Some months ago, I found a deviantArt poll entitled "Do Seasons Affect Your Art?" I read some of the comments and thought it was an interesting question. Do they affect you?

Over Christmas and the New Year I come to a complete halt. I might take a few photos of the Christmas tree, but the corner where my computers are is too cold and dark for any creativity! It's easier in the warm, light summer months, when I have more energy. It's still a dark room; not very welcoming. It can be somewhat icy when the sun is glorious outside.

As for creating Halloween pictures at Halloween, and Christmas pictures when I'm procrastinating over Christmas cards, well, I do. It seems natural, and often you have a purpose in mind for such images (greetings for friends and family). As Mum said the other day, "when you're out to take photos of nature, you take photos of whatever is there at the time!" I don't post many photographs, but I tend not to be thinking about roses when cold winds are blowing and yellow leaves are swirling through my window.

What about you?

It sounds like you need a better computer room!
I haven't noticed any seasonal change in my creativity, but then I live much closer to the equator than you do.

Hmmm - interesting topic, and yes! there have been clinical studied in this area. If you can understand what is being said, please read the following comments with fascination, then leap with joy that You were not one of the test subjects.

From the Clinical Psychobiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md.

"Seasonal affective disorder is characterized by recurring cycles of fall-winter depression and spring-summer hypomania (or euthymia). In winter, depressed patients with seasonal affective disorder respond to daily treatments with five to six hours of bright artificial light in two to three days. They relapse two to three days after light is withdrawn. In this study carefully controlled experimental conditions were used to determine whether phototherapy acts via a photoperiodic mechanism In which the timing of light is critical for its therapeutic effect. Photoperiodism is a common regulatory mechanism in animal seasonal rhythms and depends for its effect on light-induced changes in the pattern of nocturnal melatonin secretion. The results reported herein of "skeleton photoperiod" experiments indicate that the efficacy of phototherapy may not depend on its timing or its effect on melatonin secretion."

Moose

But depression and creativity often go together, so you should feel more creative during the winter ...

I can't say that it is. It seems more to be affected by the amount of free time I have.

I work in a job that requires me to be creative as a function of the job, the "lull" times my brain starts to shut down as a flip side of being in hypergear during the far greater deadline intensive times.

When I go home, often the last thing I want to do is be more creative in execution. My brain keeps chugging along with ideas, but sitting down to execute is more brain-demanding than I can do right then. Probably also affected by various other social/family demands on time at the moment.

But I don't think it's tied to a "season" particularly - other than being inspired by what I may *see* at a particular time of the year.

Interesting about the SAD, Moose -- it's funny you should say that, as I was looking into getting one of those 'dawn lights' for SAD sufferers. They seem ridiciously expensive, though, and the prices show no inclination to come down.

Gloom...

"But depression and creativity often go together, so you should feel more creative during the winter ..." LOL, Hannah... I just read an interview with Elton John in the Radio Times; he said that though he still likes writing sad songs, it's not true that you have to be unhappy to be creative. It's distracting, however, if the light is poor and it's too cold (he didn't say that; I did. :-) )

Hi Cat, must be depressing that you aren't left with enough energy for your own pursuits. Maybe in time, though? I think it's not just what we see (like falling leaves and Halloween decorations); it's the atmosphere and associations of it all. Though yesterday I noticed a shop celebrating Halloween and Christmas at the same time... their way of trying to inspire us to part with as much cash as possible. :-)

Not really depressing - more like "okay, this is on hold for now". I'd actually expected to be out of this job by now and was really looking forward to having time to concentrate on my own stuff. It's more frustrating than it is depressing.

The associations that I get are (until Xmas music) pretty much visual, they're the things that start popping in my head - time to make hot chocolate, time to curl up with a book, time to put on a couple of extra layers of clothes. I really do make those associations just from the visuals. The brisk wind on its own only brings up "get indoors you nutcase!"

"The brisk wind on its own only brings up "get indoors you nutcase!""

Heh heh... but I wish I could get indoors from this freeezing desk! It has a brisk wind of its own. Double-glazing would help, I guess, but we have none. It might explain why I so readily think about Autumn and Winter as I sit here. :-)

i am more of a "moody" type, if i can correctly assess myself. i tend to draw a sketch from time to time, most of them unfinished, since the mood expired, or it may be some creative null in my head. but the main thing is that i draw when i am in the mood.

i don't know about seasonal, but i think some people are.

"i tend to draw a sketch from time to time, most of them unfinished, since the mood expired"

I have a lot of unfinished pictures -- but sometimes they need 'thinking time'. I have gone through my folders on occasion and found something I wanted to work with again, or change. Sometimes I have learned better, quicker methods since I began a particular picture, so I have saved time by pausing. ;-) I'm at risk of sounding like Pollyanna... "every cloud has a silver lining."

Affected? Yes. Hampered (in the context of the thread's title)? No.

As someone who shoots outdoors almost exclusively, I actually depend on weather to set the stage for whatever shot I might either be looking for, or hoping to discover. I've often thought of myself like a fisherman of sorts, going out to cast my net, and working with whatever I wound up "catching".

Sometimes when I do get in a creative slump, I find that some music often helps shake some of the rust off. So does checking out the work of others.

Among some of the sites I've visited are redbubble.com, deviantart.com, photosig.com, artsig.com and yes.... Flickr. Don't laugh. Hidden in between the tacky snaps are images by some talented folks (and/or talented rippers

Affected? Yes. Hampered (in the context of the thread's title)? No.

As someone who shoots outdoors almost exclusively, I actually depend on weather to set the stage for whatever shot I might either be looking for, or hoping to discover. I've often thought of myself like a fisherman of sorts, going out to cast my net, and working with whatever I wound up "catching".

Sometimes when I do get in a creative slump, I find that some music often helps shake some of the rust off. So does checking out the work of others.

Among some of the sites I've visited are redbubble.com, deviantart.com, photosig.com, artsig.com and yes.... Flickr. Don't laugh. Hidden in between the tacky snaps are images by some talented folks (and/or talented rippers, which is why I don't post there).

Good topic.

Being a fisherman is an interesting way of looking at the process. I'm more of a gatherer or rescuer... I feel I snatch things from the jaws of oblivion rather than be the actual creator. In theory, in some dimension, pictures exist in every possible permutation; all we are doing is bringing some of them into being. :-) Another way of looking at alternate universes?

I expect Flickr has a mix of good and bad, like all sites. I've found deviantArt hard to search recently, but it's interesting to browse.

On the SAD issue, I found a Yahoo news article entitled "Putting clocks back 'bad for health'." It seems my creativity is about to enter its slump this very weekend!

I too am more affected by weather than seasons. Every season seems to offer (even here) a possible change of idea, view and especially lighting. An oddity, I get somewhat down and depressed with totally clear skies of October! : ) I like the fishing/hunter analogy.

Hi Allison, maybe you associate October (even a bright and clear October) with past experiences, or with the knowledge that winter isn't far off? I am always depressed when dealing with Christmas decorations and old greetings cards... because of the various memories stirred up. Sometimes I would like to go back to a time when I didn't have such memories, and everything was fresh, new and full of potential. (Part of the 'magic of Christmas' that children remember). But other times it's good to have that experience to fall back on, and it can intensify what you feel about something like autumn. :-)