Well March felt like a total blur of chaos and confusion! It was difficult to focus on anything other than the continual and horrifying news updates on the spread of COVID-19. But despite this, I still managed to keep my hands busy with A LOT of weaving.
Weaving in isolation
Husband and I flew to Colorado at the beginning of the month. We were supposed to enjoy a three-week ski holiday with friends and family. Not being much of a skier myself, I had a winter tapestry series planned to keep me busy. The first week of the holiday went pretty much to plan. I’d woven and cut my first three tapestries from the loom and warped up for Round 2 before widespread panic really started setting in.
(While we were aware of what had been happening elsewhere in the world before our departure, COVID-19 was yet to really hit Australia or the US.
We arrived in the US on 8 March, at which time there were 74 confirmed cases in Australia and 213 in the US. We were on a plane back to Australia on 20 March, less than two weeks later, and those numbers had jumped to 873 and 15,219 respectively.) *
Just like that, “social distancing” and mega restrictions on our daily lives became the thing.
The second week in Colorado pretty much saw us isolated from anyone and everything. Apart from the disappointment that our friends could no longer come stay with us, my own holiday hadn’t really changed that much. Husband was unfortunately unable to ski after the mountain was shut down, but I was still weaving most of the time. It just meant we couldn’t really go anywhere or eat out. By the end of that week though we were flying back to Australia before the government started shutting the borders.
Two weeks of mandatory quarantine and another six tapestries later…!
To be honest, the imposed isolation gave me the time to concentrate on my winter minis and see the series through. Plus it meant I could keep myself busy every day. Also
Finding the positives
It’s hard not to feel completely overwhelmed by everything that’s going on at the moment. The thing that I tried to focus on each day this month, especially while we were in quarantine and not able to leave our apartment, was just the nice little moments in each day. Like spending time in the sun out on the balcony; or FaceTiming with my nephews and niece; Zooming with a friend; or watching some guy try to set up a slackline between the trees across the road and miserably failing. …Ok the last one wasn’t that “nice”, it was just funny. But things like that!
I also had some good news this past month – 2 of the tapestries I had stocked at the National Library of Australia Bookshop sold! And a chance connection in late March has led to another opportunity to get my work out into the world. The winter series I’ve been weaving will soon be available at a local gallery here in Canberra!
Who/what I was grateful for this month ?
- Big thanks to the friends who did our grocery shopping while we were in quarantine.
- The lovely lady at Sonoma Braddon for delivering us baked goodies, also while we were in quarantine.
- Sunshine and pancake breakfasts on the balcony.
Hmmm… all those things revolved around food!
What I’ll work towards in April
April is currently looking a lot like both Husband and I working from home. So I’ll be juggling my office job and the creative side of my life in the same space.
I’ve also got so much more weaving lined up! From more tapestries for my Specere project, to special gifts, to a body of work in response to our new normal of isolation and social distancing.
If you’re into monthly reflections, please feel free to share your own takeaways from the month of March in the comments below.
*Numbers drawn from World Health Organisation Situation Reports.
