As we have now reached the one year anniversary of the UK officially going into the first lockdown (with the Isle of Man only a few days following) we asked you how has creativity showed up for you in the last year? Maybe you learned a new skill? Deleved deeper into an existing one? Maybe you tried lots of new creative activities or continued carrying out a lifelong practice?
Below are some of the stories you've shared with us.
Janet Lees
Since the first lockdown I’ve been developing my lens-based work, particularly on the experimental film front. I’m not professionally trained and haven’t studied film, although I did end up specialising in photography in my arts degree long, long ago. The direction my work has taken over the past few years has surprised me – I never expected to be making films (and I have huge imposter syndrome just saying that!) But I love working in this medium. It’s so completely absorbing, the whole process of weaving together sound, vision, voice and text. And I think the impact of film-based work can be profound. I love this quote by Ingmar Bergman: “No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.”
In my experience this applies to the maker as well as the viewer. Finding exactly the right footage to go with exactly the right words, then selecting exactly the right music or sound to capture the overall feeling of the film is a fully absorbing, necessarily mindful creative process. Making my own lyrical short films gives me a way to explore my feelings about the times we live in without turning away from the hard stuff like climate and ecological breakdown, and at the same time keeps me anchored in the present rather than stumbling around in a dystopian future.
The process can also be a great escape from lockdown. The imagination is one place that’s never in lockdown – even in the most extreme of cases, as in the concentration camps of the Holocaust, people continued to make art. Recently I’ve been working up a series of vignettes called ‘Imaginary minibreak’. These are as much for fun and diversion as anything; making them lets me live somewhere else for a bit and I love being in these strange little worlds. From the feedback on Instagram, other people enjoy visiting them too. Each one is a minute max – to view, check out #imaginaryminibreak on Instagram.
Felicity Wood, Artist
"One year on... I haven't had the time I had hoped to developed my artwork, my head is overflowing with ideas I haven't had time to action... But I am grateful that this time has been stolen from me by our children. Having had the time to develop their creativity has been so precious... I recently listened to the three of them having an in-depth discussion about textures and what glazes they might use, as they played with some clay. I so felt proud of what extra skills they have learnt this past year... Being creative with children is a wonderful way to spend time (so speaks as primary teacher). We've sewn, painted, built, drawn, baked... And mostly we've had a lovely time together making memories we get to keep forever."
Marianne, Hellhound Artwork
The past year has taught me so much, but the most important lesson being: the greatest thing worth investing in is yourself! With so much more time to focus on my creative abilities I have rediscovered my love for painting and drawing, something I felt I had lost touch with simply down to not having enough time. Yes lockdown has had a lot of lows but there is always a silver lining and this has certainly been one of the best highs.
There are also so many incredible platforms for manx artists now that I've felt support and affirmation every step of the way - which just spurs me on more. I truly cannot thank our community enough, we are not just an island after all.
I think I speak for many members within the creative industry when I say this year has taught me so much, and I want to continue to make the time to create. I hope to continue to grow my portfolio and continue growing in myself and my abilities in the coming years, this is only the beginning!
Jennifer Draskau, Writer
I was very lucky in being able to launch two books in the lockdown gaps - Lady Derby (or the Great Whore of Babylon, which she was not, but this was a slur used by her enemies) and Transportee, a novel about a Manx girl transported to Jamaica in 1698 - grateful for Culture Vannin and Arts Council for their kind support, and to all who came to the launches and made them enjoyable occasions in a dark time.
I hope our great local booksellers who are stocking them will recover fully after this difficult time.
Otherwise, been translating more Norwegian modern -day sagas by the wonderful Gunhild Haugnes - historical sagas with female protagonists, because historically in the sagas the men got all the best roles. Gunhild redresses the balance with her historical accuracy and strong focus on women.
Reading and writing provide a marvellous escape in these trying times.
Noodle and Meow
I went from being a massage therapist to a silver jewellery designer /maker and what a ride its been!
Hiedi Baker, Flower Studio IOM
I threw myself into seriously growing flowers and am loving it - have had the time to experiment with different artistic techniques to use what I am growing to development what I offer to sell alongside the flowers too instead of buying in mass produced gift items. This last year has been so stressful and worrying at times but I’ve learnt so much about myself and my business.
Catriona Livingstone, Manx Walks
I am a walking guide and Manx Walks is the name of my business. I went through the IOM Government micro business scheme in 2018 and started the business last year - which was pretty bad timing, as my intent was to take visitors around to explore the island on foot!
Well, the last year hasn’t been wasted - I have been taking photos and videos of my own daily walks and posting them on Instagram and Facebook. I started an Instagram account on March 27th (Manx Walks) and since then I have posted (as of today) 816 posts, documenting my walks. I think my photography has greatly improved from doing this every day and I’ve had great fun taking pictures. So far, there are 1,293 people following the account. I love reading comments from Manx people who are living across and miss the island, or from Manx residents, who want more information about where I’ve been walking.
In the meantime, when we haven’t been in lockdown, I have had some work taking groups out for Age Concern, and leading locals on weekly group walks. I hadn’t planned on doing this, but the groups have become a friendly community. We are connected by taking part in a healthy activity and a love of exploring the island. We walk, we talk, and usually stop for a cuppa afterwards. I am looking forward to when visitors can come back to the island, but I plan on continuing to take photos and leading local groups of walkers.
