Today’s question is a simple one: Where do you find inspiration for your creative work in a time of Covid-19? And, as a follow-up question: What draws you to those particular sources of inspiration?
The pandemic has impacted, and also inspired my work, writing, and photography, and the way I look at my work–not only through a creative lens, but also through a business lens.
The subjects of my work have slightly changed, mostly because of Coronavirus constraints and quarantine. These days, I get to document life during Covid and experiment with self-portraiture and product photography and also attempt to work on book projects.
So, a few of my sources of inspiration during this pandemic include:
- PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, pre- and during the coronavirus pandemic
- STORIES & SUBJECTS that have had a powerful impact on my life
- the DARKER MOOD ASSOCIATED WITH THE PANDEMIC is a powerful source of inspiration (after all, depression can be a dark, yet powerful source of inspiration; it can inspire our artwork and help us face our inner demons)
- other people’s IMAGES (i.e. on Instagram)
- READING BOOKS, Covid-related or not
- working on BOOK PROJECTS (Covid related or not, photography related or not) with other authors or not […and all work done in collaboration with others is virtual, online work, not in person]
- working on CREATIVE HOLIDAY GIFTS: calendars, photo books, photo albums, canvas prints, etc.
- revisiting & (re)ORGANIZNING IMAGES & IMAGE FOLDERS; btw, when organizing image files/folders, try to come up with some kind of template that makes sense to you; think “consistency” across hard drives, devices, and so on in terms of folder names, image names, metadata, etc.
- LEARNING NEW STUFF (skills, habits, etc.) that’s creative in its own way, such as:
- organize closets, pantry, etc. (with a purpose in mind, perhaps)
- trying out new recipes or RECIPES that have been part of your family for generations: for instance, this year I’ve tried my hand at making HOMEMADE BREAD (a work in progress)
- trying your hand at CUTTING HAIR–your own and others in your family (also a work in progress for me, but making progress)
- STAYING FIT or at least trying to: earlier this year, during the lockdown, while looking for a way to stay fit, I happened to discover Team Body Project (online) workouts and, with that, a way to survive, at least in part, the Covid-related madness. They’ve helped me stay sane (as sane as I can be, lol!) during this pandemic. I very much believe that the TBP workouts are a much-needed relief for the mind, body, and soul.
- also, when working on new projects, especially as creatives, EXPERIMENT with new techniques, new ideas, and so on; see what works and what doesn’t work; allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes; take advantage of the trial-and-error time you have right now, because if not now, when?
- keep a DIARY, write down stuff that you might want to remember in a post-Covid world, because that will eventually happen, too, as well as the new reality that might come with it….
So, now that you know some of my sources of inspiration, feel free to share some of yours. How has the pandemic inspired your work, if at all?
Hope this finds you safe and, as always, thanks for stopping by.
Alina Oswald 