{"id":629,"date":"2020-03-25T17:46:02","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T17:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/?p=629"},"modified":"2020-03-25T17:46:03","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T17:46:03","slug":"thriving-as-a-creative-artist-in-uncertain-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/archives\/629-thriving-as-a-creative-artist-in-uncertain-times.html","title":{"rendered":"Thriving as a Creative Artist in Uncertain Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Creative Artists,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you\u2019re staying well and taking care of yourselves. After\nsome recent discussions with clients, I thought it might be worth sharing what\nI\u2019m finding helpful, in terms of how we can support ourselves and each other\nunder these unique circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing emotional and mental wellbeing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artists are a sensitive and empathic population, and I know\nat the same time it\u2019s been tempting to just be stoic, to push down unwelcome\nfeelings and just \u201cget on with it\u201d. However, letting yourself know honestly how\nyou are feeling is amazingly helpful. Take time to be quiet and still each day\nand check in with yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This crisis is bringing up very different challenges for\npeople on a mental and emotional level. For me, for example, it\u2019s brought up fears\non a very basic level of not having enough to eat. For one friend, it\u2019s brought\nback old memories of stress he had at a previous job during the 2008 downturn.\nFor another friend, it\u2019s fears of loneliness during a period of recommended\n\u201cself-isolation\u201d. For yet another, it\u2019s \u201csurvivor guilt\u201d, knowing that she\u2019s ok,\nwhile so many others are suffering. It may be fears of illness or even mortality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If old fears and anxieties are being triggered, the easiest\nthing to do is just take some time to scribble them down on paper, however they\ncome out, and then tear up the paper or burn it. It\u2019s best to take a few\nminutes daily to do this. Or if you feel you need to trace the feelings\nbackwards more mindfully, do some journaling. There\u2019s increasing data to\nsupport the theory that journaling actually has a tangible effect on mental,\nemotional and physical wellbeing. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/10\/25\/style\/journaling-benefits.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, once I discovered that my fears could be traced to\nsome specific experiences I had as a child, something relaxed inside of me and\nI was able to reassure myself that I would have enough to eat- which markedly\nreduced my stress levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may sound counter-intuitive, but having fun is also\nincredibly vital right now- I recommend watching comedy, playing games with\nfriends online, holding Netflix streaming parties, and so on. It can be easy to\nfeel that we shouldn\u2019t be enjoying ourselves during a crisis, but actually, it\nhelps no one if we\u2019re suffering, particularly unnecessarily (for example,\nworrying about situations that are outside our control- of which there are\nmany). And laughing is great for the immune system!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also helpful to notice what we have, and to appreciate\nit- being grateful to have enough food, a roof over our heads, a beautiful\nsunny day to go out in, and so on. There may be things about this new way of\nlife that are actually better. Look out for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing practical needs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there are new aspects of your work and study to\ndeal with. For some of you, your working lives may have been drastically\naltered at short notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I encourage you to be flexible and adaptable, and to\nexperiment. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re already brainstorming possible options to continue\nearning and to keep your business afloat. One of the trickiest parts of this\nchallenge is that it has come so suddenly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know some of you are considering teaching online and\nneeding to research the best modality with which to do this. For others, you\nmight need immediate revenue and will need to start looking for temporary jobs.\nAnd for others, there may be extra unoccupied time to fill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re moving your teaching business online, I recommend\nchecking out the Facebook group \u201cOnline Music Teachers\u201d run by a colleague of\nmine, where he spells out how to teach effectively, and what kind of set-up you\nneed. He has an extremely successful online teaching practice and loves to work\nthat way and there are generous resources available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you find you have extra time to fill, then, once your\nlife has settled down from this initial upheaval, I encourage you to set some\npractice, repertoire, composing or writing goals. After all, this situation is\ntemporary, and it would be great to emerge stronger at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, I suggest you ask yourself some good questions- you\nknow, not the kind that undermine you, like \u201cWhat the hell is wrong with me?\u201d\n\ud83d\ude09 but more like, <\/p>\n\n\n\n


\n\u201cHow can I emerge [fill in the blank- stronger\/wiser\/more\nresourceful\/happier] from this situation?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you\u2019re not feeling \u2018together\u2019 enough to do this yet\n(and even when you are), then I encourage you to play or write for pleasure and\nas a release, as much as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being open to receiving support<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s vital that we reach out to each other. What kind of\nsupport systems do you have? Do you need to create more at this time? I\u2019ve been\ncalling and texting more friends and family members to share about the impact\nof this new situation, and being honest about the challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, reach out, even if you haven\u2019t spoken to the person for\na while. Many people say they are feeling more connected than ever, right now,\nand what a blessing it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaching out to support others<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most beautiful things I\u2019ve witnessed so far has\nbeen all the kindness people have shown each other. In our village of 1000\npeople, there are now 200 who have offered to help if someone is in need,\nthrough a volunteer-manned helpline. You may have read about, seen or\nexperienced acts of kindness or selflessness yourself. Finding ways to be of\nservice and take action will help you feel more empowered and take your mind\noff your own challenges for a while. I\u2019m sure there are many opportunities on\nyour doorstep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d love to hear how you are doing and wish you well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bon courage,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valerie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How creative artists can support ourselves and each other under these unique circumstances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[123,114,115,113,120,116,119,121,122,117],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.free2create.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}