What have you been up to?

I’ve been lucky enough to keep my job at Burton through the pandemic, so I transitioned to the work-from-home lifestyle in March and have been staying busy with that. We’ve been taking COVID really seriously from the beginning and have just been staying around the house for the most part. Selfishly, the lockdown was a bit of a guilty pleasure in that it’s allowed me to be anti-social with a responsible excuse. Most of my summer hobbies already kind of involve me isolating myself in nature, so the social restrictions around COVID have fit pretty seamlessly into my lifestyle––namely with fly fishing, mushroom foraging and as of this spring, gardening. 

“it requires a lot of patience and work up front, but the reward is super gratifying, and the process gets you closer to nature.”

How’s the current situation affecting your creative thinking?

It definitely hasn’t been very conducive to creativity for me–– at least when it’s come to my art practice. At the very beginning of the lockdown, I tried to commit to making one quick painting or drawing a day. But that very quickly faded and I just didn’t find the drive to make new work. I’ve had to convince myself over the past several months that’s it ok to put art on pause. Stepping away from my art and shifting my creative energy towards this new hobby of gardening has been really refreshing and a fun challenge of learning something new. It’s helped me feel unstuck, gotten me out of my own head a bit and given me new subjects to draw and paint.

“I’ve had to convince myself over the past several months that’s it ok to put art on pause. Stepping away from my art and shifting my creative energy towards this new hobby of gardening has been really refreshing and a fun challenge of learning something new.”

Description:

I have a collection of San Marzano tomato cans that I use for various things around the house. I’m really attracted to the labels and love how the tomatoes are rendered in various brands’ designs–– the plump, droopy shape and delicious color. As a bonus, the cans are the perfect size for holding my paintbrushes and pens, planting succulents in, and keeping around as a catch-all. I made this piece before any part of my garden began fruiting, perhaps as wishful thinking that I’d eventually have my own juicy tomatoes if I didn’t screw up.