Things with wings

I just returned from a week-long session on color and design composition.  This was session 6, year 5, of an ongoing series taught by Hollis Chatelain.  Although my brain is fried, it is fried in a good way.
I need to struggle with design, composition, value, and color.  I need to be frustrated and filled with self-doubt, at least enough to continue to question and experiment.  I need to push myself.
Does immersing myself in an exploration of these things make my journey as an artist easier?  No.  I think it makes it more complex, more challenging.  I think this is very good.

During the week I recalled a line from the movie, "A League Of Their Own".  Geena Davis' character decides to quit playing baseball because "it just got too hard".  Tom Hanks' character responds, "Of course it is hard.  If it was easy then everybody would do it.  It's the hard that makes it great."  This is a perfect metaphor for making art.

As artists we sometimes get discouraged.  We hit a wall.  We occasionally feel dried up (or is it just me?!).
How do you push yourself as an artist?  What do you do when you hit a roadblock in your work?
I'm interested in these questions and would love to hear from you.

I'll share one exercise from my previous week.  This was one of 33 exercises:  create a series of small studies done in fabric.  The challenge was to create harmony with close values, analogous colors, simple shapes, and horizontals.