LOCKDOWN
I think its safe to say that 2020 was a uniquely challenging year, to put it mildly. We have all seen and experienced in some form or another the effect this pandemic has had on each and every one of us.
It is difficult for me to look back on this year with total contempt though, I mean, the birth of my daughter playing a major part in my positive spin on this year. The lockdowns however, as challenging as they were at times (A LOT of times!) I can’t ignore the fact that they gave me an opportunity that a lot of new fathers don’t get. The chance to spend those early months at home with my partner and baby.
It was while reflecting on these personal silver linings from lockdown that led to the realisation that these lockdowns had also provided me with some growth opportunities in my work as well. Along with the lockdowns came the uncertainty and that gnawing anxiety that I’m sure a lot of people can relate to, however something else came with this forced hiatus from tattooing, something unexpected. Freedom. The freedom to draw whenever, whatever, however I felt. I love tattooing, I love my customers and the creative freedom they give me but at the end of the day my usual daily drawing time is spent working on a design for the customer. Now I found myself sitting at my desk with sketchbook and pencil, my Ipad buried away in the bottom drawer and just, sketching, not thinking about how many likes it will get, would someone like it enough to get tattooed, how much should I charge for it, just sketching for the pure therapeutic value of putting something from my mind down on paper. I feel like this raw, unfiltered drawing significantly helped to push through some of the creative blocks and feelings of stagnancy I’d been having, I feel that this rekindled passion was reflected in my work. So now as I reflect back on this past year, on all the craziness, I can’t help but remember the times sat at my desk in the garage by the warm candlelight, listening to horror and occult podcasts as I filled those pages with reapers and demons with a strange, nostalgic fondness.
2020 was one hell of a shit show, no denying that and I know pretty much everyone can agree but when I talk to people about their lockdown experiences, its hard to ignore the valuable time it gave people to rest, to recuperate, to reflect, to experiment unleash their creativity, to plan their next steps, set new goals, achieve new goals, whatever it was they chose to fill those endless days with. Now I’m hoping I can hold on to some of that freedom and creativity that I found in those surreal times we call lockdown and apply it to achieving my own personal goals that I set through lockdown. This new weekly blog being one of them.