Creativity

Missy D., a British-born painter who lives in Seattle, says mood extremes make it harder for her to produce her art. When experiencing “short, hypomanic episodes” she develops insomnia, has difficulty sitting still, her movements become faster, her heart races and she feels a buzzing in her limbs.

During these periods, she’ll undertake easier tasks in the studio, such as casting, mold making and running errands. She adds that hypomania does produce “bursts of super sharp mental clarity.”

“I come up with a lot of complex, involved ideas for new projects in the studio during these times, but bringing them to fruition doesn’t normally happen until I’ve calmed down, if ever,” she adds. “My ability as an artist becomes more conceptual rather than physical. I’m not sure whether the work I produce is objectively ‘better’.”

When Missy is in a depressive phase, she goes to the studio and molds clay “to work through the white fog,” she says. “ I just play about with the clay and discuss ideas in an organic way. The mindful, playful angle of this pulls me gradually into reality.”


https://www.bphope.com/bipolar-mania-creativity/