This is definitely not business as usual.
I’m not even sure what to say in this post. I’m just trusting that the words will come as I type.
I’ve been self-quarantined for 2-weeks now and I’m feeling defeated, sad, powerless, exhausted, anxious and bored.
It’s an incredibly fearful time for many of us and I know that stress levels are at an all-time high. And I keep thinking how incredibly thankful I am to be an artist. In the past I’ve been thankful of the lifestyle being an artist allows me. I’ve been thankful for the people I get to meet along the way. I’ve been thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given. And I’ve been thankful for the people who want to live with my art. But today I’ve never been more thankful to say I’m an artist.
Because Creativity is Medicine.
Now is not the time to add additional pressures to my life, so I’ve been playing with different images and wax. Simply playing. And giving myself the time to do whatever I want.
It. Has. Been. Liberating.
I was stressed about finishing a piece for this post so I could show you what I’ve been doing. But today, I’m letting that pressure go…..and although I’m super excited about the piece. It’s not done. I’m not ready to introduce it to the world. Its time will come. Just not today.
I’ve been seeing some really creative ways that people are dealing with this crisis on FB. What we need most right now is connection; both to ourselves and to others.
In this crisis, find time to use your creativity (and you don’t have to be making art to use creativity) to release some pressure.
I know there can be a tendency to freeze when things are out of our control.
Right now, the best advice I can give you is to remember your creativity. As artists we have the ability travel into a ‘zone’ when creating. We know how the world can drift away as we tap into our creativity.
Give yourself permission to feel all the feelings. Allow space for it all (God knows we have the time) and please also know, that it’s OK not to be your most productive during and ‘effing’ pandemic.
But let creativity be your medicine.
Let me hear from you. What can we do together despite maintaining our distance? What can you and I do to support and encourage each other through our shared passion for encaustic?
Be well….be creative,
Hello Clare, thank you for your note. My spouse and I are fortunate enough to live in the country with many opportunities to safely breathe fresh air and get exercise. We have a beautiful vacation rental that we built 3 years ago and this was to be our 3rd and best ever year. So we are looking at no income from that and trust we have adequate money to be able to ride this horrible situation out. One thing that we were going to do this summer is build a new encaustic studio for me. Just 12×24 but more than adequate for my needs. I was so excited about it. I now have only a very tiny unheated and uninsulated room in a shed to try to work in as soon as the temps rise a bit. And, of course, the planning of the veggie garden is taking lots of time, which is great. Unfortunately our home doesn’t have a basement or an extra room that I can work in so it’s going to be a challenge for me to continue. What I CAN do to keep excited about encaustic is to read and watch as many encaustic videos as seem appropriate for my “intermediate” level of learning.
Take care, keep being creative, and trust I can as well.
Thanks for your message Rita. I’m really sorry about your vacation rental….this is most definitely a terrible storm and all we can do is ride it out. I think absorbing as much as you can from videos is a great idea. We don’t have to actually be painting to be creative. I wrote a blog post on ‘An Every Day Art Mind’ that you might find interesting. https://photoencaustic.comclone2/an-every-day-art-mind/
Stay well.
Thank you for being cogent and honest. After all my gigs were cancelled I thought I would make art every day for hours but that didn’t happen.
Instead I’ve been fixing things, even silly things like a little plastic pinwheel the wind tore apart. I couldn’t bear to throw it away because one afternoon my granddaughter and I had drawn the faces of our family on the petals.
After one week I told my husband I felt like I needed to keep my mind free for worrying. Like I need to be ready for emergency and can’t afford to get lost in intentional art making. Futile I know but some days I can hardly bear my own fragility, and even worse, my helplessness to protect my family. So I stand guard in my tower.
The thing about art for me, I am most interested in landscape and my love affair with nature, is that it starts with beholding. I am watching Spring unfold with a special intensity, as if it were my last, as well it could be.
I just can’t get focused on making art for show because who knows when or if I will show again and anyway my house is full of art in storage. So, I have started making free paintings with oils and cold wax medium on paper. I am no painter but I was a dancer so I’m experimenting with letting my body make gestures and marks. What is freeing is that I have no intention of showing or selling these. I don’t even much care what they look like. It is pure process.
I will have more lovely “melt-down days” with encaustic when I can work outside this summer. At least I think I will but who is making plans these days?
I wrote too long.
I would be interested in your creative circle idea Clare but I’m curious, would that be discussion threads? Would it be possible to actually talk, with something like Zoom? A digital “talking circle” as native folks call it? Not trying to make work for you nor do I really understand the technology but discussion threads with a number of people are difficult for me to stay with.
I know Carol, there is a lot to think about these days. I’ll send you the info on the creative circle. It’s not just a thread, but a small group of people that you can trust to talk about all sorts of things pertaining to working with encaustic. There will be specific meeting times and we’ll be able to interact with each other. I’ll be facilitating and opening up discussions.
That sounds great. A specific time is what I like. Count me in, if it seems good to you.
Clare, Carol, and Rita, I am in the same boat. My creativity has been replaced by anxiety, fear, and worry. The pandemic only leaves my thoughts for brief periods. Instead of making art, I’ve been cleaning, scanning and shredding old files, reorganizing the house, fixing things, etc., plus taking active measures to deal with the stress, such as meditation, exercise, healthy eating, adequate sleep, talking with friends and family, watching movies, etc.
I have had a rented studio for 16 months now, so I finally downsized from a 4-bedroom house with a full basement and huge yard to a townhouse in October. My studio is just 2 minutes down the road, but with the stay at home order, I can’t work there. I brought some art supplies home, but the townhouse isn’t really conducive to working in encaustics. After reading the posts here, it finally occurred to me that I could work outdoors on the patio or balcony when it finally warms up, or in the garage with the door open.
Now I need to let creativity be my medicine, and start using some of the art supplies while I wait for warmer weather. Maybe if I just start something (besides sewing masks) I will be able to shift into that zone where there is just me and the artistic process, at least for a little while..
Thank you for having this discussion here.
Carol, I think you are doing all the right things. I also did a blog post a couple of years ago about an Every Day Art Mind. Have a look, it might be helpful as you are waiting for the weather to warm. Be well.
https://photoencaustic.comclone2/an-every-day-art-mind/
Clare, I finally signed up for the tissue paper class! Maybe by June I can start working in the garage. Now I just have to pick up my encaustic supplies and a table or two from the studio.
Fabulous Carol. Before you know it June will be here and you’ll be creating amazing pieces:)