Every artist has their own time-worn remedy for the peculiar ailment called writer's block.

For singer-songwriter Sarah Slean, before she began writing her latest album, she gave away her belongings, put her piano in the truck and drove to a cabin to isolate herself for four months.

Some remedies are more drastic than others. "I was at an impasse in my life. I don't know what was going on, but I felt barren, empty. I started to be cynical and afraid, I couldn't shake it," recalls Slean, who plays the MacEwan Hall Ballroom Wednesday, opening for Ron Sexsmith.

"I needed to force myself to be quiet. I deprived myself of all sensory information and distractions, then I finally started to feel I could create again.

"I figured out in my cabin that what I love about the music I collect -- Radiohead, Bjork, PJ Harvey -- is its rhythmic structure."

To achieve that, she teamed with live house band member Dan Kurtz and producer Pete Prilesnik. Not surprisingly, then, her second major label album Day One, says Slean, is her most rhythmic work. It features the lead single, Lucky Me.

Despite being on tour, Slean's ambitions and interests aren't limited to music.

Fans will be able to purchase Slean's book of paintings and poetry at her Canadian shows, including the one in Calgary.

"I consider art and music to be closely related. The paths of the eyes and ears to the brain are very close together," says Slean.

As if artistic and musical talent aren't enough, Slean will also try her hand at acting this December. She will star in Black Widow, which begins filming in December and is based on a true story about a Hamilton woman who killed her husband and child.

"It'll be interesting to see how this goes. It should be exciting and not nerve-wracking."

The movie is tentatively to be released in December 2005.