Hello Friends,
We’re in our eighth week of lockdown, and I’ve reached the point where I’m tired of talking about it. But there’s nothing else to talk about, is there? We’re still all sequestered at home and waiting, which doesn’t give much fodder for conversation.
Some businesses here have closed, and my hairdresser and healthcare practitioner both quit. The shutdown either pushed them over the edge financially or gave them a break to reevaluate and reassess their situations. The landscape is changing, and I’m wondering what it will look like when we emerge.
There’s nothing for me to do but continue on with my art, and creating collages in response to the coronavirus still holds my interest for the time being. This week I created a piece about the changed landscape, and when it was done, I realized that it looked better upside down.
Here’s how I originally created it:
And below it’s shown upside down. When it’s upside down, you don’t latch onto any of the images or words, and it just becomes an abstract piece. Upside down also seems fitting for these times, when our world has been turned on its head.
“The Changed Landscape,” 20 x 16 inches, mixed media on canvas panel
Here are two other collages that I created this week. Click on any of the images to see them larger in a browser.
“Easter in Isolation Mandala,” 16 x 20 inches, mixed media on canvas panel
“Light at the End of the Tunnel?,” 20 x 16 inches, mixed media on canvas panel
So what have you been doing? I’ve run out of things to say. Let’s hear your stories! You can share them with us in the comments section below.
With love and appreciation,
Cassandra
GOOD WORK my friend
Thanks, Helga. Hope you’re doing well.
Yes, there is a relevancy to collaging bits & bobs of colour and shapes in our new reality. I am afraid that is an indicator as to how our society will look once we are on the other side. Presently, we have no precedent to go on as to how our every day will function: bits & bobs collaged on a forever changed landscape.
I have been isolated due to a triad of untreated knee problems( lockdown), making biking trips and my beloved walks in the forest out of reach. Here in Denmark, we have not been forced to isolate indoors, and with the forest just behind my house it has been frustrating not to be able to venture out or cycling on the pathways with my binoculars to observe the raptures, swallows and changing spring landscape.
However, I drove over to find lime green chestnut leaves and tulip tree leaves for eco-printing on paper. I used what I had in my freezer and in my garden to create new prints and I have been writing and observing the garden birds and their comical antics. The days go by…
Hi Janis. I’m envious that you live on the edge of a forest! My fantasy is to live in a forest alone, where it’s quiet, just me and nature. But that’s probably better left as a fantasy than reality! What do you do with your ecoprints? I’m asking because I have a whole pile of them, and I’m wondering what to do with them!
Strangely, I’m thriving in isolation. I’m working remotely and finding new joy in my job free of my colleagues’ interruptions. I’m using the time I’m saving on my commute by walking two hours a day. I’ve become reacquainted with my yoga practice via Zoom classes. I’m making it a point to call at least one friend a day to keep in touch. And I’m finding more time for creativity. This week I experimented with leaf prints on watercolor paper using plant material gathered on my walks. I’m finding this time to be amazingly peaceful and nurturing. I have no desire to go back to “normal.”
That’s wonderful, Donna! Do you think you’ll be able to continue working remotely when the isolation ends? I can see that it would be nice to work alone at home with no interruptions. And what a lovely side benefit that you have more time for everything else in your life now. Thanks for sharing your story! It’s inspiring.
I am so in awe of your design sense. I love everything you do, and I can’t understand how you do it, but each piece makes sense, and makes me feel something, and tells its own story. In my watercolor class we had an abstract assigned last week. Everyone else made very colorful, interesting designs. But I put in one green triangle, and it reminded me of the headdress on the Statue of Liberty, and the next thing I knew I had the Statue of Liberty, the city at night, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, and a pigeon all on the page somewhere, with a basketball and hoop.
Thanks, Chris! I appreciate your kind words about my work. Your watercolor piece sounds wonderful! Post a picture of it.
HI Cassandra I love your collages they look amazing. I have been creating with botanical printing and eco dying and sewing. lots of fun.
Thanks, Colleen. I’m really enjoying doing collage for the time being. I find it easier to express feelings that way. Hope you’re doing well, and I look forward to seeing your new creations!