3 good reasons to stare at your phone

I hear constant scrolling through your social media feeds is bad for your mental health during quarantine — but that can’t be true, right? [snickering] I’m here to give you three exceptions to the rule. Feel free to use them when someone tries to pry the smartphone out of your hands.

Reason #1: When you need to force yourself to get fresh air and exercise

This is the view from my studio window, a la Vincent van Gogh. Art Transfer in the Google Arts & Culture app applies elements of famous artworks to the photo you upload. The result: now I have to go outside and take a walk, because I need to see how Vincent might’ve painted my neighborhood.

Reason #2: When you need help seeing the art in everyday life

Even though exercise really does help me feel better, there’s one thing I know: there will be days when it just isn’t going to happen. The Color Palette function uses colors in your photo to dig up artwork with a similar palette, sometimes with startling results. Come for the surprises, stay for the cheat-sheet (located in the upper left corner) you can use for redecorating or art-making.

Reason #3: When you’re doing a public service — providing a distraction

Some of you wouldn’t be caught dead taking a selfie, but look at it this way. Maybe your Art Selfie can help someone pull themselves out of an unhelpful mental spiral. This function’s been around for a few years, but back then it had a tendency to mis-gender women with short hair, especially women of color. Now Art Selfie seems to draw more data from many more museum collections, which would explain the improvement. Our Google overlords are not compensating me for this post (I’m sure I’m late to this party). But I’ll give them this: they seem to have hit on the timesuck we need right now.

How to stay sane -- not just busy -- during COVID-19 quarantine

Week four of COVID-19 quarantine: not sure if I’m staying sane, or just busy. Is there a difference?

I’ve completed two Facebook Live webcasts this week for SOL(idarity) TV, a group where we share video content of our lives and creative pursuits to take the edge off sheltering-in-place. Then I’ve posted the recorded video to my YouTube channel. Studio time + tech skills refinement = my idea of a work day right now.

It’s been fun, but is that all there is? My dear friend Alicia Harvey challenged me with a simple question: How are you finding peace? Not ‘how are you occupying yourself’ but ‘how are you treating yourself during this historic and traumatic time?’

My number one go-to activity: losing myself in a book. I’ve also purchased artwork online when I can. And during “spring break,” I’m not hounding my kids to finish school work.

How have you been keeping it together? Let me know, on Facebook or Instagram.

Join us for an art walk in The Cloud

Remember being able to go outside whenever you wanted? Yeah… good times. Paradoxically, though, being shut in this Friday means you can jump from your place to Gallery One and my studio in less than a minute.

At 6:15pm PST tonight, Gallery One hosts the virtual opening reception for the artists of “Between the Fold.” Ed Marquand and I will participate in the comment section, as the jurors of this book arts group exhibit. But that’s not all…

… come over to my studio and I’ll show you where I made the work for my exhibit “Never the Same Book Twice.” (I cleaned up ‘specially for you and everything.) So this evening, I’m inviting you to take a walk in the cloud: not through a bunch of internet servers and databases… we’re going to the online version of First Friday Ellensburg. See you there!