Covid and Creativity
Its hard not to be affected by the current global pandemic. For many of us it has impacted all aspects of our lives and how we are able to live. So given that, it’s impossible for our creative outlets not to be changed. Over the last few weeks I have seen some remarkable things happen despite of the situation we have found ourselves in. For many of us though, being remarkable, or even normal, is hard at the moment. I hope that by talking about my situation in this post that it may lend some comfort or reassurance to others
I’m going to start by talking about how Coronavirus has affected my life as a whole…
At first, I was reluctant to admit it was happening. Like many of us I was scared of the possible reality we might end up living in and also the uncertainty of an even more unknown future.
When lockdown was announced we had already ceased many parts of our weekly routine that I found comforting. We no longer visited relatives, went to restaurants or met up with friends. I think the hardest part of this lockdown for me is not being able to see some of the people that mean the most to me.
I am lucky to be isolated with a loving family who, for the most part, despite the situation is surviving as it did before. My grandparents, and I am lucky to still have the full compliment of four, are all isolating for the full 12 weeks as per government instructions. Although I get to see them occasionally from the doorstep when I drop round essentials I deeply miss the weekly meals and conversations we once had. I can no longer see my boyfriend and although I greatly look forward to and enjoy our virtual dinner dates and Skype chats its just not the same.
The week after lockdown was annnounced I became ill. We are sure it was covid but as in England there is no testing for those not in hospital or in a critical condition there is a possibility it wasn’t. As I was ill my online shop was closed and I stopped going to my new part time day job as well. So everything in my life had just suddenly stopped.
When I was well enough to go back to my day job I found my anxiety crippling. Simply having to leave the house and be normal was terrifying in such a strange and alien situation. Every time I go out I see dozens of people enjoying the sunshine and that only worsens my anxiety. Mentally I am very fragile at the moment and I am sure that I am not alone.
We have been under lockdown now for more than 5 weeks. No one knows what the world will even be like after lockdown yet and it is hard to even know what to hope for.
And I am not the only one who is in this situation. Many are in much worse situations.
Given all of that intense stress and anxiety that we are all under, it is then so comforting to me to see so many people finding solace in creativity.
I have seen so many more inspiring artworks now that people have the time to create freely. Every time I scroll through my instagram feed there are people trying to impart joy in bight colours and encouraging messages.
My shop sales have been greatly increased, its like Christmas over here! This not only offers me security in a crisis but also makes me so uplifted to know that so many of you are taking the opportunity to create something beautiful with your time. For that I am unmeasurable grateful!
In the first few weeks I found it very hard to be creative. I was ill for two of them but that’s largely irrelevant. I wasn’t inspired to create, to carry on with some of my long term rejects, to start something new. April’s Blackwork house pattern felt so forced and by the end I was honestly sick of it.
So I started looking ahead. I looked towards May and thought about what I could create. In case you don’t know, I create a new design every month that many lovely people receive through subscriptions on Patreon, either as a kit or a pattern! (You can find out more in my website FAQs, Patreon Page or Instagram highlight)
I like to alternate my designs between Blackwork and threadpainting, I don’t know if you’ve noticed? So I knew it had to be something colourful! Eventually, after a little brainstorm session with my boyfriend, he helped me alight on the idea of a snail. This snail is nothing special artistically, it wont be the next big thing, but to me it was the start of being excited about my work again. Since starting my snail I’ve picked old projects and made progress on them. I’ve created a large pile of finished hoops that need felt backing and am inspired by the prospect of creating new things again!
So you see, we may not be better, I am certainly still struggling enormously each day as many others are, but we creatives are finding our ways to cope! We are finding beauty in the world around us which despite it all is still bursting into spring. The world is healing, even just a little, while we are not there to interfere with it.
The world still turns even in a crisis.
I cannot say that I have hope. Its so hard to hope when things are so uncertain. But day to day I am reassured that humanity is resilient, and somehow we will get through this, together.