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How have you been coping with the change to stay indoors? For those who are not used to it, it may prove to be difficult to adapt. In that case, we reached out to a few of our favourite artists in hopes to collect some insights on their individual mental health journey during this global pandemic.
With luck, this may help all of us to reflect and put ourselves in another person’s perspective. After all, it’s always reassuring that somebody else understands what you’re going through.
Read on to learn more about how these five creatives from different parts of the world keep it together during these trying times:
How do you take care of your mental health during these difficult times?
The last two months have been, undeniably, uncertain and very stressful. To deal with that, I came up with a few new habits to help me manage my mood. I introduced short daily meditation sessions.
It’s only 10-20 minutes a day, but having that short break, just to be still, in between my intense workdays really helped me to catch a breath. Short walks to the nearby park, especially when it’s sunny, became part of my daily routine.
I sit on the grass over [the] Amsterdam canal, listen to birds [singing] and look at [the slow] moving water. To help me [fall] asleep I got back to regular book reading. Stepping into imaginary [worlds] helps me to slow down after the whole day and lets the worries go away.
How do you stay inspired while staying home?
I’m a digital illustrator and [a] few months back I re-discovered the joy of keeping a sketchbook and filling it in regularly. I noticed I feel more inspired after each sketching session and satisfied with working with different media.
While I sketch, I listen to my favorite music, audiobooks, podcast or watch Netflix, [making it] a habit and enjoying the process.
How have you maintained your routine for the past month? Have you had to come up with a new one to adjust?
As an artist working freelance, from my studio home on a daily basis, the core of my routine hasn’t changed much, but nevertheless, the changes caused by the current situation have been very challenging.
I used to work in local cafes, enjoyed a lot meeting with friends, organizing work dates, planning my next travel or simply being able to enjoy the city whenever I wished to.
My new routine now involves a better work-life balance. I distanced myself from the news, as I noticed they weren’t helping, and try to make time to chat more with my friends and family.
Can you share with us an insight on working from home during a pandemic?
Organizing for yourself a comfortable corner or place to work from should help with keeping the motivation up. Also, make it as cozy as possible and preferably far away from where you normally relax after work.
You’ve probably already heard a lot about sticking to your usual working hours and respecting the routine. If you can, go for a short walk, step onto your balcony, look at the trees or sky just for a minute, to get some calm and balance.
How has the pandemic affected your creative well-being?
It definitely affected my general mood but my creativity wasn’t affected. For me the key is to remind myself that it’s a temporary situation and we will get through it.
The most important thing was to accept that there are better and worse days. I’ve learned to respect that and be patient with myself, acknowledge how I feel and adapt to that as well as I can.
Has being indoors encouraged you to try something new?
Since I started my own business, I haven’t been the best guardian of my work/life balance. I consider myself a hardworking person, but now because of being indoors all the time, I’m learning to dedicate more time to myself and others around me and see the balance with more clarity. I got back to my yoga practice, mindfulness, and enjoying more the little things.
How do you take care of your mental health during these difficult times?
My best [way to take care of my] mental health is drawing. Not only that, I posted my works to social media and interacted with various people these days. So I didn't feel lonely.
How do you stay inspired while staying home?
My greatest inspiration is the beautiful creative works that many people post on social media.
How have you maintained your routine for the past month? Have you had to come up with a new one to adjust?
My routine didn't change. But I couldn't buy paints, palettes, sketchbooks, etc. at the store. so I decided to use online.
Can you share with us an insight on working from home during a pandemic?
At first I was confused about the new situation. However, after a month, I was able to find a little fun and joy.
How has the pandemic affected your creative well-being?
This time, I was able to make many works because I had more time at home.
Has being indoors encouraged you to try something new?
As I spend more time at home, I started creating videos.
How do you take care of your mental health during these difficult times?
I always tried to not panic, and stay calm and positive...this is not always easy. when something bad happens, there is always a great clamour, and [scaremongering news].
So, in the first days I tried to keep myself informed in the correct way but without overfilling myself with too much news/tv programs about this topic... I tried to live day by day, keeping myself focused on work!
How do you stay inspired while staying home?
As I already said, I usually spent most part of the day at home even before this exceptional situation...so I was pretty used to work at home… My art is highly influenced by external stimuli…but living in a small city (without the financial resources to travel a lot, and see the world 😅), I learned how to find inspiration even from my small place (thanks to the internet, books, movies and magazines 🙌🏻) over the years...
But in this hard period, more than a lack of inspiration, I suffered from a real and proper ""art block" ...I would have liked to paint more, but, due to the great amount of stress, I wasn't able to create as much I wanted...(the decrease of my shop sales, and the difficulties in getting tools and stocks for my work affected really much my mood)
But I'm keeping to stay alert and careful about new inspirations, I'm also collecting my ideas and projects into my planner, in order to have them developed when I'll be ready! 💪🏻
How have you maintained your routine for the past month? Have you had to come up with a new one to adjust?
