Update

New COVID-19 Painting

I don’t know about you, but when I think back a few months to March, I’m pained at the memory of naively thinking everyone would have to just quarantine for 2 weeks and then the world would go back to normal. Now, here we are, 5 months later, and everything is still crazy. Though some businesses and workplaces are slowly opening back up, everyone seems to still be on edge. It seems like almost everyone is scared or angry or a fun combination of both, which honestly makes me want to dig in and keep quarantining until it’s all over.

Yesterday, I thought I’d play around with paint again as a way to help me process what I’m feeling. I expected the result to be a variety of grey shades mixed with blotches of darkness, which is pretty typical for me. But for some reason, I kept grabbing more and more color. I realized that while my emotions are a bit chaotic and are overlapping in strange ways, this is still an exciting new season for me. I’ve been letting go of things and people that no longer fit in my life, and in some ways, the pandemic has been a bit cleansing. It’s allowed me to spend a lot of alone time with myself where I’ve been learning who I am without worrying about the performance version of me that the world has been seeing. I am so ready for the pandemic to be over so that I can start to emerge more authentically, and I wanted to share yesterday’s painting since it reminded me of this future.

 

Personal, Update

Quarantine Projects – and a Special Announcement!!!

I hope everyone reading this is doing well! Here in Ohio, everyone is pretty much quarantined until further notice (well, at least the next two weeks). Anyway, it’s been a while since I blogged and I wanted to share a few updates of what I’ve been doing:

 

Ephemeral Elegies

Ephemeral Elegies

Ephemeral Elegies, an online poetry journal I run, is still doing well. We’re currently accepting submissions for our May and June issues. I’ve been really enjoying interacting with and supporting some great emerging poets. Check it out if you have some extra time (and/or submit some of your own work!)

 

Warm Up Ohio

21462407_1311395058969116_4496393984607235540_n

I also run the local branch of Warm Up America: Warm Up Ohio. Although Spring is bringing warmer weather, I knit and crochet all year long so that I have enough to donate each winter. Since we’re a really small chapter, the focus has been less on squares and more on clothing. Hats and Scarves are simple and fun projects – and they are great donations for the many amazing Homeless Shelters in Greater Cincinnati and beyond.

 

Suburban Secrets

bookcover0002948-2019-05-25-09-40-51

Surprise! Here is the cover reveal for my first novel Suburban Secrets – coming out later this year! It’s a work of romantic suspense that I began in grad school and finished last year. I’m still in editing mode, but I’m getting really excited about this project and can’t wait to share more with all of you when the details are all finalized.

 

So, those are my big projects for this Quarantine time. Please, let’s all do our part to stay in and help Flatten the Curve!

What are you doing with your extra quarantine time? Let me know in the comment section!

Thanks for reading,

Tiffany