This week, as Mia, like many other organizations made the decision to close due to covid-19, I focused on keeping myself busy. Moving out of my apartment and my studio two months short of completing the semester and graduating, the sudden change in my environment has made me feel extremely displaced and confused but also inspired. It helps that the sun is shining and that I see blue skies. I have been forced to take a break from my regular studio practice, however I am lucky to still be able to paint. This week, my practice shifted from large-scale oil paintings, to small-scale watercolors. I have been taking solitary walks in the surrounding area, and collecting dried twigs, seeds, succulent leaves, other natural materials and then painting detailed studies of these objects. The walks are part of my process, they help me clear my head and also give me the space to think about all the things that are happening around me. In art school, we are taught to draw as WE see. This process of walking, collecting and painting really emphasizes the importance of observation. It is also personalized, as the things that I tend to pick up, dry, dead, covered with mud, sometimes decaying, may not be what someone else picks up.
I have resorted to doing things that are slow, repetitive, and meditative, and that do not require too much thinking; crochet, a Dr. Suess coloring book, the detailed watercolor paintings and repetitive patterns in my sketchbook.
I have been thinking a lot about how in this situation that we are in, art is so important because it helps to release or express what we are feeling. Many organizations are putting out short art exercises that anyone can do. An organization which usually does life drawing sessions, has started doing the same through a live instagram feed. (instagram: @lifedrawingbangalore) Museums are taking the time to showcase their collection online. In my own community back home, my mum and I came up with a short list of art therapy related exercises that members of the community there can take a few minutes out of their day to do. She is facilitating them with the community. I think it would be interesting to share them with the community that I have here as well.
It's been a week of reconfiguration, in a sense. Familiarizing myself to a new environment, a new schedule, a new community, has been challenging but has also brought about a different mindset, a stronger longing to share art with the community, and to use it as a tool to bring people together, even if this might have to be virtually.
