what I do to maintain my creative spark

Into the Dark Forest: chapter #2

SATURDAY / MARCH 28

✶ Weekly Reflection

— creativity and burnout

To me, creativity is the most important aspect of my work. It’s what brings emotions to life, the main conduit for self expression, and the catalyst of beautiful art. I’m sure every artist can relate to this and one of the biggest fears is to lose that spark, even temporarily.

One can never lose its own creativity forever, but there are scenarios where it can be greatly impaired, and that is probably the darkest place imaginable for every artist. I’ve noticed that my creativity comes as second nature, as a piece of the puzzle of my everyday functioning as an organism. It is tightly correlated to and influenced by my mood, energy levels, and by the environment I find myself in.

I too fear stints of creative drought, and I decided to actively take precautions to avoid just that, to do whatever I can to keep that spark alive for most of the time. One of my major concerns is work overburden. I always tend to want to do more, to be more productive and to aim higher. Which is not inherently a bad trait, but it comes with its risks: I can easily find myself in a position of overbooking and overworking and I usually don’t realize it in time. I do when it tends to be too late and when a burnout is nearing. This is both unproductive and unhealthy; I end up in a position where I have to take a few steps backwards and ironically be forced to do even less. Mood of course takes a hit as a consequence. To me a burnout greatly reduces my creativity, increases self criticism, it makes me slower and nothing seems to click.

So, ideally, I would never end up there and after some introspection, I found what preventive measures to take to mitigate it:

1. Routine: a predictable lifestyle and allows my body to follow a healthy rhythm. Of course, I cannot control everything but I try my best to take care of what I can. It can be small things such as having meals at regular hours, prioritizing good sleep, taking brief time for myself to decompress. I like to take it easy in the morning, do my skincare routine without rush, have a peaceful breakfast and spend time with my bunnies. All of this puts me in a good mood and paves the way for a productive day.

2. a peaceful environment: Making sure I work in a peaceful environment that vibes with my energy also plays a big role. For example I know for sure that bright cool lighting would over time stress me, even if it is not immediately perceivable.

3. Personal boundaries: Avoiding burnout also means that I have to set personal boundaries such as defining specific timeframes for email responding, respecting specific working hours, and taking days off. It is a mentally difficult thing to do, but I have to be honest with myself and do what’s best for my health. As a consequence my creativity is also healthy and I can count on it when I really need it. This was a huge wake up call: we can do amazing things, and for prolonged periods of time too, as long as we take care of our body, physical and mental health.

I have never experienced a real creativity drought but I have gotten pretty close to burnout, and it isn’t fun at all. Maintaining my own creativity is the result of introspection, knowing myself and self kindness.

✶ Art of the Week

— “Map of Nyxarra” from The Thorns We Inherit by Lindsey Hart

---

✶ Commissions Updates

— 2026 bookings

I’m currently scheduling commissions for May & June 2026.

✶⋆.˚intotheforest.illustrations@gmail.com ✶⋆.˚

xoxo