If you have ever picked up a pencil to doodle on the corner of your paper, you probably have come across this problem. The concept of the art block is a widespread problem amongst artists no matter the medium. From painters to cartoonists, to sculptors - "art block" is a dreaded two-word phrase that automatically fills one up with feelings of exhaustion and frustration. It's like getting stuck in traffic on a busy highway; you desperately want to get to your location, but you find yourself stuck or inching along only paces at a time.

The feeling of being stranded or just plain frozen in one location for an extended period of time is highly frustrating, but often that is a feeling associated with art. When you create, you sometimes find yourself in one spot, at one part of your drawing or painting, and you just can't seem to move forward no matter what you do. Your art is stuck in traffic and there is no way to quickly get to its destination.

However, all hope is not lost when it comes to the dreaded art block. Yes, having an art block seems like it can be extremely frustrating and intimidating. However, there are ways to move around this problem and progress as artists. Methods for overcoming art block vary from person to person, but there definitely exists some general advice to help those who are struggling from "creativity constipation" overcome and move forward.

First of all, something that helps me get through art blocks is taking my art to a different location. We are often creatures of habit and thus we spend a lot of our times in locations that make us feel comfortable and are familiar to us. Personally, that place for me is my room.

However, if I feel stuck, I will take my sketchbook and go out somewhere. Sometimes, it's just moving to another room, but other times I go to a coffee shop and grab a drink while I take in my new environment and draw. Perhaps it's part of the mentality of just being someplace unusual to us or unfamiliar; our brains take time to adjust to our new location and thus new thoughts start to form that wouldn't have come to us previously.

Another thing that I find helpful is focusing on the things that you love. Often, inspiration comes from things in your life that brings your happiness or joy. Thus, it makes sense for us to immediately turn to things in our lives that bring us that type of glee. So if you enjoy flowers and nature, go out and create landscape inspired art. If you like to draw cartoons, go all for it and don't hold back. Find the things in your life specifically, those things in relation to your art that bring you extreme satisfaction, and incorporate them into your daily life.

Often, when I feel like I don't have any good ideas for art, I find that talking with my friends and family members is a good method for getting creative juices flowing. I know it sounds kind of silly and mundane, but often it takes talking things out with a third party to see problems from another perspective. Something that seems impossible and difficult for you may not seem like such a colossal problem to another set of eyes. Sometimes it takes a village to raise a child and other times it takes a group of people to raise an art project.

If I am feeling especially frustrated with a project, sometimes I just switch to another project altogether. This can seem counter-productive to one's art projects, but sometimes it really does just take some time away from one project to help give that extra burst of creative energy. While working on another art project, you could find inspiration and ideas to add to your original one. Ideas can come to you when you least expect it, so don't think you have to put all of your eggs into one basket. Spread out and cover more ground by working on a different project to give you that boost.

Speaking of taking a break, I often find that some days I just have to accept that I am not going to be productive. Sometimes I pick up the pencil and try to sketch only to find that nothing I do seems or feels right. If that feeling, that artist block, persists, sometimes I just have to go put my pencil down and not force it. Go do something else for a bit. You could read a book, go get a snack, go for a drive, or just take a nap. No matter what you do, just step away from the art scene if even for just a little bit. Coming back, you will feel refreshed and can approach things from a different angle.

Overall, the art block is something that we all we encounter in our lives as artists. However, that doesn't mean we have to completely live in fear of it. There are ways to cope with art block and often, due to the time and care you put into taking care of your art and yourself, you can come out stronger as a person and as an artist in the end.