English disease!

[Jules]

LOL. It is not so different here Dan. I hear the same people whining because it is to hot and because it is too cold. Personally, I reserve all my bitchin rights for the cold. I do not function well in the cold- I want to grab a blanket and wrap up in it and stay there until it warms up!
Two years ago we went from Jan 1 through March 10 without a spot of sunshine, and that was hard on many people emotionally- a lot of 'winter blues' type depression.

I am still looking into if and when I have my creative cycle, but I have already discovered my tendency to read more in the winter months- I don't think that is really a creative cycle as much as I don't like to move around a lot when it is cold. I do not weigh a lot, so I do not have an excess of body insulation to help keep me warm.

I have begun to make marks on a calender so I can see if I have a cycle that I can become aware of and learn to take advantage of.

[Susan Hosken]

Jules, I'll be interested to see if you have a creative cycle.
lots of love from susan in australia

[Susan Hosken]

Dan, Are you able to be creative whenever you feel like it? Are you very creative every day?
lots of love from susan in australia