How to Restart Your Creative Practice After a Break

Rebuilding rhythm, self-trust, and momentum after a season of disruption

As a professional creative, I find the work of artists and athletes to hold many parallels.

Workouts = Studio Time

Training = Courses

Nutrition = Artist Dates, Museum Visits, Creative Play

Recovery = Reading, Walking

Both require focus, goal setting, coach-ability, resilience, and intrinsic motivation.

Working with this analogy, I have felt quite out of shape creatively. The last four months have knocked me off my feet and it’s taken a lot of diligence and patience to get back into rhythm.

Let’s back-track to see how I got here, and how I’m getting back into shape.

Last fall after I sunset my jewelry business of 10 years, I found myself looking at Q4 a bit dumbfounded. While I had a few things here and there on my calendar I didn’t have a single “big” thing I was working towards.

No big Black Friday sale for the jewelry, no art collection drop, just open space.

It was quite disorienting. Without something to aim towards, I found myself wandering in circles. At the end of September I went on a retreat and got renewed vision for a creative project I had started at the beginning of the year but got cold feet on.

I was off to the races, waking each morning with excitement to put an hour or two towards it. That was until