[AimlessArtist]

I need to tell a story, create SOMETHING, but I can't pull it together in my head, and I get so close, but it slips away every time, and I can't keep ahold of it and I don't know what to do anymore. I know what I can do, but I don't know what I NEED to do, what I'm being led to do.

All I want is some advice, and to talk about this. I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for it, but I needed to get this written down and set up before it slipped away from me too.

[possum220]

When something comes into your head write it down straight away. Then you will have a record of it. Even if it comes to you at night have a pen and paper beside your bed. Once you have written it down you can go back to sleep. Hopefully the full picture will emerge.

[AimlessArtist]

I've tried that, it doesn't really work. I get hung up on about 3000 versions of the same thing, and only ever when I'm in a position where I can't do anything about it, like when I'm at work. And it doesn't just come as a straightaway picture or idea, It's like everything's in a hazy mist that I have to wrestle and fight with to get the smallest bit of information, and by the time I have, I can't do anything with it. Eventually, all I end up with is a few scattered bits and pieces of something that no longer have any actual relevance to each other anymore, and to try and reconnect them I have to go through the whole thing again.

And it just makes me absolutely furious that other people just have these epiphanies and know exactly what they want to do as soon as they put themselves to it.

[Travelinglady]

What else have you tried? It would help us to know, so we won't suggest something else that hasn't worked for you.

I TOTALLY hear ya. I've been struggling with this same issue. "Tip of my tongue" is not exactly right. I feel like my head is wrapped in a cellophane bandage. I do know about "do anything" and I do but I can't seem to EXPRESS what I want to say. I take pictures almost everyday. Most of it never goes anywhere... It's just the act of seeing and composing and being in the moment. I try to get something creative in. I do make an effort to work in my studio. In fact I just finished two pieces but they haven't really gotten to the point of expressing what I really want.

Mindful practice helps too but ever since I started an ssri last year it is not helping so much. Before that I was really productive. Now I struggle. I am tapering off the ssri so we will see if that helps.

Ssri aside, I know my work is intuitive. When I was working on my BFA I started with this really horrible piece. It was so horrible I started down a different path. Eventually I came back to it and came out with a pretty good show and I could see how it important the horrible piece was to the final. I even held on to it for a long time. I just have to remind myself there are these pieces that eventually do come together through process. Maybe you have some similar thoughts?

And have you read the book steal like an artist? I don't go for art "self help" books but this one has some really great gems.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[AimlessArtist]

I haven't really tried much else that I can remember besides the note taking, so suggestions are welcome. That being said, I tend to find a lot of reasons NOT to do something, so be warned.

As for Michanne, you do sort of seem to get it, although a cellophane wrap isn't necessarily the way I'd explain it. Anyway though, It's not just enough to live in the moment, get my kicks in the making of it, I need something more. I need a finished product to show for the work I've put in, not just to show myself or others, but because the work isn't just a self explanatory piece or a boggling surrealist mindscrew, it's a story. It would probably help if I explained that I'm more of cartoonist/comic kind of guy and not a traditional artist. And no, I've never read the book, but I might look into it now.

My main problem is that I can only feel what I want, and I can't put it down on paper despite knowing the kind of message I want. It's like there's a literal block, a wall I can't climb that everyone else can, and every now and again the frustration builds up and I get frantic, like I did when I made the first post, desperate for some sort of explanation as to why I can't put the swimming thoughts in my head together long enough to do anything with. I can't express what I need to, because I don't know what I need to express, just that there's something that urgently needs to be expressed. It's as if I vaguely know my destination but I'm blind.

And please, if I need to clear anything up and clarify, let me know. Most people tend to completely misunderstand what my point is, and I have trouble getting it through to them.

[shabur]

I, too, struggle with holding onto my thoughts and coming up with the right words. I started using the recording option on my cell phone. This way I can say anything, get the idea out then later listen to it and try to find the words I need to use.

[hvert]

This sounds counter-intuitive, but sometimes I find it helps to just FINISH something, even if the finished product is really crappy and not what I wanted to do at all. It's the finishing that matters. One you finish one thing, it is easier to finish the next thing.

I like what Michanne described with her BFA project - sometimes we have to do something that doesn't seem good or useful in order to get to the end result we're looking for.

How often do you visit places with art? That is something I do when I am stuck too. The thing is the more you learn about artist bios the more you find out reaching for that nearly unattainable something is what most of them do. I spent a lot of time looking at abstract expressionist work last year and that is definitely a group looking for something. I even stole some of rothco's transitional period ideas. That book I recommended talks about this too.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Try Carl Jung's "Active Imagination" technique.

Create a character in your mind, then have that character ask you questions and write down the back and forth. Don't merely ask yourself questions as you though, really try to act as though someone else is asking you, and respond as you would to another person in a real conversation. Once you've answered, use that character to dig deeper. Have it ask follow-up questions, or questions that you wouldn't normally want to answer.

I began doing this a couple years ago on my own, and only learned later that it was an actual technique that had been around for so long. If you really allow yourself to answer honestly, and really try to put yourself in that character's mindset, you'll be amazed at how much you can discover about yourself. It's essentially creating a muse for yourself that you can access at any time. You may be able to use it to narrow down what it is you want to explore on paper.

[Outcast_of_RGaol]

Originally Posted by AimlessArtist

I need to tell a story, create SOMETHING, but I can't pull it together in my head, and I get so close, but it slips away every time, and I can't keep ahold of it and I don't know what to do anymore. I know what I can do, but I don't know what I NEED to do, what I'm being led to do.

All I want is some advice, and to talk about this. I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for it, but I needed to get this written down and set up before it slipped away from me too.

Sorry that you're feeling so stuck... I hate it in my own life iand it seems to have taken over every aspect of my being. So again, I'm really sorry to hear that you're struggling so much with it.

Have you ever had a full Psychological Evaluation done?