I will not dwell on the doom and gloom that seems to be floating around the internet. I’m trying my best to socially distance, stay home, focus on the positive, stay entertained, stay entertaining, love more, worry less… and above all else KEEP CREATING. As artists, this is important. Put truth and beauty and art into the world, if only to offset the pain, suffering, fear and death. As an existentialist, these things are always present in my mind anyway, why wait for a global pandemic to rouse it?
“I get the news I need on the weather report.”
I spent a good many hours this week focusing on my next self-publish project. I won’t give too many details, as I’m still trying to assess the best time for its release, but I will share that the main book will be a 12 inch square, with a Japanese, hand-stitched binding. It took my two solid days of work to bind the 25 copies of the book, which included hand drilling holes for each individual page, then threading and sewing the finished, collated pages. I found the process at turns tiring, meditative, and ultimately, very rewarding.
It helped my fill some hours at home; I am grateful that I have a safe place to ride out the pandemic isolation. But I am also grateful for modern technology, especially video chatting, which I did numerous times this week. FaceTime with my family, Skype with overseas friends, and Zoom Happy Hour with local friends. Tuesday night was extra special, as it was the first “virtual” gathering on the local, photo nerd, camera geek, self-publishing happy hour. It is so nice to have familiar faces tasing a beer in unison, even if we are separated at home. It is so important to foster the ties that bind us together. Its really the only way we are going to get through the current challenges, and prepare for the inevitable “next time.” Stay well. Stay safe. Stay home.
