Have you thought of just switching off the TV, letting the world wait, and just make time for yourself?
Well, Covid-19 did just that. While it might have grown to be tiring for some people, for others, it was the time to invest in themselves, refocus their targets and get ample free time to work on what really matters for them.
Under no other occasion would someone be forced to stay in, spend time with themselves, and be stripped of all the distractions that our modern way of life is blessed with.
Today, we’ll talk about artists, and how the pandemic influenced people who resort to creativity as a way to make ends meets. Where does a pandemic leave an artist? Stranded at home, with no inspiration to draw from, or fully energized, ready to take advantage of the time they never had?
The answer is hopefully the latter. Just like most things in life, we decide what to take from and how to react to a situation. Sure, the pandemic is less than an ideal scenario but we will ultimately decide if this is our downfall or our renaissance.
Buy art supplies and dive into all those ideas that have been sitting in your mind but never had the time to explore. Educate yourself on a technique or a material that you have never used before. Take that interior design, fashion, museum studies course that you considered to be time-consuming in the past. Experiment, explore, test, investigate. Now is the time. Nobody is watching. Investing in yourself is the only investment that can never go wrong!
It’s true that artists express their reality, emotions, and feeling through Art. Personally, through lockdown, I came to the realization that reality can wait, that getting the time to work on myself and the things I never got the chance to, is far more important.
How did I tackle the lockdown? I got off the sofa, switched off the TV, got a brush and a canvas and I started a journey, with no way back. I chose to live inside my head and enjoy the absence of responsibilities.
All through lockdown, I freely explored techniques and materials that have nothing to do with what I was doing before.
It faced reality straight on, away from the daily drama of numbers.
If I have anything to say and share from my experience through this challenging time is: artists, create! Don’t let anything hold you back! Lockdown, routine, responsibilities, a bad day – whatever the root of the problem may be, there is a way to make it work. It’s all about mindset, it’s all about choosing to stay positive and make the most of any situation.
Galleries, culture, and art never die. They’ve survived wars, natural disasters and will most definitely survive this pandemic. You are part of that heritage, of that fighter DNA, of a group of people that refuse to give up, refuse to give in, and keep on going no matter the situation.
Take a break, take a day off, but don’t you dare stop creating.
Everything will be back to normal soon! Stay safe – stay creative.
By Evdokia Georgiou
