Transcripts
1. Welcome to Process Plateau: Have you ever been walking on your
creative journey, making your artwork
and sharing it with the world but you just feel
like nothing is happening? You might feel like you've
stopped making traction. Like your work isn't
reaching anybody, and like you've
totally plateaued on your creative
journey and process. You might be feeling
bored and even thinking about throwing
in the towel on your creative practice
altogether. Sound familiar? If so, then you've
reached process plateau, a familiar, normal
and very valuable stop on your creative
wilderness trek. I'm here to tell
you, don't stop. Keep going. Hey, I'm Liz, I'm an illustrator and creative educator in New Mexico. I own a creative company
called Prints and Plants, and I've spent many years
navigating the highs, lows, and unknowns of
the creative wilderness. Now, I am so excited to share my field
notes and tips with you in this series so that you can
gain more confidence in your own creative trek and know that you're
not alone out there. Process plateau as dull and monotonous is it
can feel at times, is in the central space to
develop your craft, build, strengthen your
creative ability, and reach breakthroughs
on your journey. If you're feeling
discouraged or if you feel like nothing
is happening, keep going and don't stop. If you feel like
it's your call to be creative and express
your creativity, then you've just
got to keep at it. How exactly? I'm
so glad you asked. In today's class in the
creative wilderness tip series, I'm sharing five tips to
keep moving forward on process plateau so that you
can build more strength, consistency, and confidence in your creative practice as you
continue on your journey. Are you ready to dive
in? Let's get started. By the way, if
you've taken one of the classes in this
creative wilderness series before and are already well acquainted with how it
works and what you need, you can jump straight
ahead to lesson number 4.
2. Your Class Project: In this lesson,
we're chatting about your creative wilderness
class project. Your class project
for this portion of the creative wilderness
tips series is to print off the Creative
Wilderness Field Guide PDF and fill out the process
plateau section. In this section, you'll
find the following prompts; designate your creative time, make bad art, make it fun, and create a personal project. You'll learn more
about these prompts in this class so that you can fill them out in
your field guide. You can find the
Creative Wilderness Field Guide linked in the Projects and Resources
tab of this class. You can find that by
navigating to this bar, clicking Projects and Resources, and navigating to the
right side of the page. There you'll see the field guide linked and ready to download. Once you've completed the
process plateau section of your Creative
Wilderness Field Guide, snap a photo and upload it to
the class projects section. You can do this by navigating
to the Projects and Resources tab and
clicking Create Project. Here you can upload a photo of your completed section
of the field guide. Be sure to include both
a cover photo image as well as an image
inside of this box. You can also type
additional notes and observations from your creative wilderness journey
into this space. Make sure you hit Publish
when you are finished to save your project to
the project gallery. In the next lesson, we'll
go over the materials you'll need for this
class. I'll see you there.
3. Gather Your Materials: In this lesson, we're going
over the materials you'll need for this section of the
creative wilderness journey. For this class, you'll need your creative
wilderness field guide, which is found in the projects
and resources section. You'll also need a pen, pencil, or writing
utensil of choice, and a phone to take a photo of the completed field guide and upload to the class
project section. That's it. In the next lesson, we'll go over how to identify when you've reached
process plateau so you can move forward on your creative wilderness
journey. I'll see you there.
