How are you handling the COVID-19 situation?
In the last few weeks, we have all been hit hard by the spread of COVID-19.
We are facing an unprecedented situation and now, more than ever, we have to help each other to get through this.
So I want to ask how the creatives in The Dots community are handling the situation?
Have you immersed yourself in book-reading? Movie watching? Or maybe you are editing at the computer?
Are you staying in the city or found a remote location as your personal haven for these hard times?
Let's all offer our advice and insights on what makes us stay productive, creative and most of all positive in this hour of need!
Replies26
- Hi, I have been in survival mode, as my other job is as an unpaid carer, so now everyone has had to join my world of pure panicking about paying the bills and home working!I have sold work from my online shops - Redbubble and Etsy have both been brilliant for supporting artists, and my Stranger Things style birthday cards have become more popular during lockdown, as people celebrate their birthdays as if trapped in The Upside Down!Also, selling facemask designs - my own Joyce Byers facemask has been amusing fellow shoppers :-DBut I have also had issues with my iMac decidingthat now was teh perfect time to break down, so have had a temporary fix, and it's not at all perfect, as it's running on Yosemite, so I can't do any digital artwork atm!There was a terrifying week in which I thought I'd lost ten years of work, including my unpublished graphic novel!!Thankfully not!
- @Emily-Jayne Nolan Hey Emily and thank you for your words. If you can go to a balcony or a terrace why not try photographing what you see from there? Or if you can't try a new skill like painting it can also improve your photography as both art forms are based on composition ;)
- @Odysseas Chloridis Hey thanks for taking a look at my work :)I love the personal work you have on your site, but your real estate stuff is super nice too!Hope we can all go back to creating soon. I've seen a fair few new Instagram pages pop up that are like "Isolation photography" etc. but anyone else feeling super demotivated and not creative?? I feel like, what can I create whilst being in the same room for weeks?Anyone got tips on boosting their mood/creativity?xxx
- @Kia Alicia Khan What's the one thing that you wanted to improve but couldn't due to a lack of a time?
- Just read one of the best essays of my life. It talks about what we are going through. In my oppinion it's an absolute masterpiece of writing that can get you thinking about many aspects of this situation and how it will unfold. It's pretty long but it is worth the time.https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-coronation/?_page=7&fbclid=IwAR17Z-vGY20awx8ZFDcak_ef9qECtPffCZaTUIiAAYrZSr2x2LS7LG45mn8
- We all have been forced into a creative retreat you could say; stuck at home with all the tools, referrence material & spare time we all would dream of having to create the projects we all wanted to make a start on or finish.Yet the motivation to use this time creatively seems to be the problem.
- Thank you @Elle Cleland. Stay safe!
- @Katie Killip Thank you so much! These are some wonderful resources! I will give a shot at the online dancing courses ;)
- I feel you @Emily-Jayne Nolan. I had 2 huge projects coming up and both of them got canceled :/Still, as you used it's a good opportunity to read and further develop our craft, make updates for our website and plan for the future!I really enjoyed the People and Product galleries as well as the gifs at the Social Content Page.My website needs major updates but you can check it at:https://odysseaschloridis.com/I wish you all the best :)
- Hey @Bec Evans, what a wonderful text you wrote.I could feel the invigorating fragrances of the essential oils going up my nostrils. I have to try that, today!I like your approach on isolation and the fact that you are not trying to avoid it but, on the contrary, immerse yourself into.I hope your mum is ok and as for the comment about our planet I totally agree that it will help our planet take a breath.I am also doing yoga daily. You can check out the latest workout I found, its more athletic than spiritual but I absolutely love it: https://vimeo.com/311469535I hope you stay strong and positive as I believe you will, in these challenging times :)
- Alright. Could be better, could be worse. Most of my work is drummed up through word of mouth or face-to-face contact, so I'm experimenting with drumming up business online these days - what a challenge! Hope everyone stays safe in these strange times.
