COVID 19 turned many of our lives upside down and was a particularly challenging time for freelance creatives. As life begins to return to the norm we chatted with emerging content creator/ stylist/ ceramic artist Blue Figure on their experience.
Peony Swim Gathererd Bralette & Staple Pant, Velvet Canyon TV Eye Sunglasses, Young Frankk Classic Chain Bracelet, Young Frankk Jaimie Earrings.
How did your life change in COVID 19?
I was working in Sydney but flew to Perth to see my family for a week and that week the world turned upside done as COVID 19 starting spreading like wildfire. I decided to stay in Perth thinking it would blow over in a couple weeks and I’d be able to fly back, but boy was I wrong.
I had just been commissioned to start a custom ceramic sculpture collection for Amber Sceats so I started working on that at my dad’s house as the clay studios were all closed.
As horrible as COVID has been for so many people, it has actually been a really creative time me.
I work best not under stress so self-isolating at my dad’s house in Darlington was a luxury for me. It gave me time without distractions and stress, able to dive deep into my creativity and find that calmness and clarity I hadn’t had in quite a while.
What was your morning ritual?
I would start the day with a hilly bush walk with my family.
I get a lot of energy from nature, it helps calm my mind so being outside amongst the trees and nature every morning was really therapeutic.
Then I’d do some work on my computer for another exciting project ive been working on.
I like being active, keeping fit so I used this time to do just that, around 10.30am I would do a resistance workout or a body balance class online. After that I’d finally start the creative side of my day, which was either painting, sculpting or taking photos for Public figure’s social content.
How did you stay creative / find inspiration in isolation?
This time it’s given me the chance to explore and create things I'd always pushed to the side, I’ve always had so many ideas and find inspiration everywhere. But normally I have deadlines so my creativeness can be rushed, I don’t have time to explore other possibilities so I was able to experiment and pull from my creative idea stash I usually keep at the back of my mind. I do also love Pinterest so I find a lot of inspiration there for styling and content creation.
What did you wear in isolation?
My trackies I tie-dyed myself to be honest!
What did you learn about yourself during this period?
A lot. From the beginning I said to myself, I can use this time to work on myself and reconnect with myself or I can just sit on the couch and binge watch Netflix. So I did the work, I learnt a lot about how I thrive in calm environments,
I’m more creative, disciplined, my mind in clearer and when that happens I start to creatively think outside the box.
I wish I was a person that could hustle amongst the busy bees of the world and keep my head above water but I’ve learnt that’s just not the way I work and. I spent this time revaluating what’s beneficial and what is a stress, sometimes we don’t realize what’s toxic until we don’t have it around us anymore. The longer I was in isolation the happier, calmer and more present I became.
How did you stay connected to the world?
With my friends and family overseas it was Instagram and facebook messenger, I tried not to spend too much time on their though as I feel like you can get lost for hours not being productive. We had the news on every morning which kept me updated with everything going on in the world, but I learnt to not get too caught up in it because it can have a negative and overwhelming impact on your mental health. It was nice actually to be in my own space, present with myself and those people I was living with instead of running around.
How did you care for your mental & physical wellbeing?
I made sure I did exercise everyday, I feel like routine is so important especially in a time like this. Moving my body sets me up for the day right, I find it easier to accomplish the things I want to get done after getting outside or working out. Mentally I did a lot of journaling usually at night to reflect on my day, give myself an outlet on what was going on in my head. I’d also listen to podcast after podcast while sculpting, usually focused on mind/body and health. I felt like it was a way of nourishing me mentally and physically.
What was on your isolation playlist?
Wild Girl by Kito
Die Young by Sylvan Esso
Empty Room by Big Wild ft Yuna
Stoned – OTR remix by Blondage
The Thaw by Woodes
And the whole Crooked Colours album – Langata
What is the first thing you did when restrictions were lifted?
My best friends and I got together to have wine and craftanoon, which consisted of embellishing our vintage jeans, tie dying our clothes and plastering one of my best friends torso to make into a pot as a present for her boyfriend’s birthday haha.
What is next for Blue Figure?
I’m working on a new collection of sculptures and in the early process of doing some minimalist artworks which will be up for sale on my Instagram. Also doing some styling and content creation where I have a lot of creative freedom which I’m really excited about from a new studio hopefully open in August, which is a project I’ve been working on and apart of here in Perth.