Creative Anxiety,
Surfing and Struggling with Perfection

The Uncertain Beginning

Every project starts with a void—a blank canvas, a surface waiting for the first cut. It’s a space heavy with tension, where creative anxiety emerges from the urge to turn an abstract vision into something tangible.

I faced this challenge during a major client project where my attempt at a new aesthetic direction immediately clashed with their expectations. The resistance wasn’t external, but internal: the fierce pull between the new path I wanted to explore and the familiar style they expected. What should have taken 20 days stretched into three intense, exhausting months.

The turning point came when an unexpected element finally clicked, shifting deep tension into flow. It was a potent reminder: perfection doesn’t drive creation—it suffocates it.

Three months of wrestling with my own vision, battling expectations, and working to salvage a project I was no longer satisfied with. It was a brutal test of patience, persistence, and resolve. Still, walking away was never an option—my word is my commitment, and integrity remains the absolute core of my practice.

The Magical Turning Point

Even in the midst of struggle, there was a turning point—a sudden click of harmony. A single, unexpected element fell into place, resonating deeply with my inner vision. In that instant, tension dissolved into pure flow.

What had been the oppressive weight of creative anxiety shifted into deep concentration. Time disappeared, and the work evolved into an intimate dialogue between artist and artwork.

Perfection never helped. I simply stopped letting it control the process.

Final Reflections

Creative anxiety is part of the process—especially when perfection (damn it!) tries to take the lead. Let me be clear: perfection isn’t positive. It’s a burden, a self-imposed cage that suffocates spontaneity and truth. Therapy? Oh yes, you bet.

Rather than something to fear, creative anxiety can be acknowledged and then actively disarmed. Collage, at its core, is an act of self-discovery: a dance between uncertainty and harmony.

Anxiety doesn’t create the work; it blocks it. My practice is about actively pushing it aside to let flow, intuition, and meaning take over.

© Margarida Girão

Reflexão Pessoal: Ansiedade Criativa: Surfar com a Im-Perfeição.

A colagem é muito mais do que a simples junção de fragmentos. É um mergulho num “mar de incertezas”, onde a ansiedade e a antecipação surgem logo a partir do primeiro corte. A ansiedade criativa, especialmente quando misturada com a busca implacável pela perfeição, desafia e, ironicamente, molda o processo artístico.

Vivi esta experiência durante um projeto de grande visibilidade: o cartaz oficial de um evento. Tentei explorar uma nova direção estética, mas a visão do cliente pendia para o estilo habitual. O que deveria ter sido concluído em 20 dias transformou-se em três meses de resistência interna e experimentação contínua.

O ponto de viragem surgiu quando um elemento inesperado encaixou perfeitamente, transformando toda a tensão em fluidez. Percebi que a perfeição deixara de ser útil; a obra passava a ser um diálogo autêntico entre o artista e o trabalho.

A ansiedade criativa não deve ser temida, mas sim reconhecida como um sinal de envolvimento. A colagem, em si, é um ato de autodescoberta. É um espaço onde o fluxo, a intuição e o significado se sobrepõem e, finalmente, acalmam a ansiedade.