4. Identify Process Plateau: In this lesson, we're chatting
all about how to identify when you've arrived at process
plateau on your journey, so you can implement steps
to keep moving forward. Process plateau
typically appears on the creative wilderness journey right after the forest of fear, which is where we were in the
last class in this series. Which if you haven't yet visited that or want a refresher, you can go take that
class by visiting the creative wilderness tips
section on my profile page. When we leave the
forest of fear, we're usually feeling really good because we've taken action, and we've moved beyond the questioning of
our creative ability, and we're creating again. Which can feel so
exciting and empowering. Then as we start
creating again and continuing forward on our
creative wilderness track, it can eventually start to feel like nothing is happening. Like you're not
growing as an artist. Like no clients are coming in. Like you're not making any
traction on your journey. Like your work isn't
getting any better. It just feels like things
have totally flatlined. Welcome to process plateaus. [LAUGHTER] When you feel like
you're not making traction, you may start to feel really
vulnerable and exposed. This is like being on a hike in the desert when you
reach a plateau, a flat stretch that
you're walking and walking while the sun shines
directly down on you. There's no shade and
there's no sign of where things are going to shift
or change on the trail. It can feel monotonous, never ending, and pointless. But this is totally normal
for how process often feels; exposed, vulnerable,
boring, monotonous. Process plateau isn't
the sexiest stop on the creative wilderness map. It's not shiny. It's not new. It's
not glamorous. But it is so normal, powerful, and valuable on your journey because it's where you get
to develop your craft, strengthen your
creative ability, and rejuvenate your power to continue forward
on your journey. But many times people don't see the value of this
spot on the map, and so it's where they
actually quit their journey, or their creative business, or their art
practice altogether. It's most definitely
the place where I've wanted to quit my
creative business in the past, because I feel like
I'm trying and trying and trying and creating
and creating and creating, and yet it feels like nothing
is happening or working. It feels a bit like
everything's about to crumble, and then [NOISE]
something new comes in. A new idea. A new
source of inspiration. A new client. A new project. Or a new business venture. That's just the thing
about process plateau. Even though it seems like
nothing is happening, just like plants and
life in the desert, there is so much
happening beneath the surface that you can't even see or witness right away. It's like when you grow food. When you plant the seed, you don't harvest at the same day. That seed goes through a ton of transformation and growth
beneath the surface, before it even pops
up above the soil. Even when it sprouts,
it still takes time to grow into the
food to harvest. It's the exact same thing with creativity and creative
practice. It takes time. If you just keep going, the fog will clear. Keep moving forward
on the plateau, and you will get somewhere. The main thing is that
you keep walking forward. One step in front of the other. One drawing after another. One painting after another. But you just keep moving forward across that plateau
no matter how quiet, how slow, how boring, or how monotonous it feels. You just keep showing up
and making your work. Because it's through
continuing on, and moving forward that
new discoveries are eventually made and
breakthroughs happen. Now that you know
how process plateau feels and shows up
on your journey, how do you keep moving
forward through this space into the rest of
the creative wilderness? Let's dive into the five
main tips I have for you to move forward when you've
reached process plateau. In the next lesson,
we'll dive into the first tip. See you there.
5. Tip 1: Keep Creating: In this lesson, I'm sharing the first
tip for you to move forward when you feel
stagnant on process plateau. The first tip and the
biggest tip I have for you is to keep creating. I know when you reach
process plateau, it can feel really tempting to stop making your
work. But don't. The most important thing
is that you keep creating, even especially when you
don't feel like anything is happening or anyone is seeing what you're
creating or doing. Keep at it. You have to create your way through to the other
side of process plateau. Imagine you're on a bike
and the only way to get the wheels to move forward
is to make your art. As soon as you stop creating, the bike stops and
you're stagnant. To keep moving,
to get through to the other side to move forward, you have to make your art. That is the forward momentum
you need to get beyond process plateau and into the rest of your
creative journey. But this is totally
easier said than done. How do you show up to keep
making your work when you just don't see the points or
can't find the motivation? Well, as unsexy as this
sounds for creativity, make a consistent schedule and structure around your
creative practice. Set up a daily or weekly
time on your calendar. Yes. Physically write this down, in what you're going to
show up and make your work. I know structure and
scheduling don't immediately sound
like they're going to get the creative sparks flying. But having a structure and
consistent time to make your work can actually
cultivate more creativity. See the boundaries
of studio time on your calendar can give
your brain more space to roam because you're not
feeling guilty about not making your work and you're
not scrambling your thoughts, trying to figure out when
you're going to create next. It's written down, it's a
designated, it's set aside. Your brain can have more
space to roam and play. Let's look at an
example where you have a part-time job and your schedule is already
really jam-packed. Don't try to take
on all the time in the world right away for art. What matters more than a
giant chunk of studio time is consistency because
consistency compounds. Don't make your first
scheduled time slots so huge that you feel too intimidated to
even begin. Start small. For example, set
aside 30 minutes one evening each week to show
up and create your art. Once you get into that rhythm, expand it into more time slots. Setting aside this
designated time in your calendar can be really helpful because it can actually make you excited to create, because it's scheduled,
written down and you get to look forward to it while you're working your
part-time job. It's an activity you get to do, not an activity that
you have to do. If a half-hour once a
week feels like too much, then start with
smaller time blocks. You could commit to
five-minute time blocks three times a week to create.
