Life in the time of COVID-19

An eerie silence has descended upon my world.  I am restless.  My life has changed and I am slightly apprehensive.

COVID-19 has changed all of our lives, not just mine.  Hopefully the change is temporary, but we will find out if that is so when we emerge from our self-isolation in a month or two.

Strange, isn't it?   I have always felt that my ideal week is one in which I have no commitments.  No need to leave the house except to buy food, to mail a letter, or to deposit or withdraw money from the bank.  When I turn the page on my desk diary (and, yes, I still rely on a real calendar, not just a digital calendar) and the page is blank, I always feel happy.  Very happy.  I love uninterrupted time in my studio.

But not this week.

My calendar was full.  Perhaps too full.  Meetings to attend, classes to teach, people to see, exhibit openings to attend, a quilt show to view.  All canceled.  I was supposed to be in Toronto today, attending the annual SAQA Conference.  Learning more about my art and the business side of my art and spending time with some of my favorite friends.  But no, I am home.  Watching the relentless rain fall outside my studio windows, feeling unsettled and uncreative.

It doesn't help that my husband is working from home now.  His office closed down this week.  He is hard at work in his home office, which is next door to my studio.  I am aware that he is there and that he is working.  I feel the need to be quiet and to tiptoe up and down the stairs.  To play music at a barely audible level and to let him concentrate.  Why am I finding it so difficult?

I have managed a little work.  Nothing very exciting, but at least I've tried.  I started this small piece on Monday and finished the top yesterday morning.  The block centers are cut from a monoprint I created this summer.   I'm still not sure about the orientation, though.  Any suggestions?
After finishing that piece, I decided to start something that really represented how I feel right now.  Edgy.  Spiky.  Maybe verging on a little angry.
So, how are you coping with COVID-19?

Comments

Julierose said…
Difficult times; we are retired, so being home a lot at our ages isn't the problem--more like worrying how to safely get out to get needed supplies...
I am reading a lot and hand quilting...and still a bit out-of-sorts. I think we are all feeling these changes a lot; hoping that it's over sooner rather than later...hugs stay safe, Julierose
Norma Schlager said…
Like you, I am always happy to see a blank space on my calendar. But a whole month sequestered, I don't know. Right now I am busy making masks for the local Hospice to cover the N95 masks so they last longer.