I'm putting tinfoil up on the windows / Lying down in the dark to dream / I don't want to see their faces / I don't want to hear them scream / Splendid Isolation / I don't need no one Splendid Isolation...
The late, great Warren Zevon predicting the future from 30 some years away.
The majority of the things I'm seeing and hearing about in the news and social media is the disruption to our daily lives and the minor inconveniences we're suffering due to the COVID-19 quarantine is mostly a lot of fluff. Humans are social animals, and we enjoy seeing our friends in person, but let's face a number of uncomfortable things here. Over the last few decades, visits have turned to phone calls, presents turned into gift cards, letters turned into emails, and now emails and phone calls have turned into texts and facebook posts and messages. There are a lot of impersonal typed words and for that I have no words.
The most difficult thing that I really actually want ALL of society to think about is the actual dark side to this, and much to the dismay of our collective ego, it isn't about our trivialities at all.
What this is actually about is the fact that we have a number of our very own elderly relatives - vibrant, talkative, relevant and viable human lives that are confined to very small prisons living in fear of something that has an elevated chance of taking their lives. Not only that but it also will rob them of their chance to say goodbye to the ones that love them.
I apologize for starting with such a dark topic, but one of the reasons I want to discuss the loneliness and passing time is that it was always my older family members and friends that have played a key role in my life as an artist. My parents did always impart to me the importance of doing things that I enjoyed and were and are supportive of my art and music. I come from a highly creative family and I knew from a young age that art and music were not only things I could do on my own, but things that I would be able to do for the duration of my life. During strange times like the one we find ourselves currently in I see the importance more than ever.
Some of my best memories growing up were watching my great grandma and grandpa doing their latch hooks and needlepoint work, or quilts, and all of it stuck with me. More than ever I appreciate the creativity and work that was put in by a generation that could make their own clothes. They would sit me at the table with every crayon and pencil in the house and a pad of paper and offer words of encouragement. I was usually at the kitchen table where my grandma was making amazing food (the best in my life) and grandpa would put game shows on tv until I was done drawing and we would go work in the garden where they grew all of their vegetables. As I got older, I realized that they were not only creatives in the sense we identify creatives, but they were also creative at life itself.
They were and always will be a massive and meaningful part of my life - creatively, and as a person. I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with them while I had them here.
All you need for art is a blank surface, a pen or brush, and a light source. It hasn't been suspended yet. Neither has laughing, waving, calling, celebrating, being grateful, thinking, or praying. Practice social distancing, but not mental distancing. Whatever it takes, stay connected and send hugs, good vibes, or whatever method you have to reach out safely to the ones you love, you won't have them forever. Give grandma a call or wave at her through a window - it will be a bright spot in her day which is worth a hell of a lot more than being able to eat your pizza in public.