It has been quite the time to be in a residency, digital or otherwise!
I began this Digital Artist in Residence with The Gathered Gallery during a time when my practice was in full production mode. I began it (and I still am) as an Artist in Residence at the Grenfell Art Gallery, working towards a solo exhibition in May (which is now postposed to an unknown time) on a few large drawings of a crocheted blanket (which are now locked away and inaccessible in my studio). I was in the studio each day, 8:30am-4:30pm, including weekends, gearing up and in full production mode.
I don’t know about you, but having to be at home felt like I hit a brick wall, then figuring out how to continue once I had fallen through it. I had to suddenly halt all work I was doing, what I had been working on since September 2019, and as someone who doesn’t sit back and relax as often as I should, it felt daunting not going in and continuing my routine.
As a natural response, I hopped into a new project at home making tiny miniature socks, placing my worries upon them. Between teaching, assisting students and trying to maintain a normalcy in my practice, I only half felt like I was at home, the lines were becoming blurred, and I was not being soft with myself. I definitely felt/still feel the pressure to be productive in this time.
This residency has been an excellent opportunity for me to become more introspective about my practice, its nature and how I work. As a creature of habit, I feel most at home within routine, structure and stability, and self-isolation has meant an overhaul of the everyday into (what will, with time, become) a new normal. I am still working out what that means for myself and my practice, day by day. Currently, it has meant self-care: getting ready in the morning, having a healthy breakfast, a morning coffee, yoga, working from home the rest of the morning, a healthy lunch, finding time to make, a healthy dinner, and something to ease my mind and turn off my brain in the evening. It has meant trying to limit time on social media, snuggling my cats more, keeping a tidy home and being fortunate to have the company of my partner. It has meant making little socks for an installation I’m looking forward to making, but also working on knitting a sweater I haven’t had the time for in months and returning to my UFO’s (UnFinished Objects).
Thank you, Gathered Gallery, for this incredible opportunity to be the Digital Artist in Residence. As strange of a time that it is/was, it has allowed me to slow down, think and be present (something I am working hard at now so it may continue once we are through this).
Stay safe & sound, friends.
