7 Activities To Unleash Your Inner Creative Mind During Coronavirus Quarantine
The time is now for creative minds to shine through.
getty Vita brevis, ars longo. This classic latin phrase basically means "life is short, art is forever."
At present, we are all going through the same thing. Life is changing rapidly, and the truth of the matter is that, like it or not, we're going to be spending an enormous amount of time, hunkered down, inside our homes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Some will be fortunate enough to be able to work from home, and some will not. As businesses shutter up and the streets become quieter and quieter, life at home is going to become the new challenge.
What can we do with all this time at home, especially for creative minds who need some kind of stimulation?
The idea that we dread being stuck at home, without anything to do, seems kind of funny, in an ironic way. It's as if we've never spent time at home before. And yet, most people these days see their home as some kind of inescapable prison.
Home is now this place of both solace and boredom. There are either too many people walking around inside our homes, doing nothing but making noise and distracting us. Or, we're all alone and the isolation is driving us mad.
Home for the Pandemic is the new extended holiday, and we're going to have to deal with it. And until we find that clearing when all goes back to some sense of normalcy, we must put our precious lives and talents to work. At home.
After the shock wears off and we tire of people complaining about masks, hand sanitizer, toilet paper hoarding, and the continuous worry that we're either going to get the dreaded disease or we're going to be thrown on the street for not having the money to cover our mortgages or rent, we'll find ourselves in phase two of the COVID-19 horror show: Time to get creative.
The early days of this virus gave us time to get scared, somewhat prepared and aware of what we should do. The early days are no longer. Now, we are in phase two.
So, what can we do at home to not only make the time pass by pleasantly, but creatively as well?
1. Spring cleaning
You were probably going to do this anyway, so why not go for it right now? And while you're gathering the things you no longer need and putting them to trash, you might want to think about painting a wall or two — something to freshen up a room.
When we paint walls, we create new attitudes. A fresh new color for an old, boring room can be inspiring. We need to inspire ourselves now, and while stores like Home Depot might be shortening hours, they're still open and they're still slinging paint.
2. Cooking
So far, the only thing we've heard about for treatment for COVID-19 is what that guy told us, when he was quarantined off the Princess Cruiser: "Gatorade, gatorade, gatorade." Well, I'm sure there's something good in that, but why not prepare some good old fashioned Jewish penicillin, AKA Chicken Soup (add lemon and call it Cuban penicillin!).
Hey, chickens are still coming in daily to the supermarkets, so grab a whole chicken and a recipe from Martha Stewart, and make up a big batch of the stuff. Then, freeze it for "just in case."
I'm a believer in "tea as cure" and that same belief covers my faith in chicken soup, vegetable broth and... Gatorade. Prepare healthy meals for the future and freeze them. If anyone gets ill, Coronavirus or not, you'll be prepared with your own home made feel good "cure."
3. Paint
If you've got the talent or if you've always wanted to try, this is the time for you to get into it. Art stores still supply canvases, paper, paints, pencils, and plenty of materials, so grab a couple of supplies and start watching painting tutorials online.
If you want to learn how to use your time effectively, spend time creating art. The hours will pass by, leaving you satisfied and productive.
4. Write a blog
You don't have to be Shakespeare to jot down your thoughts. Besides, these are historical times. What better time in the world than now to begin documenting your COVID-19 journey?
Write about your fears, your hopes; write about how you can help others, or how you've been helped. Upload your blog on Wordpress (which is free) and share your ideas with others, or simply keep your blog to yourself so you can remember what happened during this amazing time in human history.
5. Make music
Many of us have an old guitar lying around. There are a zillion videos on YouTube that can teach you how to play guitar. This could be your big opportunity!
And if you have more than one instrument hanging around, get other members of the family to join in. Start a band!
6. Make videos
Life hasn't stopped, nor has social media. We're still out there looking for fun things to watch; in fact, more than ever before, we are going to be relying upon entertainment to get us through.
You may be indoors, but that doesn't mean you can't be silly or have fun. Start a video podcast, and invite others online to participate. That's one thing we really do have going for ourselves.
The internet is still there! Electricity is still on! We still have our beautiful human minds! Let's create stuff and share it online so that others can see what we're all doing with our time.
7. Dance!
Listen, we may have eaten all the yummy apocalypse snacks, and all that being at home may end up giving us a little extra paunch. We need exercise and stretching. We may not be going to the gym as we once did, but we certainly can't let ourselves atrophy, just sitting around moaning.
If you are an expressive person, then dance your butt off. Who's to stop you? Make your exercise an art form. Set aside some time during the day for physical exertion. Dance burns calories, speeds up the heart rate, and helps us cleanse by sweating. It's all good!
And if you're really creative, here are plenty of other creative options to try:
- Write a book
- Design a deck of Tarot Cards
- Paint a portrait
- Knit or crochet a sweater
- Sew some clothing
- Learn how to cook a certain kind of cuisine
- Develop a website
- Memorize a monologue
- Sculpt
- Figure out the harmonies to a song and sing it with a friend
- Sing!
- Dance!
- Act!
- Make art!
- Compose!
- Write!
- Entertain!
Creatives: we're going to need you, so get on it. We're now relying upon the creatives of the world to bring us beauty and hope. Stay healthy, hopeful and creative.
Dori Hartley is a portrait artist, essayist and a journalist. She's been published in The Huffington Post, ParentDish, The Daily Beast, Psychology Today, XOJane, MyDaily and The Stir. Her art books ‘Beauty’, ‘Antler Velvet’, and 'Mads Mikkelsen: Portraits of the Actor' are all available on Amazon.