I’m copying Austin Kleon, writer, who chose to answer the 7 questions the New York Times originally posed to 75 artists about living through a pandemic the last twelve months. (Yes, I changed the name from 1 bad year to simply 1 year.)
What’s one thing you made this year?
I made a gouache portrait of Audrey Hepburn during a workshop with Sketchbook Skool taught by August Wren.
Did you have any bad ideas this year?
Getting a weekly CSA box for 20 weeks last summer and fall. It was too much fruit and veg for little ol’ me.
What is a moment from this year you will always remember?
Babysitting my two-year old niece for three days while her mom and dad were at the hospital having another baby!
What art have you turned to in this time?
First, writing. I started doing morning pages in July 2020 and have kept them up nearly every day since. I started this blog in January 2021. Second, cooking. It has been a fun, challenging, satisfying way to fill my free time now that there is so much of it.
What do you want to achieve before things return to normal?
I think the idea of achievement before “returning to normal” is overrated. If you have been on a path of being more creative during the pandemic, just try to continue that habit every day regardless of external circumstances.
Did you find a friendship that helped you through this time?
I am grateful that some of my existing friendships deepened in the last year by being forced to talk by phone or Zoom. I made new friends with a couple neighbors, too, which would not have happened if we weren’t all working at home. I’ll also mention my imaginary friends on TBTL who helped keep me sane.
If you’d known that you’d be isolated for so long, what would you have done differently?
Instead of wishing for different or better, I’m simply thankful for my health and that of my loved ones over the last year. It was a hard year. Maybe I spent too much time watching YouTube and too little time making stuff, but I would not change how I chose to cope with the challenges of life in a pandemic.
Allegra's Journal 