Have you ever noticed how things are a bit, well, weird right now?
For me, British Jennie, a woman who spends her days alone at home looking at my laptop in a darkened room, one of the weird things is how little things have changed: it turns out that I was socially isolating for years before it was cool. Granted, with three small children now permanently at home and a pesky need to find things for them to do other than play Minecraft for 15 hours straight per day, things are a little more untidy than usual (for which read: I currently have to wade from room to room, and for some reason our backyard is full of blankets and Nerf gun bullets); but on the plus side, with the school run cancelled for the foreseeable, I’m suddenly finding time for all those little things that have been on my to do list for three years or more. Re-dying the sofa covers? TICK! Organising the photo albums? TICK! Cleaning out the fridge? TICK! (Who knew that salad’s final form was a liquid state?)
Also, I’ve made banana bread more times in the past three weeks than in the preceding forty-odd years, and 80% of our laundry is now pajamas.
Is receiving your weird internet buys through the mail now the highlight of your day?
As we shared in our last newsletter, art agent Lilla has created four weekly arty assignments to inspire and uplift you during these strange and sometimes difficult days. Nurturing your creativity is hugely important right now*: it gives you an outlet for your anxiety, a way to escape from current events, a medium to uplift other people around you, and a conduit for connecting with others. Plus, if financial difficulties are affecting you, don’t forget that your art is needed right now, especially for magazines, news sites and other websites online. (*NB: if you’re not feeling particularly creative and what works for you right now is spending the days on the couch watching reruns of The Office, that’s fine too. We all respond to stress in different ways. My husband offered to clean the bathroom for goodness’ sake.)
Here’s your second arty assignment: What is the weirdest part of now?
Get your second arty assignment from Lilla here. Missed out on the first one? Find it here!
British Jennie: Hi Lilla! I don’t know how things are with you, but my dog currently has a better social life than I do, and I’d probably swap a kidney for a couple of bags of bread flour.
Lilla says: Yes, it’s just incredibly weird right now. What do YOU, our wonderful Make Art That Sells students, think is weird? What disruption, change, or funny thing can you share? Journal your thoughts or make an illustration about what makes this time so weird for you. Maybe a tiny detail that’s emblematic of the weirdness. Think about your daily life. Funny is good. Do you cherish toilet paper like never before? Are your cats horrified that you’re home all the time? Is everyone in your household sporting lockdown hair? This is a fantastic opportunity to beef up your portfolio with topical pieces.
Are your art supplies tidier than they have been in years?
British Jennie: Yes, it feels like this is a time that we’re going to talk about for years to come.
Lilla: Flash to the future: pretend that your kids, future grandkids, or friends’ future grandkids have to do a report on the Covid time for history class. “Grandma, I need to do a report on the Covid thing for my history class. What was it like? It sounds like it was gross.” What story would you tell them? How would you paint a picture of that time?
British Jennie: My children love hearing our stories of how we had to grow up without the internet and how long computer games took to load, so it’s rather heartening they’ll be able to share stories of the time when they weren’t allowed to leave the house with their own disbelieving, uninterested kids.
We hope you enjoy this week’s assignment!
Lilla will be looking at what you do, so don’t forget to share on social media, especially Instagram, and tag us @makeartthatsells. We’ll be sharing some of Lilla’s favorites!
Parts three and four will be coming up in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye on our blog and Instagram feed so you don’t miss out.
Let your weirdness shine!
Lots of love
British Jennie and the rest of the Make Art That Sells team xxx
P.S. Would you like to receive more creative assignments like this from art agent Lilla, to fill your portfolio with on-trend artwork, to broaden your range, or just to give you some inspiration and direction? Right now you can sign up for our My Semester of Art School bundle for 10% off, which not only gives you access to all of Lilla’s courses for the rest of 2020, but also brilliant assignments every month from April to November! Find out more and register here.
