Staying inside can lead to a variety of things: spontaneous haircuts, new recipes or a movie marathon. Three Harding art students recommend using free time to create — whether that be through drawing, painting, sculpting or crafting — to ease the stir-crazy experience of quarantine. Beginners are welcome, and as junior art major Keyton Hall said, “I encourage everyone to pick up a pencil, pen, chalk or, honestly, anything and create!”
No matter the project, all artists should start with finding inspiration. This could be found in a YouTube tutorial, nature, Bob Ross video or Pinterest. Hall recommended creating art out of whatever you see. Are you missing the Harding squirrels? Paint one (or five.)
Don’t worry about having the right art supplies — cardboard, wood and paper plates make great canvases if you have paint and a brush or two. Repurpose carved erasers into a personal, ornate stamp. Melt crayons between two sheets of wax paper to create faux stained glass for window decorations. Computer programs like Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape offer virtual workspaces. Markers, pens and pencils still work well with notebook or printer paper.
Junior Hannah Campbell, a visual art major, has enjoyed digitally creating landscapes and portraits of family members. She warned against being your own worst critic.
“Many put themselves down for not being the best artist, when in fact they have a lot of passion and can draw better than they think,” Campbell said. “Stop judging yourself and just start creating.”
After finding inspiration and deciding on the medium, the next step in the process is making your artwork a reality. Oftentimes, the hardest part of creating art is making the first mark out of fear of messing up. Do not let that mental block stop you; go on the offense. Put a little scribble on the blank page for a new drawing, splatter a little paint on the edge of your painting canvas, make that initial first cut into a carving. Art is subjective; there is no right or wrong.
Senior art major Jenise Hiles committed to creating one new piece of art every day in quarantine. Working with pen, paper and foil, Hiles uses her artwork to address how strange the new reality is. Creative outlets like drawing make the situation easier for her, Hiles said, and she suggests others try creating also.
“Eliminate your surroundings, and think about the things that are bothering you most, and just make them as relatable and silly as you can,” Hiles said. “You know, if you want to write some kind of crazy dystopian novel, now is the time. If you really always wanted to draw something spooky, there’s nothing more spooky than what’s happening right now. Just put it down on paper and feel a little better about it.”
