Here is my entry for art explosion 84
Though I am well aware that I did Not follow instructions and therefore am mainly sharing to be a part of the community.
And that is what I am most hopeful for #hive: The Old Steemit community
Now for me, a dyed in the wool hermit and introvert, community isn't always the easiest states for me. Thus, the internet was really a revelation for me and I'm sure the vast sea of we who must self-isolate.
When I first joined Steem I loved the community and interaction on posts, but then Discord...
And I'm sure MOST people love it, but I still regard it as the time that Steemit went from the hopeful joy of a mid 2000's blog to BEEPS, notifications and scrolling text, but I digress...
The point of this post is to share a piece for #artexlposion (though a day late) and discuss it's theme : "EXPRESS YOURSELF" which was, thank you @juliakponsford , a wonderful open way to get us all back to our desks/easels/computers and make something.
What is odd about this self-quarantine (sorry for the tangent)
is it truly isn't really THAT much difference from my normal life. Though this time of year my 'second job' of letting my little Summer house makes it the BUSIEST Time, that is simply gone (as well as the earnings, but I'll leave that sad fact OUT of this post)
@winstonalden and I were discussing this morning how this lock-down MUST be hard for MANY
on an emotional level. For him, also an introvert who must make a 5 day a week train journey into the city, he is sort of happy for the increased amount of time "at home". We are NO relishing the loss of income (we try NOT to think TOO heavily on that right now) but he is happy to have a bit of the isolation he so craves on the norm.
Now, back to the expression of this little design I've made.
Though I'm back to trying to get into my daily 5 day a week artists schedule of "design time, sketch time, execution time, social media time et. al I also found a bit of inspiration sitting in my garden.
My garden , which this year has been turned on it's head, is been focused on food
and I've been working on making a walled garden of sorts with wooden fencing and enlarging the area I plant to grow food. BUT, I cannot have flowers and so walking about see the daffs bloom and remembering where I planted those lily bulbs all gives me hope.
Watching my chicks and quails grow and
making over a bigger area of my current chickens, all of this has been even MORE of a joy this Spring than it normally is. Watching the Toads come back to life and the little frogs waking up in my little ponds I've made, even the blasted Rabbits, eating my MY TULIPS JUST PLANTED this past AUTUMN all of it is really My Joy and My Normal
And that's it Really Normal...We all are presented with the "NEW NORMAL"
but to handle it we need a taste of the Old Normal...the familiar. And thus, my little design here is a conglomeration of that fact. I literally sat down the other day and began sketching lilies and animals I see in the Garden and in my usual love of design decided it would be a MOTIF for wallpaper, fabric, things... because the Joy of Home and Settling into one's space, making it pretty, these are all Important NORMALS as well.
I think The home and often including the Garden is the sanctuary for the Hermit
I know it is for me. I've always been a self isolater since way back and would even have my dear Mother tell chums on the phone that I wasn't " allowed out today because I had things to do" so that I could stay home, alone, and play outside, or collect bugs and frogs, or tend my countless aquariums.
So in my usually Long Winded way
I present my Motif of MY NORMAL the collection of Hare and Crow and Toad a conglomeration of both boon and bane to the garden but very much a part of Life and that Yin and Yang of the Good and the Bad and it's our own PERCEPTION as to if we can find beauty in ALL of it or not.
