chaos theory

with Antonina Mamzenko

Hi friends,

Want to know my secret formula for getting out of creative rut?

Just kidding. There is no recipe to creativity. Even "bibles" of creativity like The Artist's Way don't suit everyone (I never got past the morning pages!) But here’s what tends to work for me. I’m calling them “steps” but they are really in no particular order, mix and match as suits.

But before I go on further, this is just a quick heads up that The Soup starts on Friday 13th (didn't quite clock the date combo when I set it, but choosing to think of it as a good omen!) and there's just one last space left. Hit reply if you'd like to claim it.

So then, my "steps".

Step one: Move.

Move your body. Go for a brisk walk. For a run (who am I kidding, I don’t run). For a drive. For a swim. If none of those are available because it's pouring down outside: pace around the house. Clap hands. Snap fingers. Dance. Get the energy moving through and out of your body.

Step two: Talk.

Get the spiralling thoughts out of your head. Talk to yourself. To a friend. Record some voicenotes. The act of moving the words out into the air helps organise them. Often works well in combination with step one.

Step three: Do something else.

Stuck with photography? Do embroidery or collaging. Stuck on a collage? Go write some stuff. Can’t write? Try some improv games or doodle in your journal.

If nothing "creative" works: wash the dishes, do some rage cleaning or gardening. (Gardening can also be creative, by the way). Also, see step one.

These were the short term hacks I use to snap myself out of a creative block or overwhelm. They still apply for the feeling of creative stagnation that persists over a period of time, plus there are three more that tend to work for me.

Step four: Let it compost.

Stop doing the thing you’ve always been doing (also see step three, “do something else”) and let the rot compost and become something new. There’ve been several times in my not so distant past when I thought I’d never pick up my camera ever again. At first I was panicked: “photographer” was my whole identity. Then I just let it be. And you know what, I eventually started taking photographs again. And even published a photobook (not that the result of your creative pause needs to be anything tangible; it could be just a quiet returning, invisible to the outside world, and yet equally valid).

Step five: Become a student (again).

One way out of a rut for me has often been taking a class (or joining a bookclub, going on a YouTube deep-dive etc). The trick has been doing something outside what I would normally do (it’s step 3 but taken to the next level, basically). A memoir writing class. An economics study group. Gardening videos on YouTube. Figuring out how the hell do I embroider on cards. Whatever. New stuff, largely unrelated to the thing I'm stuck on.

Being a beginner again frees something up in your brain.

Step six: Create (new) structures.

And finally, sometimes I need to shake things up and create new structures around me, to help me get over the hump. Sometimes NOT doing the thing works, but sometimes PUSHING THROUGH IT does - and you really don’t know which until you try.

So, it could look like asking a friend to be your accountability buddy. Or moving your desk or crafting table to a new place in the house. Signing up for a portfolio review or an exhibition so you have a deadline for getting your sh*t together.

And (yes, here comes the sales pitch ;)) if you’re in a bit of a rut, my new group programme The Soup could be one way out of it. You don’t need to know what you’ll bring to it - the process of discovering what new direction you could orient towards might in itself be the thing that you need right now.

The Soup combines most of my favourite tools I described here: new structures, talking things out, trying something new (you’ll still have to take yourself out for a walk or a swim though, although I'm happy to be your accountability buddy in that).

We start on 13th February and there is one last spot left available. Hit reply if you'd like to claim it for yourself.

Antonina x

P.S. Here are some alternatives to The Artist's Way if you want to try them: War of Art by Steven Pressfield; The Widening Stream: the Seven Stages of Creativity by David Ulrich; Keep Going by Austin Kleon; The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp.

(I'm purposefully not linking to Amazon, but not all of these are available on Bookshop.org, so you might have to dig around to find them - I like AbeBooks, World of Books, Better World Books, or even eBay for that and buy used all the time. Or, you library will probably have all of them! Yay to libraries!).

Things you may be interested in:

​The Soup: A small group mentoring programme without a curriculum, but with spacious structure and accountability, starting 13th February. LAST PLACE LEFT. Hit reply if you'd like to chat and see if it's the right fit for you.

​1:1 Mentoring: If you need help with a specific question, be it your pricing structure, feedback on your brand new website or portfolio, or need some thought partnership, 90 minute mentoring slots are available. There's also a solidarity rate for those who would not be able to access mentoring otherwise.

​Family Photography: This year might be the last I'm offering my signature Adventure Sessions, and my availability is limited. If you're overdue one for your family, it may be a good idea to pencil in a date now. Hit reply to this email and let's chat. Unconventional Family Portraits are also available for those local(ish) to me. If we've worked together before I may be open to travelling a bit further afield for those, so ping me a message.