THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
LOCAL SURVIVAL TALES
“When we went into lockdown last March I was getting ready for a group show opening in May. I couldn’t see clients in my healing energy practice, so I spent almost all my time in the studio. Having the ability to immerse myself in art making every day was a genuine gift to help me through the anxiety and fear I was experiencing with the pandemic. I started a new series of collages using packaging materials from all the online ordering I was doing, and cutting and ripping and reassembling gave me a sense of order and some control over the uncertainty and chaos. I was sad about not having a physical opening for my show, not being able to do all the social things I loved, and not being able to see friends and family. It took some time, but during the ensuing months I realized how blessed I am to have the things I really need, pure and simple. I still feel an underlying anxiety that to me is global, and gratitude helps me cope and work through it. Creativity is a driving force behind that gratitude.”
Elle MacLaren, multi media artist and Acutonics® practitioner
“At the beginning of the pandemic in Springtime, I felt scared and so helpless. I always was in charge for my own life, but that stopped abruptly in March. So I went into self-isolation on March 16 and sent an email to all my friends and family about that, just to let everybody know: I am doing something! Now about 9 months later, the Covid situation is even worse but I am not so scared anymore because I know so much more about Covid and what to do to stay well. Unknown situations scare me but knowledge makes me strong.”
Heike Strobel, Artist
“Hit by a bus” is the best way I can describe what I felt like when COVID arrived out of no where this year. Everything that felt familiar, safe, and solid was suddenly transformed into uncertainty and fear. I had to work really hard on accepting the impacts of this thing I couldn’t control and in that work I found a new way of being. One month in I decided that since nothing in life felt guaranteed anymore, I might as well take a leap into the unknown and follow the dreams I’d held hidden for years. I found that by accepting the things I couldn’t control, I gained deep insight into what I could and what I could control was my commitment to helping life and love emerge through me. 7 months into the pandemic, I left my corporate desk job and asked my husband to leave everything in New England behind and take me to New Mexico. He said yes. I had always wanted to come to New Mexico and stand barefoot on the ground, connect more deeply with my soul’s calling and paint “The Voice of Nature”. I’m not sure that I would have found the courage to dive into my heart space and dare to dream a life worth living, if COVID had not come along to show me how dark the world can get without our light. The work isn’t over. We have a tremendous amount of collective healing to do, but for the first time in my adult life, I feel like we’re doing it together and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Pallah Baker, BS, CPC – Artist and Transformational Coach
“Overnight we realized our sense of loss when the world shut down in March. Beyond human deaths due to COVID-19, we saw how all things precious to us could be gone in a flash: classrooms, churches, social life, our favorite museums, stores, restaurants and galleries. But, sequestering meant creative solitude for many resourceful artists. When the galleries closed (and went virtual), artists of all stripes seized the opportunity to create without distractions, demands or deadlines. The openings will start again, and the walls, gardens and theaters of this town will be filled once more with dynamic fresh work.”
Thomas Dodge, Photographer
“Like many, my experience during the pandemic was full of extreme emotions and more time in seclusion ~ much like Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s 7 Stages of Grief. This was indeed visible in my work. As an artist, I spend a lot of time in meditation so that I can tape into a deeper and authentic universal energy. This is where I find my unique voice and tap into something I believe wants to be expressed. My work during this past year has moved erratically from darkness to light and then evolving into what I believe to be a delicate balance and dance. I have come to appreciate the need to embrace darkness in order to reach a more illuminated state. During this year of having to sit with more fear and uncertainty has created a breakthrough in both my life and work. This experience is all a part of our evolution as a species and there has never been a more important time for the arts.”
Tracy King, Vivo Contemporary
“Fortunately, our COVID survival strategy coincided and dovetailed uniquely into our new studio showroom/gallery endeavors. Actually, our transition into new spaces had been a goal that we established for ourselves when we moved to Santa Fe ten years ago. We did not permit COVID or any other personal, professional disruptions to alter the trajectory of our mission. This is not to say, that the Virus, per say, has not been an obstacle. It is just not one that we have allowed to penetrate our sphere of activities to move us forward in our new setting.
The real sad thing and tragedy, if you will, is seeing how this epidemic has altered so many people’s lives and if one were to dwell on that singular aspect, many, (including ourselves), would not be able to move forward. We will, as creative people, get through all of this. The challenge will be in being able to adapt to the conditions that we all will be faced with in the future.”
Tom and Carole Bowker, Thomas-Carole Bowker Fine Art Studio
“GVG is an artist owned gallery, who’s presence on Canyon Road has been a respected voice for contemporary art and artists in the Santa Fe for the last decade. When the pandemic hit last spring we just knew that is wasn’t to be a short lived situation, so we decided to pivot to a new way of doing business that could help keep our our visitors, our staff and ourselves safe from spreading the virus. We envisioned a new way of engaging with and selling artwork and started with creating a new website that is more interactive, allowing for exhibitions and sales to happen online. Next, we took the opportunity to move to a warehouse location in the Siler/Rufina arts district. We are open by appointment only at this point, with several options for different kinds of engagements (just looking, targeted viewing or consultation). We recently added a “visit us” option to our website so people can make appointments online. The response has been gratifying. People want art, they need art, and we need to engage with art collectors and art lovers. We plan to remain a vital voice in Santa Fe’s contemporary art scene and hope this new art paradigm will contribute to Santa Fe’s standing in the art world in a positive way.”
Blair Vaughn-Gruler, co-owner and gallery director, GVG Contemporary