Creativity and Coronavirus
I’ve always said humans are born creative and it’s not only for fashion and home decorating but for survival. When I teach art, beginners say they are not creative and I try to convince them that they are; what they really mean is, they lack skill. But any artistic skill is the result of learning and practice. If you want to play the violin, you have to practice playing the violin. In the middle of the coronavirus, humans are being creative.
Take face masks: there are not enough to go around. Creativity is looking around at local resources plus imagination-what can I use? I’ve noticed ladies around here wearing pretty scarves around their faces; which are more interesting than the standard issue. Some women (and men) are cutting up and re-purposing bras, placing one lacy cup over their nose and mouth and moving the straps to tie behind their heads. We’re such creative critters.
Six of us were sitting out in the garden, dutifully staying six feet apart.
“All the toilet paper is sold out.”
“The U.S. is not short of toilet paper, some people are hoarding.”
“So now we’re short of toilet paper.”
“Yes. Hoarding is a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
We looked around.
“Hey, what did they use before toilet paper was invented?”
“The Sears catalog.”
“Hmm, none of them around. How about Spanish moss?”
“It’s biodegradable.”
“Are you crazy? What about chiggers?”
“Twenty seconds in a microwave will kill any bugs.”
“Good Lord, I hope it doesn’t come to that!”
“Well if it does, plenty of Spanish moss out there, so relax.”
I mentioned this conversation to a better-off woman with four kids.
“I’m not using Spanish moss.”
“What then?”
“I’ve got two laundry baskets full of mismatched socks.”
See? Creative.
“Still Life with TP”: I gave an art lesson showing that you could use anything in a still life; it was kind of a joke, but maybe in the future, it will rank as nostalgia. Art by Je’
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