Writer’s block? Restlessness? Ideas not flowing? Do something different. Most people feel despondent and uncertain about their work at some point. That’s the time to think about something else.
Overthinking can lead to worry and eventually anxiety and catastrophising, so take your mind off your deadlines with a temporary break. Writers might turn their attention to a short story or freewriting, but I like to do something completely different.
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During my summer break from writing I decided to try to work in the style of Margaret MacDonald of the Glasgow School. I’ve admired her work for a while, but when I looked closer at her techniques, I saw that she had worked in various mediums. I didn’t want to copy her work, rather to adapt my own style using her techniques.
Margaret MacDonald’s work is beautiful. Incredibly, she piped plaster onto board to get a sculptured effect on her panels, and I decided to work with plaster in order to develop a multidimesnional feel. Instead of piping plaster, I lined my design with vinyl, making each section a container, and poured in the plaster. I am inspired by nature and psychology and wanted to incorporate the interaction of nature with our thought process, in both the aesthetics and innovation of the piece, depicting a solid link between what we think and what we do. I also wanted a changing light perspective as this piece is going to hang in an area that people walk through rather than sit in – I wanted it to catch the sunlight or catch the moonlight in order to incorporate the passing of time.
As the plaster set I leveled it and when it was hard I carved out the design with a Dremmel drill and manual engraving tools. Using the different engraving tools it’s easy to get the finish required. I’ve completed several projects this way now and it’s been great fun as well as giving me space to think about my writing in the future. I’m thinking of incorporating recycled glass and wood into my work now to add a more environmental aspect.
Here’s the result. It’s not quite finished, I am still mulling over the very last piece and sourcing more glass beads, but I expect it will be done soon. It took my mind off writing for a while! And I have a few commissions so all in all a successful summer.Now it’s back to the novel with a fresh perspective and some new ideas.