Looking for that silver lining—Creativity during a global pandemic

What was it like being creative during the last two years, as COVID-19 upended our lives?

Clouds over Miami by Lonny Paul

Being creative was easy at first. With the lockdowns, my schedule opened up and I finally had time to work on some projects.

Then I had to go out to shop and be back in the world, before vaccines were available. Stress! Just getting groceries exhausted me so much that I could do nothing else for the rest of the day.

"Stressed College 
Student" by CollegeDegrees360

My mother used to say, when she had to do something hard or that she really hated, “I just kept slogging away at it.” That’s how life has felt recently. Every day has been like slogging through mud, pulling one foot out and taking everything one miserable step at a time.

What did I do during the pandemic when we couldn’t have live music rehearsals? I was cut off from my musical friends and from my violin teacher. My early music group, the Strong Oak Consort, tried rehearsing on Skype, but we couldn’t play as an ensemble. One person would play their part, everyone else would mute and try to play along. It didn’t work very well.

Then we decided to record a Christmas album using free software on the Internet. With soundtrap.com, we were able to do multi-track recording remotely. Being able to complete that project felt great.

I also attempted NaNoWriMo, and started writing a horror novel set in a fictionalized version of Bisbee, Arizona. Maybe writing horror was a way of getting out all that negativity.

The last two years have been a time of lower productivity for me, but I did my best to stay connected with my creative community and kept going as well as I could. Overall, it wasn’t a bad time in terms of creativity. I learned that I could function with fewer commitments and demands on my time. I learned to use my time at home more efficiently. I’ve found inner resources I didn’t realize I had.

I wouldn’t go through this again voluntarily, and I can’t wait for it to be “over” (whatever that may mean). People used to say, “It’s an ill wind that blows no good,” and “Every cloud has a silver lining.” That may be a bit clichéd, but in my case, it has been true. I’m glad that I had some positive outcomes in what has been a very difficult time for the world.

"Happy Ending" by Chrismatos