This is a plain and simple gripe about a version of writer's block that occurs in the visual arts.

I believe in finishing what I starts. I have been working on an image in 3DS Max that I've had an idea for since this last fall. The problem is, as always, the details. I have almost the entire thing finished except for one small but major part. Normally I just do other things and let it stew in the back of my mind and eventually a solution will present itself. It would be stressful if it was my job but its just a hobby so I have the luxury of letting the project sit. This one, however, is bothering me enough that I want to gripe in text to total strangers.

Perhaps it the art gallery of my website is in need of a new entry.

I teach writing (among other things) and deal a lot with trying to help people find strategies to work through (or over/under/around, choose your metaphor) writer's block. So maybe you can adapt some ideas?

(For writing, Peter Elbow's work is a good place to start; I've no idea who to look for about graphic work. However, I might suggest checking with a University which trains art teachers; ask for a faculty member who teaches pedagogy and ask for some suggestions.) (Gosh, now that I think about it, I'm expecting a friend who teaches art stuffs this very evening, so I'll ask her, too, and check back in.)

Anyways, for writing:

Freewriting: The idea is you write constantly, not worrying about grammar or spelling or whatever, for a set period of time (5 minutes will usually do) about a specific or general idea/question/issue. The key is NOT to stop writing no matter what. If you run out of something to say, you write "I have nothing to say, I have nothing to say" until your hand rebels and you actually DO have something to say. After your five minutes are up, mark the good ideas in some way. Rinse and repeat several times giving yourself different questions or whatever.

Listing: Make a list, check it twice... pretty obvious.

Mapping: Start with a central idea, put a circle around it. Start writing down words/concepts related, and put them in circles around, with lines showing relationships between the ideas. Keep adding and moving ideas around until you're happy with the map. (This strategy works especially well if you've already gotten some ideas from freewriting or listing.)

The "2-year old" strategy: Pretend you're a two-year old and start with your basic idea. Every two year old (well, the ones I've known anyway) has a headache-inspiring aptitude for asking "why" about things that adults take for granted and haven't really thought through or worried about enough to actually have answers for. Your job is to get in touch with your inner curiosity and start asking those hard questions. You don't actually have to have the answers. If you don't know the answers, write down the questions at least. If you do know the answers, well, they're probably not the really interesting questions, anyways. Once you've got some good questions, try going back and freewriting about them.

The key to all of these strategies is to be recursive, that is, to go back between them and rewrite. Don't accept the easy answer that probably comes first. During the brainstorming, don't "edit" yourself at all; don't worry about grammar, spelling, or whatever, just ideas and stuffs. Once you have ideas, you can self-edit out the stupid ones and go with the ones you like more. (Not that you'd have stupid ideas, but some of us do.)

Hope that helps!

Sometimes the old fashioned way works best. Get away from the computer with a pad and paper and doodle. It's the artist version of brainstorming. Just draw for a set amount of time. Don't evaluate, don't erase. Just go. Helps free your mind up nicely sometimes.