And then came covid …

We moved mid 2019 and went through the very slow, arduous process of a total house renovation from then until mid 2021. My “studio” became a canvas bag with dry media and a few papers and a sketch book. For 8 months we jumped between living with good friends and living with my son and his wife. (I’m forever grateful!) May 1, 2020, we finally “moved in” to our house, but we were restricted to the lower-level, living in what would become my studio; a beautiful, bright room where much of the construction materials for the closets and kitchen were piled. We set up a make-shift kitchen in the laundry room, where the utility sink had been installed (our only sink). There was an operational shower (heaven!) with no shower doors, no sink but there was an old toilet in the construction zone upstairs, which we shared with the trades. 

 The covid years offered a lot of focused creative time but I found myself craving interaction with other creatives. I had taken several in-person courses with Sharlena Wood (see previous blog post) prior to covid and she wanted to extend a lifeline to her students. She had begun a facebook group and invited her students to join. It was a place we could post our work and get feedback and encouragement; a place we could ask questions, learn about materials and feel connected. But Sharlena felt she could do more. She had purchased an art game called “Artropology”, created and produced by Jeanne Krabbendam and she invited her students to play the game with her, online, at no cost. 

Sharlena ran the Artropology game for her FB group weekly for over a year! The physical results were mixed; it was about letting go, practicing the principles and elements of design but most of all - it was a terrific way to make and build connections with other artists. I had my canvas-bag-studio and the internet, so I was thrilled to connect!

Here are a few of the spontaneous results created during those one hour Artropology games with Sharlena: