ART IN THE TIME OF PLAGUE

So you had a thriving creative business going (I had both art and music) and this corona plague came along and the government shut you down. I don’t think any of us were prepared for that, as I don’t think any of us have lived through times like these.

I had several different sources of income – fine art sales, teaching art classes, commissions for public art (murals and sculpture) and I was actually making the most money playing music gigs. Suddenly all the music venues, art galleries, art shows, art classes, and yes, even the public art commissions I had won and was about to start, were closed down. March 7 was my last gig.

I was so angry I wanted to throw something. I just got angrier and angrier. Which, of course, didn’t do any good at all.

Right now the world needs art and music more than ever before. Anything you can do to make people smile. I started a YouTube channel and put my music online. On facebook, too. Made a website for music. And let me tell you, this was a big deal for me – I didn’t know how to do any of that before! I’m 71 years old and learning to create a youtube channel was quite a feat. (The Bess and Mike Show on Youtube.)

I’ve been painting – I’ve been posting new and old paintings all over the place online. I’m going to paint a mural on the fence at my house. I created an art gallery in my house that will open as soon as people are allowed to gather again.

I’ve taken several online classes. I was invited to perform on a famous YouTube channel – that was a hoot. We had an online tip jar which actually netted us about $500. Not as much as we would have made performing regular gigs, but imagine that – people liked our music so much that they gave us tips! I’m floored.

I have my little small town projects, too. I planted more in my garden so I can give some away. I have chickens so I gave away eggs. I have an incubator which has now been running full time for almost 9 weeks. I’m hatching out chicks, because now my neighbors want to keep chickens, too. I’ve given away chicks to two neighbors who are first time chicken keepers and I have a waiting list for the next two batches to hatch in the incubator.

The game now has got to be how can you help? How can you make people smile? How can you spread a little joy and bring some beauty to the world? This pandemic will be over one day and what will be your legacy? You can do something about it, and you can help others get through and you can bring joy to the world.