Things basically remained the same for me…during the past years I experienced the "work from home", and this helped me so much in developing my own way to organize myself!
During these years I learned how to set my days according to the work commitments, the free time and the other stuff, and all that experience has been really useful even during the lockdown!
Can you share with us an insight on working from home during a pandemic?
Well, during the years, I realized that the quality of my work performance is better when I'm comfortable with the surroundings...and what's more comfortable than our own house? I'm also trying to keep my work-space as neat as possible, filling the area with beautiful and inspiring objects…this helps creativity a lot! I think that once you learn how to stay focused on work, away from the distractions, working from home could be a really profitable solution for different kind of occupations!
How has the pandemic affected your creative well-being?
I think that, initially, the sense of unease was due to the fear that this situation could negatively affect my business, leading me to the closure of my shop....
Since I work in this field, I'm pretty used to a kind of precariousness , and I always try to not tear me down…but the situation was pretty tough for my independent business at the beginning of this pandemic, and this has automatically generated a certain type of discouragement!
But I always tried to react as I could, going back to work on some old projects that I abandoned for lack of time...this helped me a lot!
Has being indoors encouraged you to try something new?
Yep! In order to avoid to be overwhelmed by desperation (🤣) I tried to keep myself busy as more as possible! Returning to some old project, and also trying new stuff (like painting on wood or home decor...)...
I'm also thinking about some new solutions to produce new items for my business! I think that trying new stuff and keeping ourselves productive can only be good in [these] situations!
How do you take care of your mental health during these difficult times?
For me a simple but good workout routine that I can do from home helps a lot during this time. I also started meditating again, something I used to do quite often in the past. Even 10 minutes can make a difference.
How do you stay inspired while staying home?
My main inspiration are artists from around the world. I recently joined lots of livestream sessions. Seeing their art process and hearing their thoughts about it always gives me a sense of community.
I also added lots of flowers to my home and work area as well as some new artwork. A beautiful and inspiring workspace can really make a difference.
How have you maintained your routine for the past month? Have you had to come up with a new one to adjust?
It‘s important to not put pressure on yourself. At the beginning I thought I need to be creative in the extra time I have. Now I think it‘s ok to be too tired or to just relax.
Can you share with us an insight on working from home during a pandemic?
I have a normal day job. When work is finished I try to make a clear cut - move my body, prepare a meal.... something that helps me to structure the day. There should be time for work, creativity or talking to family and friends.
How has the pandemic affected your creative well-being?
Actually my creativity helped me to cope with it. My mind is fully engaged in whatever I create and I feel kind of peaceful. The only thing I really miss is drawing together with my buddy @suri_draws.
Has being indoors encouraged you to try something new?
Definitely! I was never good at baking. So I took the time and learned some basic [recipes] I always wanted to try. The results weren't bad!
How do you take care of your mental health during these difficult times?
By taking breaks! I think many people have emphasised that the extra time we get during quarantine can be put towards finding new hobbies or acquiring a new skill, but I think it should also be perfectly valid to take breaks (or not do anything conventionally productive) during this period.
Personally, last year was mentally stressful for me, so I've decided to put some time towards taking care of myself, or even having a whole day of just catching up on some shows or drawing. I think it is important to realise that there is no need to utilise your time like everyone else and to do things at your own pace.
How do you stay inspired while staying home?
I think being at home has definitely affected my creativity in a way, but I don't think it's impossible to find inspiration. I still look at others' work to inspire me, or I use my newfound time to try new art mediums that I had previously lacked the time for.
How have you maintained your routine for the past month? Have you had to come up with a new one to adjust?
I think when staying at home it's difficult to get a grasp of the days passing us by, so I've been trying to find new things to ground myself (so that I don't lose my perception of time!).
It could be something simple like journalling once a week or finding some extra work for me to do, like signing up for free online courses! This helps me get a sense of how time is passing (and also prevents me from going crazy with so much free time).
How has the pandemic affected your creative well-being?
I think this stay-at-home period has definitely made life a lot more mundane, so I've definitely found it much harder to churn out content at the same rate that I used to, but I think it has also forced me to create content based on things I normally would not write about!
For example, while I usually write about my feelings towards school or work, I now have more time to collect my thoughts and find more expressive ways to write about my emotions.
Has being indoors encouraged you to try something new?
Definitely! I think having more time to create has made me realise that after a while, in spite of curating my own style, sometimes your content can get quite repetitive. So I've had to push myself to try new ways of creating different content, whether through illustration or writing or painting.
We want to thank all these artists for taking the time out of their day to share their insights with us. We hope that you find comfort in their answers and that they may inspire you to continue doing what you do best. Stay safe and stay home everyone!
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Watch this space for an upcoming part two! We are interviewing more artists as we speak. Follow @mosseryco for more insights in making art while staying mentally healthy.
