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Silence.

You need silence to create. Without a blank canvas, where could you paint? If there is not silence, how could you create sounds and music? Words are lost, if not said in a space where nothing existed before.

Yet, nothing can also be the most daunting for an artist. It is nothing we fear the most. Nothing left to create, to say, to express; no ideas left is the most terrifying feeling for any artist. A blank page brings about so many emotions for creative types. It can be overwhelming, good and bad. Some feel an overwhelming pressure staring at a blank page. Others find the sense of infinity to be a beautiful thing.

If you find yourself unable to create: look at your silent space. Your “artist’s void” if you will. If you are constantly filling it with things, how can it ever create? If there is a never ending stream of input, whether it be movies, youtube, tv, music, just constant something… when does your creativity find time for output?

An artist’s void is the most valuable real estate they own. It is where ideas are formed. It’s where they ask themselves questions, where their brain finds idea sparks, where the vision feels tangible in front of them. It’s to easy to fall into filling every second of our day with noise, stimulation, photos, something, anything. But I invite you to challenge that modern safety blanket of distraction. Welcome in the quiet, listen to your own thoughts, walk around in your artist’s void.

A cup must have some empty space for it to be filled.

What does a blank page feel like to you?

Gratefully,

Ayla