Only five-minutes. Or if that still
feels like too much, then try pairing
your art practice with an activity that is already consistently
scheduled in your calendar, like your morning coffee
or your lunch break. This is called habit stacking. Essentially, you pair a
new habit that you want to cultivate with an activity that has already habitual for you. For example, when I was working at the Georgia
O'Keeffe Museum, there were a number
of weeks when I would draw every day during
my lunch break. Pairing my illustration
practice with an activity that was already consistently
set in my schedule, in this case lunch, made it that much easier for me to just show up
and make the work. What activity is already
a habit for you each day or each week that you could pair with your
creative practice? Take a moment now to complete the following in
your field guide. Designate a time block this week that you will show up
to create your art, and designate a habit
that you already have that you can pair with
your creative practice. For example, drawing with your morning coffee or drawing
during your lunch break. Identifying the times
that you can show up for your creative
practice, not just once, but over and over is the main aspect of
being present with process plateau and using it to your advantage
while you're there. Consistency pays off, even when you don't feel
like things are happening. Overtime consistency
creates a huge impact. In the next lesson, I'm sharing the second
tip to move through process plateau.
I'll see you there.
6. Tip 2: Make Bad Art: In this lesson, I'm
sharing the second tip to continue forward when you feel stagnant on process plateau. It's one thing to
schedule the time into your calendar to create, but it's another
thing entirely to show up and make your
work during that time. Having the time set aside
is helpful, definitely, but it can also bring
up a boatload of intimidation and fear
around making work. It can feel like there's a
pressure that when you sit down to these
scheduled sessions, that you have to make
something amazing. That pressure can stop you
from creating anything at all, which totally defeats the
purpose of being in process. The second tip is to
intentionally make bad art. In fact, make terrible art, art that you plan to burn or throw away when
you're done with it. Seriously, when you sit down to the scheduled time block
that you've set aside, sit down with the
intention to throw away whatever you make at the
end of that session. In fact, you can go
as far as to label this time block in your
calendar as bad art session. This can relieve
so much pressure and allow you to just sit down and have fun instead of pressuring yourself to
make a masterpiece. Process leads to
masterpieces, yes, eventually, but often
not right away. It's by making and
moving through the messy bad art that you
can get to the good stuff. Make bad art. You might throw everything away at the
end of that session, but you just might create
something you like, or that later leads to
work that you're proud of. Now take a moment in your
field guide to make bad art. Right now. Not later, not eventually, right
here, right now. Flip to the page in the process
plateau section labeled, "Make Bad Art," and give me your worst painting,
drawing, collage. Whatever media you choose, just make it really
bad seriously. Pause this video and go for it. Didn't that feel so
freeing and great? Takes the pressure
off. Keep it up. In the next lesson, I'm
sharing the third tip to move through process
plateau. I'll see you there.
7. Tip 3: Have Fun: In this lesson, I'm sharing
the third tip to continue forward when you feel
stagnant on process plateau. My guess or my hope is that making bad art was
actually fun for you. This is a great way to move out of the
stagnant boredom of process plateau which
leads to the third tip, which is experiment and have fun with your
creative process. Process plateau can
be the wake-up call we need to jump back into play. Because process plateau can feel like drudgery and total boredom. As soon as you feel that, you can choose to shake it up. Process plateau is actually
the perfect spot on your creative wilderness
journey to experiment, try new things, play, and have fun with your process because nobody is watching. It's rare that people see
all the steps that go into the process to create
your final painting, your final online class or
your final licensed artwork. Because nobody's
watching or responding during this process stage
of your creativity, there's less pressure
to create something perfect or something that
appeals to everyone around you. Embrace the freedom
that comes with the solitary quiet steps across process plateau to play
with your process, practice your media,
improve your skills, and try new things. Because play and fun, those are essential to
creativity and flow. Take a moment to
reflect on why you even started creating your
artwork in the first place. My guess is when you began it came intuitively and naturally. It didn't feel like drudgery, it felt like fun.
