Releasing the silenced artist

The other day I was telling someone jokingly that I was doomed to spend all eternity in the Chinese Hell of the Silenced Artist. Since I haven't had anything to inspire me lately, I've been in a creative slump. I have all the stuff - the canvas, the paint, the sketchbook, the pens and pencils, the new easel (thank you Santa!)....even empty wall space in dire need of filling - but I haven't had the motivation. I've heard of famous artists going through dry-spells, but you never hear how long they last or what they do while they wait for the muse to return. Is there some method I don't know about to get the groove back? Is all of the writing I've been doing sucking my will to create anything else? Maybe I just need to look for internal inspiration rather than external.....use my emotional sponginess for artistic good rather than self-depreciating evil. As long as it'll make me stop painting crap, I'll try anything....