How to deal with them without giving up or burning out
If you are feeling stuck in your art practice, you are not alone. It happens to every artist at some point. Whether you are just starting or have been making art for decades, creative ruts are part of the process.
I have been there. So have many of the artists I coach. The important thing to know is that being in a rut does not mean something is wrong with you. It just means you are in a different part of your creative rhythm.
Creativity has natural ups and downs. Some days the ideas come fast and easy. Other days, nothing feels right. That does not mean you are lazy or uninspired. It means your energy is shifting. Resting. Rebuilding.
The world we live in pushes us to be productive all the time. But creativity does not work like that. You need time to reflect. Time to refill. Time to reconnect.
There are many reasons you might feel stuck. Here are a few I hear often in coaching:
Sometimes it is clear what caused the rut. Sometimes it is not. Either way, it is okay.
This part is important. You do not have to be constantly creating to be a real artist. You are still an artist when you are resting. You are still an artist when you are unsure. You are still an artist when you are thinking about what to make next.
The creative part of you does not disappear. It just shifts into a quieter mode sometimes. That is not failure. That is part of the process.
Trying to push through a rut often backfires. It can create more pressure, not less. If that is where you are right now, here are a few gentler ways to move forward.
Change up your materials. Work at a smaller scale. Make something silly. Take the pressure off and let yourself play.
Why did you begin making art in the first place? What did you love about it? What do you miss now? Go back to that place and start there.
If you are scrolling through other people’s work and feeling worse about your own, step away for a bit. Give yourself space to hear your own voice.
Write down what you are feeling. Say it out loud to yourself or a friend. When you name the fog, it starts to clear.
You do not have to figure this out alone. A creative coach or mentor can help you reconnect with what matters and find a next step that feels right.
I stopped making art for more than ten years. I was working as a designer and using creativity every day, but I had lost my personal connection to art.
In my forties, I started working with an art therapist. That changed everything. I discovered encaustic painting. The texture, the layering, the freedom to let go of control. It gave me a way back in.
That experience is part of what inspired me to start coaching. Now I help artists and designers reconnect with their practice in a way that feels honest, flexible, and real.
They are not signs of failure. They are not the end of your creative life. They are a pause. A space. A signal that something inside you is shifting.
Maybe you need rest. Maybe you need play. Maybe you need permission to change.
Whatever it is, you are still in it. You are still an artist. You are still allowed to move at your own pace.
If you are feeling stuck and want help, I am here for that. Coaching is a place to talk about what is not working without judgment. It is also a place to rediscover what lights you up.
You do not need a plan. You do not need to be ready. You just need to show up as you are.
Book a free call with me and let us figure it out together.
© 2026 From Stuck to Studio
Len Collins | Art & Design Coaching | Calgary