You just did it. You didn't overthink
it or plan it out and you likely didn't do it for anybody else besides an innate desire to
express yourself. It probably didn't feel
like a drag and it didn't feel like there was a ton
of pressure on your output. You probably started creating
because it felt good. It felt like expression, it felt fun, and
it felt freeing. How can you return to
that space of freedom, expansion, and play? How can you make your
process more fun? Here are some ideas
to get you started. Blast dance music
while you create. Make a fresh pot of
coffee to fuel your work. Work from a local cafe
instead of at home. Go explore a new part of
your town for inspiration. Experiment with art
styles that are different from your
typical practice. Try a new medium that is completely different than
your usual art form. For example, one-way
I've made my process more fun lately is to
shake up how I create. I'm an illustrator
and I've been doing a whole lot of digital
illustration lately. I recently went back
to pen and paper and it's been so much fun
because I'm shaking it up. I'm not ditching
illustration completely, I'm just experimenting with
the medium in a new way. Maybe you're an
illustrator and you can experiment with new pens or maybe you're a painter and you can experiment with
a new color palette. How can you experiment
with where you already are so that you're not reinventing the wheel completely but you can play within
your current process? Or maybe you really
do want to shake it up and try a totally
different medium. If that's the case then designate one of the creative
sessions that you have scheduled in your
calendar as a time to play with a brand
new creative practice. Maybe you start painting
instead of drawing or you go to a ceramics class or you go on a hike to take photos
instead of painting. These can all be great ways
to break out of the blah of your process plateau and break back into beginner's mind
where you can experiment, play, and remember what it feels like to have fun with
your creative process, to remember what it felt
like when you started. Breaking out of the blah and
back into beginner's mind is a huge method to have
breakthroughs on process plateau. When you tap back
into play and fun, you can start to allow
new ideas to show up and you can start to
make new connections. That way, when you return to your usual creative practice, you can bring that
renewed playful energy and inject it into your
usual creative media. Now take a moment to
jot down ideas in your field guide for how
you can break out of the monotony of
process plateau and make your creative process
full of more fun and play. In the next lesson, I'm sharing the fourth
tip to move through process plateau.
I'll see you there.
8. Tip 4: Release the Outcome: In this lesson, I'm
sharing the fourth tip to continue forward when you feel stagnant on process plateau. The fourth tip is to release the outcome and lean deeper into the process and messiness that comes with the middle
portion of a project. Process can be such a
beautiful thing when we allow it to be
what it is instead of forcing an outcome
or forcing it to become something that is
clearly defined too quickly. When we're in the
process of creating, it can feel really tempting
to jump 10 steps ahead to how the artwork or project is going to look at the end, how the client is
going to receive it or if it's an online class, whether or not
students will like it. It is so easy and natural while we're walking process
plateau to get so sucked into the end
product that we become completely disconnected
from the materials to asks and journey at hand. This is totally normal
because process is messy. It's uncomfortable. It brings us right
up to the edges of our creative
growth and doubt. Process can feel
discombobulated and scattered and confusing and
pretty frustrating at times. It's not tied up clean and tidy with a nice bow like
a final product is. But so much beauty, breakthrough, refreshed
creative energy, and flow comes
through when we just allow the process to live
and breathe as it is, without forcing it to
become anything too soon. Process is often quiet, slow, understated,
and goes on unseen. Of course it's natural
to want to jump out of that monotony and into
the shiny end product. However, one of the ways to
effectively move through process plateau is to lean
into the messy middle, instead of rushing through it. Lean into the process itself
and release the end outcome. Just like we discussed
in the forest of fear, when you lean in,
you can be led out. If you've been working
on a project or with a specific medium for a
long time and feel totally stuck on process plateau
with it and like you're not getting anywhere like you're spinning
your wheels, then lean in even further. Keep pushing into the project, keep leaning into your process, and keep diving into
your materials. When you lean in
instead of out and go all in instead
of stepping back, you can often push
through into new ideas, new skills, and new connections. One of the ways I like
to remind myself to lean into process rather
than the outcome is a tip that fellow
Illustrator and Skillshare top teacher
Kendyll Hillegas shares. She says to separate the
evaluation from the creation. What this means is
that, while you are in the process of creating, don't try to determine
whether the work is good, bad or effective. Just create for the
sake of creating. Then, once you are
out of the process, take a step back and evaluate
what's working, what's not, and how you can integrate those lessons into your
next creative session. It's all a practice. Keep leaning into the messiness, the unknowns, and the process. Trust that the
process is leading you and your work
where it needs to be. In the next lesson, I'm
sharing the fifth tip to move through process
plateau. I'll see you there.
