"Because of the closing of Whiting Mills, I was not able to continue painting in encaustic, selling from my gallery or other galleries, or teaching classes and workshops. I pivoted from a 900 square foot studio equipped with all kinds of media, tools, easels, etc. to my kitchen table. To express what I was experiencing and observing, I began daily drawings. Since the last series of paintings I had been working on centered on the quirky postures of crows, I used crows to convey my daily experiences. I’d post them on Facebook and soon had people telling me “don’t quit drawing, I need these.” Just before my surgery, (when the series ended), I saw that I had created a document of 70+ drawings, illustrating things like “Too Late", the story of my grocery shopping that day, or sewing masks, or a Zoom meeting. My plan is to create a book from these sketches. I had not set out to make a book or to continue observing crows; this was my response to the pandemic quarantine and the social unrest."
"To other artists, you’re NOT in normal times. Adjust, convert to another media or find a way to continue to lead a creative life. That’s all you can do. Don’t push the river, and sharpen your skills."
"I really hate to throw things out, and a new series I’m beginning is focused on using recycled materials. When my favorite coffee mug fell and broke, I instantly decided to create a work of art out of it, feeling that it related to the times quite well. I had so many things I was juggling at once, and I found this work of art a good way to show how this felt!"
"My advice for other artists is to just carve out time for yourself and create. I finally had to do just that. I didn’t allow myself to keep working, I decided on a time that I had to stop each day and carved out a designated time to create. That sounds easy, but it’s not. I didn’t always get to that. I was trying to give myself some time every day, because honestly, after I created something I felt better."
"I painted this as a self-initiated project to help me to process through and heal from a very challenging time in my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was my own art therapy. I didn’t have the words to identify all that I had been through, but this vision came to mind and I felt compelled to paint it. In hindsight, having been through this process, I know I felt my life had been shattered and I had been in the process of building a “New Normal”. I literally was painting my way to my own healing."
"My challenge in this pandemic was to overcome feelings of fear and limitation with faith and finding new outlets for social connection. As I got accustomed to being home a lot more, I had more time to work on art again in a more focused way with less distractions. I did my best to take the lemons that were dealt and make lemonade."
"My best advice to other artists is to keep producing the work that excites and is meaningful to you. It is so important to keep your work and your presence out there. I have often spent money on framing for a show and felt disappointed if nothing sold, only to get a call a few months later to illustrate a children’s book, or other exciting project long after the show."
"I took a some trips over the past 3 years to see the famous ancient caves of Spain and France that have paintings and engraved figures of animals. When I came home my head was spinning with questions about the human need to create. I decided to imitate some of the figures. I then moved to putting up several random sheets of paper on the wall and imitating drawing on the wall, as if I was an ancient cave artist."
"I have been making the most of my sequestered time by experimenting with materials and techniques. It has been a challenge not to be with other artists, friends, and family for social "recharging." I also took an online Master Class with an amazing artist from Belgium - there were people from every continent in the class in the same lock-down situation. Helped me feel as if I was connecting AND making use of a difficult time.
"The artist Corita Kent has a set of rules for artists that helps me whenever I feel uninspired - one rule is "Find a place you trust and then try trusting it for a while." And, "The only rule is work." I just keep trying to show up and work."
"Thank you to the Arts Council for keeping us inspired and informed while we're all staying home."