You know what? The one thing about me that you may not know is that I always try to seek the positive in a situation.
I believe there’s always a silver lining, so during the COVID-19 Pandemic, I strived to turn my lemons into lemonade.
One thing I began to do was get outside more, enjoy nature, and get a little exercise. I would ride my bike on the St.Tammany Trace and along Lake Pontchartrain, while taking in the fresh air to connect to the earth. Not only does nature provide us with everything we need to survive, but it also provides us with art inspiration!
Art also helped me cope with expressing some of my confusion and sadness.
There’s one particular painting that was extra helpful in processing the feelings I was dealing with. That painting was called “Covid Queen”. Click on the video to hear the story behind the painting.
When I am creating art, I get into what’s called a “flow state”. I find that a flow state is a good place to be in because I’m so focused on the task at hand, and “in the zone”, that I do not focus on negativity, sickness, or confusion. My mind is stimulated and I feel accomplished!
During the Pandemic, I saw so much sadness and unrest around me that I wanted to find a way to help others.
I decided to paint positive messages and images, and display them in my yard so that passersby could see them and smile a little. I would switch out the art every other day so people would see something new. One sign that people/neighbors really loved said “Honk if you need a virtual hug!” I’d hear honking all throughout the day and that would make me smile and cheer me up. As a result, I began to meet so many new people in my neighborhood because of those signs. They’d approach me and say things like, “I just love your paintings! I look forward to seeing them! You really made me smile!” That whole scenario was a win-win situation.
All in all, I’m very grateful I had my art to get me through this unprecedented time. It helped me in so many ways! I hope you are well, and perhaps try a little art therapy if you’re feeling blue.
As always, thank you for the support!
XOXO,
Paula