Spring & the Search for Creative Inspiration

Fill your well with spring showers and the melting of snow

March always feels like a turning point. The days stretch a little longer, the air shifts, and there’s this undeniable pull toward new ideas, fresh starts, and, of course, creative inspiration. But how can we talk about inspiration without acknowledging its opposite? Because for every moment of creative flow, there’s a season of creative drought.

Burnout is real, and it’s something almost every creative person will face at some point. It sneaks up slowly—when the demand for output outweighs the energy we have to give, when deadlines push us past the point of joy, when making art starts to feel like work in all the wrong ways. I know this firsthand.

Eight Years Without Inspiration

I graduated from Pratt with a degree in Interior Design and a heavy dose of creative burnout. At the time, I didn’t have the words for it—I just knew that something in me had switched off. I had spent years pushing, designing, producing, and meeting deadlines. And when I walked across that stage, diploma in hand, the creative well I had once drawn from so easily felt bone dry.

What followed was an eight-year drought. Eight years where I felt disconnected from my creativity, where every attempt to make something felt forced or flat. I’d pick up a pen, a brush, a scrap of fabric—anything to reignite that spark—and end up frustrated, staring at the mess I’d made. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but the well wouldn’t refill just because I wanted it to. I needed something more than willpower to bring it back.

The Pressure of Constant Output

If you’re a creative, you probably know this cycle well. The world demands so much output from us—whether it’s in school, at work, or even in our own businesses. And now, years later, even though I’ve built a career around my art, I still feel it. The weight of constant creation, of producing for an audience, of managing a business while also keeping the creative fire alive—it’s a lot.

Between adding to my pattern portfolio, designing new wall art, drafting curriculum for my upcoming courses, and the ever-present pull to create content and stay visible online, it’s easy to slip back into that space of depletion. Because art isn’t just about output—it’s about energy. And if we’re always pouring out, when do we get to refill?

How to Close the Circuit & Refill the Well

I don’t have a perfect answer, but I do know this: creativity isn’t a bottomless resource. It needs rest, it needs inspiration, and it needs space to breathe. For me, finding my way back to my creativity wasn’t about forcing it—it was about learning to close the circuit, to stop letting all my energy seep out without finding ways to replenish it.

Ways to Recharge Your Creativity:

• Make art just for you. No audience, no expectations, no polished results—just playing.

• Let your mind wander. Long walks, slow mornings, letting yourself get bored.

• Join a challenge. Sometimes you don't want to have to think about what to paint... let me do the hard part for you. Join my spring intensive—a 5-day watercolor challenge starting March 17th.

• Give yourself permission to do nothing. Rest isn’t wasted time; it’s part of the process.

If you’re in a season where creativity feels far away, I see you. I’ve been there, and I’ll probably be there again. But the well isn’t gone—it’s just waiting to be refilled.

And sometimes, the best thing you can do is step away, breathe, and trust that the spark will find its way back.

Meet Jaime

Jaime is an Austin, Texas-based watercolor artist who offers artwork and experiences that encourage a deeper connection with your perfectly imperfect nature.

While she paints, her daydreams whisper important nothings about self-trust and the beauty of being human. Off the page, she's a mom of two, a partner, and a person just trying to make a meaningful life with a little grace and a lot of coffee.

Go to her website to shop her wall art and peek upcoming classes.