During this time, the fellowship of making art with other people is a big missing for me. Art making is how I stay balanced. It is how I release my stress after a long day at work. Making art with other people creates special affinities.
Under quarantine, things are a bit different. Telecommuting for a work-a-holic personality is all consuming. At the end of the day, I am exhausted from having been SWITCHED ON for hours. I just don’t have it in me to call anyone, organize or hop on a ZOOM to say in touch with my community.
Lately, the few calls I do make, i’m learning about the passing of a mutual friend or family member due to covid-19. I tense up when the phone rings now. And the sentimental TV spots are starting to annoy me. I’m tired.
The one thing I look forward to is the 7:00pm Cheer for Heathcare and Essential Workers. The clapping, banging on pots and hooting and hollering each night with my high rise neighbors is a welcome release.
This is my new community. I now find myself listening for a certain scream from a building on Morgan Street or a particular clanking of a pot from the high rise in front of my roof deck. Hello new friends, thank you for keeping me sane.