- PLANI've got really stuck into reconsidering my company's message and website - and am also curating the next 6 month's worth of posts for social media which will ultimately turn into portfolio pieces online too.EXERCISEOutside of design I am really into dancing. My dancing teachers are setting up virtual classes (discounted but not free - cos they've got to eat too). If you fancy trying something new follow @atyourbeatstudio on instagram for details- you can learn to dance without anyone seeing you if you're a beginner.If you have two left feet but want to try something new and get an amazing work out then follow @discobarrestudio on instagram and give barre a go. No coordination required!MUSICFinally I am pluged into the free online festival for fans of dance music by Defected. It's happening now on youtube - find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roY8dqZUp3g&app=desktopKeep fit, stay motivated and keep sane! xx
- I'm a freelance photographer too, lost all work for the foreseeable future as I'm sure a lot of us here have. Hope everyone is managing to keep their spirits up, we're all in this together and we can support each other ! <3 I'm using this time to update my website, work on some marketing ideas for when this all calms down, and re-working old photos - oh and alot of despair and crying hahaha! We will get through this :) Here's a link to my website if anyone wants to take a look/give some constructive feedback: https://www.emilyjaynenolan.com/ Instagram: @emilyjaynenolan All the best, and stay well xxx
- I have turned my attention to my bedroom and I'm pretty much functioning solely out of it as it is the only space that I have to myself (I'm lucky to have it). On my first day in isolation I re-ordered things slightly and cleaned so I could function as calmly and easily as possible in the small space. Lighting candles and burning specific essential oils like grapefruti, eucalyptus and rosemary (which all have uplifting and clarifying qualities) has really helped. I've needed to nurture my own space in order to continue to work full time out of it and contingency plan to look after my Mum should we go on lock down. I'm also trying to make myself practice yoga for at least half an hour a day.I am trying to see isolation as a positive thing giving the planet the break that it needs from our human bullshit. However I'm incessantly worried about how the virus and how it in itself and its roll on affects will impact the most vulnerable.In terms of creativity I want to see isolation as a creative challenge for the film industry and filmmaking. I am thinking through ideas that can be made between online communities. I want these ideas to have a lasting influence on filmmaking overall and encourage people to scale back perceived necessities in production to aid the planet and its people.
- @Florian Kasperski Share with us the painting!
- @Rebecca Rowntree these are some very helpful tips! Thank you very much for sharing :)
- Indeed @Vikki Ross ! That's what I have been doing for the last days :)
- @Helen Dearnley Cheers to that! I hope so too.
- There are some great suggestions here! For those of us who are finding that projects have stalled use this down time to tackle those things you've been putting off: have you been meaning to update decks/ content/ website/ focus on social media channels etc? Where can we act strategically so when the world rights itself we are ready to go?I've made a list of things I'm going to do and put them in an Asana project with deadlines for the next 4 weeks. One way to keep boredom at bay!!
- Having worked from home before as a freelancer, I had some coping strategies that I could return to. But even with that, it still takes time to digest to this new way of working because let's face it...there's ‘working from home' and 'there's working from home’ with a pandemic in the background!But without sounding too doom and gloom - thought i’d share some strategies that i’ve found useful to put in place…
- Keep your routine - get dressed as if you are going to work
- Meditation - 10 minutes every day really helps put things into perspective. I’ve been using Headspace for years now.
- Set up a good working space that makes you happy i.e. colourful posters & books around your computer. That type of stuff…
- Do more Facetime with people rather than calls. It helps seeing people’s faces!
- Take one day at a time. You can’t predict what will happen next week so do the things that you can control.
- Do THE project that you always wanted to do but never had time to do before. This will be your silver lining in these difficult times!
I'm definitely going to be doing more podcasts records and try to stay as positive as I can ;) - I'm trying to stay positive. People will sadly suffer more than me during this troubling time. I'm also looking ahead - all the work that's lost now will be found when businesses get back on their feet.World issues aside, inside I'm able to make the most of my newfound free time. I can catch up on books I haven't read yet, films I haven't watched yet, and podcasts I haven't listened to yet.
- Trying to promote my #BackHerBusiness graphic novel project and making random spotify playlists: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5yxPQhGSQcKdwI6jau5Um1?si=lvIwirnqR72gRAHFgyzfZQI'm a carer anyway, so welcome to my world.I'm hoping that this will force through economic changes to safeguard people (paying carers, paying artists proper wages, or Universal Basic Income) that I have been fighting for for the past few years, as humanity needs to move towards the concept of Homo Ludus.
- HiI'm currently studying filmmaking in London and I literally went from being overwhelmed by work to being overwhelmed by no work over the last two weeks... I hate being stuck inside so this is a great time.. I once heard this quote that "life always gives you what you need for maximum growth" make of that what you will but I think there's some truth and use to it. I think instead of seeing this as a completely shitty situation I'm trying to embrace it and twist the situation in a way so I can maintain my mental and physical wellbeing; I've never been good at drawing but making a painting has been on my bucket list forever so I just bought myself an A2 sheet of paper, pinned it to my wall and now every night I just put on some music and just go... Doesn't have to be beautiful, doesn't have to be planned and thought through, going with the flow is my main goal. It calms the mind plus I feel like I'm creating something - win win.
- @Cartèlea Howell I appreciate your honest answer Cartelea. Lots of jobs are indeed collapsing and the bad thing is that this situation is still at its begining. But as you say, this too eventually shall pass :)
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