MADE IN ISOLATION

Tell us about what you're currently working on.

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Currently, I am working on a series of needle felt hearts that have inspired quotes sewn through them with hemp twine on handmade paper. I am also working on a painting that I am using a new type of layering that I have never used before. A piece I just finished is a mixed media tray with dried flowers. 

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Has your work shifted in response to the pandemic? How?

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My work definitely has become more focused on being inspired by the materials that I have in my house and those I see in nature when I go on walks or runs. I am meditating more and reading. Trying to stay focused on being settled within myself and switching to more down time. A lot of goodness comes from acceptance.

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How do you think the creative process can help us confront our "new" reality?

 

I am exploring my household and the minds that are contained within it ... finding the elements that help my house breathe and stay balanced. My house for me has always been part of my inner self, so to spend this time with it is actually allows time for me to work intently, welcoming open emotion and allowance, myself to feel and let go at will. Being content and comfortable with myself, I am able to work through this pandemic day to day.  If I look further than that, I find my heart starting to race and unease setting in. Keeping it simple is best for me. My home is safe, my kids are safe, my art embraces me. 

 

One method I have been using as a tool of inspiration is meditation and connecting with my higher power. It's how I came up with the heart series. I was meditating and then all of a sudden I saw a bunch of hearts like clouds floating all around me.

 

Our mind is so powerful, now is the time to connect with our spiritual selves.

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Lesley Cotter is an artist living in Baltimore. She explores the abstract, surreal and symbolic aspects of life through various media. See more of her work here.