Creative COVID Coaster

Hello There! And thanks for returning! I figure this week, we’ll just go ahead and fly right into the eye of the storm, and chat about COVID. I understand how this topic can be a touchy one, but don’t worry, I’m no expert so we’re not going into any depths of that sort. My goal is mostly to talk about what the quarantine has meant for me and my progression as a creative. I wasn’t sure if it’d be wise to speak on the subject, but I know it’s the obvious elephant, in every single room, everywhere you go, and it’s wearing a mask… haha. *wink wink* Ultimately I think it’s pretty safe to say there are varying struggles we are all facing right now, and I figure maybe we can till up this chaos and spread some seed. Whether we like it or not, we are all in this together, and nothing could be truer. I intend to always remain honest in the most thoughtful of ways, so I couldn’t go on without saying; I wish you health, strength, endurance, and clarity. This too, in time, will pass….

So, let’s talk about this COVID coaster we’ve all been riding tirelessly since about, mid-March. Initially I felt pretty positive about quarantine, considering I work from home and spend most of my time here, “This isn’t much of a change from my day to day life” “We’ll be back on track in no time” I thought foolishly. I aspired to maintain the upper hand mentally, and I did my best to focus on my physical health. Trying to remember my vitamins, water intake, and keeping the house extra, extra clean. All the while, my mind was beginning to fill up with art concepts and new experiments to pursue. There was so much I wanted to dive into, but I had to manage to get to these ideas out before they would rot.

In the early days of the lockdown, I had begun working on a new commission. The commissioned art would be 3D structures constructed mostly of playing cards, embellished with small details, and coated in epoxy to protect the pieces from the elements. The first round of supplies ordered, arrived without incident, and immediately I got to work. Every project typically comes with its own share of complications, and bouts with artist block, but I never tried to work through a Pandemic, and it was certainly a challenge I wasn’t prepared to face. That didn’t matter yet, I was inspired, and within a 3 week period I had managed to complete 70% of the work. In this realm of craft work, I was making fantastic time!

As each day passed the unknown nature of COVID continued to expand and persevere- Stories on the news didn’t line up, no sure answers were found, and the end was no longer anywhere in sight. So much changed at a rapid rate, thoughts became overwhelming, news sources created headaches, social media was kinda losing its mind, and many are left wishing we had an honorable, experienced leader to see us through this. My mind had essentially become Grand Central Station for all the “what ifs” that hung in the balance. I was slowly beginning to lose focus. After spending the entire day caught between the internal and external screaming, I just needed some quiet, a night cap, and some sleep. I had little bandwidth, and social issues mixed with the Pandemic consumed my creativity; I was letting my imagination get the better of me. I just wanted out of it all.

I have slowly kept working on the commission art, detail work always requires more thought and precision. So at first this was completely normal. After another week or so of detail work, I was finally at the epoxy stage. I could see the finish line! But I had a list of troubles headed my way that kind of make me giggle now that I’m documenting it all. I know it’s cliché to say but, everything that could go wrong, went wrong. There were equipment malfunctions, crafting mishaps, design flaws, epoxy disasters, and a national (hell, maybe even global) glove shortage. It seemed each time the gears would get moving, another wrench was waiting its turn. Little by little, I was becoming uninspired, annoyed, and hopeless. I didn’t know if this would ever be complete, or if I would be starting from scratch to fulfill this request. I couldn’t see any short cuts around these hurdles, I realized I would have to force myself to push on anyway. Sanding, gluing, setting, and repeat,  I’ve been able to lose myself in process to avoid my emotional state over these unforeseen issues. Surprisingly enough, it’s finally working 😀

It’s been a little over 3 weeks now that I have decided to dedicate my time and energy into creating habits that boost my productivity and creativity. My daily routine has tightened up a significant amount; I stay a lot busier (which means less time on social media), I’ve been learning new tricks (which I’ll probably speak more on in the future), and I’ve been cooking a lot, which means I’ve been eating a lot better. Trying to remain hopeful feels like the hardest part of it all, but distracting myself and establishing discipline is doing wonders for my psyche.

I chose to document this for 2 reasons. First, writing and releasing is freeing!  Second, I hope reading this reassures someone that ups and downs in life are the standard. It’s easy to get swept up in the madness, and it’s normal to feel anxious and overwhelmed with the state of things. In no way do I intend to get political, but I will say, it seems of the upmost importance to move and speak through love and understanding. I hope these moments in history become the pillars of necessary change. I hope we each get the chance to appreciate the little things, and the moments money can’t buy. And I hope someday we can all see that each person wants the same things.. to live and enjoy life to its fullest. At this moment, all that should matter to any of us, is that we achieve this reality, together <3

Sending lots of love your way…

<3Miki Len

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