It’s strange, since setting up the new website I have dithered about the “blog” should I blog, If so – how often? Is blogging dead? The usual jumble of thoughts that can chase a monkey mind!
A few days ago, I saw a comment from a garden blogging friend Victoria;- I first met her many years ago when a gaggle of garden bloggers and a collection of textile artists published their blogs regularly. There are a few people who I met through the internet at that time and they have become very dear friends, (You know who you are, Michelle and Elizabeth)
As world events are rushing on at a ghastly pace, with Covid-19 and the fact that we are now confined to home, blogging again seemed like a thing to do, but it has proved harder than I thought.
Initially when the UK government said the vulnerable will have to self-isolate for three months, I thought whoo-hoo – I am an artist, wonderful, 3 months of uninterrupted studio time, and part of me still feels like that, but the truth is that I have struggled in the studio.
The exhibitions and fairs that I thought I would be part of, may or may not happen. The ones early in the year won’t happen – the ones later in the year might happen. I always work better with the slight pressure of a deadline, and so to some extent the uncertainty of what the future holds has pulled the rug out from under me.
What is unexpected is that instead of free days to peruse my creative muse – the logistics of self-isolation seem to take up so much time! Checking in with the groups I belong to, (and the news) bookmarking sites that may give my creativity a prod, even though I know deep down I will never return to them, getting calls from friends I haven’t seen in ages, which is a delightful treat. Checking in on (the news) my Mother daily – by phone – as she is also in the vulnerable group and lives on her own. Worrying about my adult children and my grandchildren. Asking neighbours who can still shop to pick things up for me, trying to get a slot for online food shopping, requesting a volunteer to get my prescriptions, and phoning some elderly friends who I know live alone. Oh, and let’s not forget my daily walk! (And the news). When written down, these things are small, not mind blowing, the minutiae of everyday living. But it’s the thinking about and organizing them that I find fills my mind.
Leaving all that aside, what have I been working on? I was invited to put some of my notebooks in an exhibition entitled Costal and Maritime. The covers for these books are made from hand-made fabric paper, which is painted, stamped, stencilled, cut and pieced to create a textured and unique cover for each book.
I always do a little research when I am working in my own sketchbooks, I didn’t know that crabs had 10 legs or that their blood was blue … but I do now
One Response
Awwww, thank you Karen. I’m amazed at how a virtual connection has blossomed in a lasting friendship 🙂 Your description of your day is quite familiar to me and I suspect many people have ones like that in these uncertain times. I have a vast list of things to do with only a couple of them crossed off. But what is of real value? The connections we’ve made this week with friends and family. In the absence of human contact except with our nearest and dearest (or none at all in many cases), any connection – by phone or over the internet – is all the more valuable. Your phone call was a real tonic, thank you and I look forward to when I find myself with you on that empty beach you posted a photo of this week 🙂