What to do... What to do?

Cabin fever is certainly lingering as we’ve all been stuck in our houses for about a week… although it feels like 10 years. It’s a strange time and we’re going through events that not many can say they’ve experienced before. So, I guess the question that’s begging to be answered as we’re all stuck in our homes is, “what is there to do?”

While this certainly isn’t the best of times, I think this quarantine will be a marvelous opportunity for people to express themselves creatively. Artists are extremely fortunate in that we’ve got a built in outlet for when we’re stuck inside with nothing to do. As an artist who does a lot of self reflection in my own work, I’ve done some pretty interesting stuff with the thoughts that have come up in quarantine. So, artists I think this is a time where we’ve really got to get to making and if you don’t have or can’t get to your usual facilities, maybe it’s time that you try something new. If you’re a sculptor who can’t get to the shop, get to drawing or painting. If you’re an oil painter who suddenly has to paint at home and you don’t want to gas yourself out then maybe try acrylics, or ink, or anything. If we take the non-creative approach to being stuck inside we’re going to burn holes through the back of our heads by going from computer to TV to phone all day every day, so explore your creative outlets however you can, wherever you can.

If you’re a non-artist reading this then maybe this is the time that you try something you’ve always wanted to try. There’s a plague in modern thinking that people shouldn’t do things because they’re afraid people will think they’re bad, or corny, or any type of negative response and that shouldn’t matter. Take the time to try something that you want to try, even if it’s just for you. We’ve got a whole bunch of unexpected free time here so toss previous thoughts aside and just make something, anything. Again, if we try to just occupy ourselves with TV, or social media, we’re going to drive ourselves mad with monotony.

I’m not quite sure how this blog is going to read or come off but I guess my main goal here is to give some words of encouragement. Make the best of a bad situation here, people, and don’t let your creative process suffer because you’re stuck inside. In fact, do the opposite, take the time that you have to explore it and make it flourish. This is going to be one hell of a social experiment when we get through this but I think that if artists, and even non-artists, take this time they’ve been given and focus their energy on their craft, some really beautiful things will rise out of this dark time.