Despite today’s shining sun, the mellow music playing in the background, a yard full of dark, rich plant-ready soil and the overall bucolic appearance of this being normal, today is not normal. Today is a day like many others recently which are filled with the concern of a global pandemic.
As I sit here typing today feels normal, peaceful and full of lovely moments. In fact, it is all those things and it is filled with challenges, uncertainty and so many plans which had to be paused, changed or cancelled altogether. One of the plans we created but had to be alter was the arrival of Lindsey ____ for the MakeRoom artist residency.
Now in its third year, the MakeRoom artist residency offers a free, 10-day stay to an artist or a pair of collaborating artists in the month of February and again in March. Lindsey was slated to be our February artist. After many situations and life events occurred her arrival date was finally decided on and then low and behold a new situation appeared. Covid-19 was reported and all stays, residencies, gatherings and receptions were quickly cancelled as we sheltered in place and braced for the challenge ahead.
Writing this now, we have been facing that challenge for a couple of months already. When it will pass is anybody’s guess. We could be on the outside edge of this pandemic or perhaps, we’re not yet the center of this era. Only time will tell. With any luck our perseverance and patience will get us through this. For now, we wait and take comfort where we can – in the warming soil of the earth and the creative urges of artists, creatives and makers who are continuing to produce during these times.
One of the artists who is still producing work is Lindsey. After it was decided her residency was unfortunately canceled, she made a 10-day commitment to herself and decided to focus on work she had intended to bring to MakeRoom. Lucky for us she has been sharing some of the fruits of her labor.
It is with great pleasure that we share that work here. May it be a symbol of hope, commitment and focus during these challenging times.
I asked Lindsey to share some thoughts on these images and here is what she said:
“These three are in-process and are collage, a medium I worked primarily in all throughout college but am revisiting now after mostly paint/mixed media for at least 5 years. I’m shaking it up.”
“The last few weeks have been really enjoyable. Because in the spirit of my Make Room Residency, I took the pressure off making art for sale, or for show, and have just been meandering between books, drawing, taking notes, painting and writing.”
“In my mind, the ‘residency’ still kind of happened. It didn't look like I thought, but the intention was enough to shake up my practice, energize me to work even when I wanted to sleep, and to prioritize my art over the rest of everything going right now. I have settled into a really nice place for now where making work is back to being an all-day thing.”