Art in Isolation: How to Inspire Creativity During the Pandemic
"A Self-Portrait"
Archival Pigment Print Photo Transfer on Skeleton Leaf
By:Samantha Bias
In March 2020 shortly after my beautiful and magical wedding, the Covid-19 virus was announced a world-wide pandemic. Schools were one of the first facilities to close and shortly after business and following that, my job as an art instructor at the Cleveland Recreation Centers. We weren't sure how long it would be to get to this point, everything happened so quickly. On the night of March 16th I was told that we would close our art center doors indefinitely as we went into Civil Emergency.
It was all so surreal. News letters after news letters, tweets, posts and memes later I found myself spiraling into a black hole of the masses in fear and almost disbelief. I never thought I would be living in a history book. When I logged into facebook in days to come was astonishing. My artists friends were so motivated by all of the chaos of the current state of affairs and have never been so inclined to create more than ever before. But there I was, day after day just trying to make sense of it all. I had no inspiration to create and at that time and I needed an escape more than ever.
I would wake up in the mornings and have my coffee by the window. At that time, I began taking on slow living where I would dedicate an hour to just thinking, watching and listening to my surroundings. Before the pandemic I didn't have enough time to sit down in the mornings. I became accustom to my "red light breakfasts" where I would scarf down a breakfast burrito at the nearest red light on my way to work. Soon after my slow breakfast I would do yoga and then I would start my day in isolation to watch TV and cook. This was my new reality.
I tried everything to calm my mind and try not to feel guilty about not taking full advantage of the immeasurable time I had to create. After months in a dry spell I began to question my whole identity. I identify as an artist inside and out and when I didn't have that quality I began to wonder if I ever really was an artist or if I would ever be again.
Day after day I would walk by my studio. It was so bright and inviting. White walls, green plants by the windows. My desk was free of clutter waiting to be used, and yet it mocked me. Just being in my studio to grab clothes from my closet disgusted me. I ran out as fast as I could. It was just a big empty room to me, just as I was beginning to feel. Just before it stated to get completely unbearable one night it came to me. The ideas came flushing back to me and a wave of inspiration hit me like a sack of bricks and I started creating again that night.
I didn't even fully realize that what I was creating was something deeper than what it came out to be. The skeleton leaf is parts of the leaf that was left behind, something that was undesirable to the hungry insects or the corrosion of the leaf over seasons of time. Although the leaf may seem fragile, it is actually quite strong. I knew that I wanted to convey the tenderness and strength of human connection upon the leaves to make for something unique and different. It was something that was familiar but also something I have never seen before.
"Into The Void"
Archival Pigment Print Photo Transfer on Skeleton Leaf
By:Samantha Bias
It was the next day I realized that you can't force art. Art is a gift, a notion, a fraction of yourself and it can't be just taken or given. I was blaming myself for not trying hard enough. Everyone deals with trauma differently, and I realized that the pandemic brought up years of emotion that I otherwise packed away for safekeeping. Everything was out in the open and I had no distraction to all of the beautiful things and the dark things hidden inside. My art became a catalyst for those feelings once again.
Your art can be your beacon of light during this dark hour. If you are experiencing a wealth of inspiration with all of this extra time that is great. If not, that's okay too. Sometimes you need the silence in order to hear what you need and art doesn't always come but it can and will come back to you. Trust in yourself, and you will gain the inspiration that will motivate your creativity and it will spill into all other sources of joy in your life.