9. Tip 5: Create a Personal Project: In this lesson, I'm sharing the fifth and final tip to move through process plateau when you're feeling stuck or bored. The fifth tip is to create a personal project that
totally lights you up. For example, when I'm feeling
stuck on process plateau, I ask myself, what would be a dream project that I could create
for a client? What would be a dream
illustration gig? I recently did this
when I started a personal project
for a dream client. I decided to create a
dream project series of 12 illustrated
educational food posters for Bon Appetit magazine. I created a whole
dream client brief for the project that includes
who the company is, their budget, the
parameters of the project, and so on, etc. By the way, you can
access this dream client brief template in the process plateau section of
the field guide. I set a deadline in
which full transparency, I didn't meet that
deadline because my business picked up once
I started the series, but I'm still working on these posters and
that deadline is a huge motivator to complete
the entire collection. When you create your
own personal project, I recommend using the dream client brief template found in your field guide to outline the specific details and make it feel as
real as possible. Include details
like, who is it for? What is the project description? What is the media style, file size, and paper size? What is your timeline? When is it due?
What is the budget? Etc. Get after this
personal project as if it's real because
that's where it can become so much fun and
you can really use process plateau as
an intentional space to dig into your practice, develop your style,
strengthen your skill, and keep creating to get
through to the other side. The benefit of a personal
project when you're on process plateau is that you can step back into the
fun of creating, find new ways to
express yourself as a creative that feel
really authentic to you, and add to your portfolio. All of this can help
build confidence in your creative
intuition and ability. The plateau is such a
powerful space to explore your personal
practice and become a better artist so that when
you get off the plateau, you'll have new skills,
ideas, connections, and a refreshed love
for your art to continue forward in your
creative wilderness journey. Now take a moment to fill out
the dream client brief in your field guide to prepare your personal creative project. Let's recap the steps
to take to move forward through the monotony
of process plateau. One, keep creating your art. Two, make bad art. Three, experiment and have fun. Four, release the outcome. Five, create a personal project. In the next lesson, we'll
talk about publishing your class project.
I'll see you there.
10. Publish Your Class Project: Once you've implemented
these tips, take a photo of your completed
process plateau section of the creative
wilderness field guide. Then upload that photo to the class project
section of this class. Remember that you can upload your class project by
going to the Projects and Resources tab and clicking the "Create
Project" button. Once you've uploaded your photo, be sure to hit "Publish". Also be sure to check out other class projects from your fellow creatives
in the project gallery. We're all out here together, so let's show support for each other's journeys and be sure to let me know in
the discussion section, the tip from today's class that you're implementing this week to move through process plateau on your own creative
wilderness journey. Don't forget to ask any questions
you might have as well, so I can answer them in
the discussion section. In the next lesson, I'm sharing the next stop we'll encounter together on the creative
wilderness journey. I'll see you there.
11. Thank You & Next Steps: Thank you so much for tuning into this class and the creative
wilderness tip series. I hope you're feeling
more equipped, confident, and totally stoked to keep trekking into the
wilderness together. In the next class
in this series, we're visiting the Dunes
of Doubt where I'll share my field notes
for how to move through the common
doubts that show up on your creative wilderness trek to cultivate more confidence in
your skills and your work. In the meantime, be sure to follow me here
on Skillshare to stay up-to-date on new classes by hitting the Follow button. Hang out with me
over on Instagram at prints_ and_ plants. Check out more of my work
at printsandplants.com, and join me for weekly tips
in your email inbox for your creative journey at
printsandplants.com/join. Stay wild, stay creative,
and I'll see you soon. It feels a bit like everything's
about to crumble and then. It won't click. That was a good one.
Liz Brindley, Illustrator, Runner, Nature Nerd
