It is not unusual, but actually normal for a gifted artist to go through periods when little or no work in completed. Usually either the artist will work on the same type of material over and over or sometimes not create anything at all. I do this a lot myself. But the difference is that while it may look like I am someone who does not care about art anymore or who has lost interest, every time I go back to painting and drawing I am "better" technically and more intense. Usually during my down time as an artist I go through a cycle of trying to forget what I know, observation, watching fashion and what is going on around me, and eventually I start getting into it all again.
Some of my daughter work is on a school website. When I looked at it I noticed that while her fellow Kindergarten classmates seem highly creative and expressive...by 4th grade just about every drawing looks like the same person could have made it. It is very hard for a creative "artsy" person to maintain their unique views as an adult, much less a child. The only way I stayed creative through school and into adulthood was by being around other young gifted artist, going to art museums and shows, and reading about and looking at art. I was also given a great amount of freedom with the materials I used. I do the same with my daughter during her "down" times with art. I let her look at books about famous artist, look at my sketchbooks, and give her anything from cardboard to conte to create what she wants. Most importantly, if she doesn't want to draw or wants to draw the same crying fairy princess over and over I don't say a word....eventually she goes back to drawing her way and each time I can see how she has evolved.
Sometimes I wish I were one of those people who puts out an incredible stream of work under the most trying of circumstances. I'm not quite that. The comment was really just an appeal-to-authority anyway, so it's not much worth listening to 