What have you been working on during lockdown? I have been obsessed with clouds. Before the lockdown, I started working on Thunderstorm, a group of cloud sculptures that pulse. With Thunderstorm, I have been thinking about the hardships but beauty in life, how in the midst of the storms there is still hope. I was also playing with the idea of a giant cloud that people can enter to see a silver lining. That part I’ve put on hold — people are exhausted and it’s too much to think about the silver lining of 2020 right now. But I continue to slowly create the clouds, stitching them in moments throughout the day, as I take breaks from my other work.
When you’re feeling unmotivated or uncreative, what do you do? I take a break, take a walk, stare at the wall for an hour (or longer). I remind myself that each new day is a new day. If yesterday was hard, maybe today will be better so let’s see. I talk to friends who set my thinking straight. And sometimes I just suck it up and make myself work on stuff.
What has been the biggest challenge of quarantine as it relates to your art? Paying gigs are unstable; I am fortunate to have more than enough paying work, but it can be draining. The biggest challenge is having days where I feel like I’m working and living through exhaustion. I worry about the safety of my students.
How, if at all, has your creative process or routine changed? I have fewer full days of working only on art, so now I try to sprinkle art-making throughout the day, while I work on gig work. I’ll send an email, and then sew. I’ll teach a Zoom class, and then paint some plastic. My days never look the same, which was true before COVID. So I try to make goals for the day and then work on them, all while taking art-making breaks.
What have you missed the most during quarantine? I have missed seeing friends and family. I miss seeing live music. I miss going to art openings and events.
What are you working on next? Clouds. Cloudy skies are on my horizon, haha!
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