Forty-four days in confinement today, and the future is still decidedly fluid. However, there are some real ironies in this time of drama, illness and grave concerns.
As an artist, I am of course busy drawing and trying to make use of all these unusual days in a constructive fashion. However, I am beginning to feel that there are some opposing forces at work in my life.
On one hand, there is nature, with its rhythms all around me – swifts and swallows announcing summer as they scythe the sky, blackbirds celebrating their fledglings’ emancipation by sharing their liquid melodies from treetops, doves cooing and hoopoes calling hopefully for mates. Roses burst forth and vie in perfume with honeysuckle, amaryllis proclaim their opulence of colour and orange blossom gives way to tiny, incipient fruit. Calla lilies persist in serene, stately elegance, their flowering prolonged by rain and cooler temperatures – the ultimate symbol, to me, of peace and orderliness.
Honeysuckle, Noyers, silverpoint, Jeannine Cook artist
Japanese Honeysuckle, silverpoint, Jeannine Cook artist
Calla Liliy, Mallorca, silverpoint, Jeannine Cook artist
At the same time, thanks to today’s fast technology, I could spend my entire day swapping jokes, stories, articles, opinions, photos… with my friends around the world. And, what is even stranger to me as an artist, I have never consciously had access to so much music, opera, theatre, art lectures, museum visits and on-line collections, ballet performances. The list is endless. And the content is frequently wonderful, amazing and enriching. And world-encircling in optic.
Nonetheless, this to me is such an ironic situation. I, who love all forms of art, am beginning to feel overwhelmed by such an abundance of cultural offerings. It is almost as if one visited London, Paris, Rome, wherever, for a month and spent absolutely every waking hour in a museum, theatre, concert hall or opera house. I am beginning to feel almost guilty that I am not availing myself of all this beauty and fascination at a time when, in theory, we all have unstructured days of increased “leisure”.
A conundrum of extreme privilege – definitely. Nonetheless I am wondering if other people are being affected in similar fashion. I also, as an artist, am beginning to feel that too much of a good thing is not good for one’s own art creation.
Time to go and contemplate those serene lilies and seek their advice!
Confinement Callas, silverpoint, Jeannine Cook artist