Life of a Woman Artist during the Pandemic

Author: Vaishali Adone

It took a little time for me to begin to pour myself into the experience as a woman artist in lockdown. As in, when I wind back to lockdown times, I wonder where to start and how to end.

But having it all passed now, I can say that it was definitely something to share and talk about. I feel I could only go through because I was a woman and I was a creator. Creator of not the huge paintings that I paint but also a creator of that little soul who never lets me down as an artist and as a mother. Once I had heard someone saying, ”When a woman creates a baby after that she can not create any thing”, But believe me, it's only and only my child, who kept me intact and made me think of a better future and brighter days, even in times when you are wondering why did you create art or why are you even thinking about it. Well, let me be honest. The pain was not that the art I have created was stacked and piled up with neither admiration nor monetary remuneration, but the fact that how do I paint if I am not earning anything. 

Nothing can be more painful for an artist than not practicing art. But that’s when the Artist within me truly surfaced and I started realising the fact that art is not just painting but what you are living. Currently your life is nothing less than a canvas and this is the time to experience every colour and every stroke of this canvas. The pain from the fact that I was not painting or creating artworks started to ease on its own.  As an artist I started looking towards life in much more detail. Keeping my calm while doing almost everything that a homemaker does - cooking, cleaning and simultaneously worrying about what is going to happen to me and my creations. 

Lockdown times truly made artists experience that even artists need to feed their stomach and pay their electricity bills. But that’s when art again came to my rescue and I started training people in Art. Somewhere I very strongly knew I can only and only do art. Learning from an artist was altogether a soulful experience, for those trapped in their homes. I am glad I could provide them with an ultimate rescue to escape in the space that was truly soothing. Mentoring people online to find their niche in art helped me to keep going and sustaining not only as a mother but also as an artist. At the end, canvases and paints come with a cost. Having said that, I am grateful for the pandemic times. It has strongly helped me learn one thing for sure - That nothing can stop me from doing art and it's only art that can sustain me, as an Artist and as a strong woman.

(Vaishali Adone, Artist and Educationalist, holds her Bachelor’s Degree from Sir J.J. school of Art. She’s been honoured in Young Artist Residency by Future Foundation, Switzerland and has been a part of Student Exchange Program at Prince Drawing School, London. She has been constantly thriving in art and education and her art works are a part of few prestigious  collections like , Raj Bhavan Mumbai, Taj Hotel Mumbai, Grand Hyatt Mumbai, JSW foundation - Mrs Sangeeta Jindal, Gebert Foundation - Switzerland and many more in India and abroad.)

Vaishali Dalvi (@vaishali_birdseye) • Instagram photos and videos