COVID Cancellations

Evening walk

Weirdly wonderful 'stuff' from the beach yesterday - has to become something ...

It is day something or other of lockdown in NZ and already I am losing any sense of what day in the week it is. My days and weekends were mostly delineated by whether Brian was at home (weekend) or at work (week days) and now we are in this long lockdown it is hard to remember what day it is. Maybe I have to treat this as a valuable exercise in letting go of routines which shouldn’t really affect whether I am working in the studio or not. However it is still taking some mental jiggery pokery to settle in to the current situation even with the assumption that everyone I know is safe and well and that ‘this too shall pass’.

Dad having an indoor picnic

It is harder for my parents who are in a high risk category but were active in many groups, volunteer capacities and socialising. For them the lockdown will be intense and extended. Thank goodness for modern communication options where I can readily see and talk to them along with our children and friends.

My studio

For the first few days I decided that I would concentrate on tasks which are boring necessities – primarily my bookkeeping and filing/deleting my inbox emails, which has to be a beneficial start. I have also recommenced work on a new website covering my workshops and the art supplies which I am able to provide. I’ll let you know when that goes live. Less constructively, I have also bought some silly stuff from the internet which I suspect I will regret when it arrives – if this becomes a trend lockdown could turn out to be an expensive time!

Angelina Flowers

All workshops for the next few months have been cancelled and I am sorry that I won’t see you in Australia at Fibre Arts, Australian Quilt Convention, Threads and Tangles or TAFE, The Great Escape, ANZEG Conference, Creative Matakana, Mahurangi Artists Studio Trail, Selwyn College, Takatu Studios or Mixed Media Tuesdays. Or that you can’t see the latest Fabricated Narratives (www.fabricatednarratives.com) exhibition at Art At Wharepuke as we had to close after a week.

Fabricated Narratives work by Alysn MM

Fabricated Narratives work by Alysn MM

Fabricated Narratives work by Alysn MM

All we can do is wait this out, be very sensible and stay safe. And when we can all get together and enjoy our art and creative expression again, we will do so with renewed enthusiasm and appreciation. 

And I might even get to the bottom of the ironing!