Finding inspiration in isolation South Dakota artists reflect on creativity during a pandemic In this issue of Arts Alive, we share voices of South Dakota artists talking about the myriad ways they have coped, created and collaborated during the months of sheltering in place, observing social distancing and weathering the storm of COVID-19 impacts. Artists from across the state, representing a wide range of ages, disciplines and backgrounds, universally speak of the importance of the arts during this crisis. Each of us has a story to tell of meeting the challenges of the past months. Within the limited space of this issue, we have tried to present individual artists’ voices to remind us all that the arts—and the creative work of artists among us—will be one of the legacies of this historic period in all our lives.
Christine Stewart
Christine Stewart-Nuñez is South Dakota’s Poet Laureate and an instructor at South Dakota State University.
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hen the pandemic began to ripple across South Dakota, I was in Rapid City spending a week at the Dahl Arts Center as a poet-in-residence. I gave a talk and led a workshop about writing from art, and I spent hours observing the exhibits and learning about the permanent collection from director and curator Denise DuBroy. I left a day early, however, as people began to discuss school closures and social distancing. Like many others, my life changed mid-March. I began to teach my classes at SDSU remotely and ensured that my preschooler and 8th grader stayed safe, fed and relatively engaged with their own learning. For several days, I gave up my writing time to focus on this new schedule, and I even gave myself permission to put my writing on hiatus for the rest of the semester if working creatively caused me too much stress. If I did write, I expected to work on the poetry I’d started at the Dahl. Instead, I found myself waking up at 5:00 each morning eager to write before the rest of my household woke up. And I followed the energy in my practice. So often, profound challenges to our lives, and even changes in our routines, drain the time and emotional reserves we use for creating. I gave myself permission to follow the energy—to work on whatever aspect of my writing practice compelled me the most. At the beginning of the pandemic, that meant revising a memoir manuscript. Figuring out what needed to change and how to go about making those revisions stimulated me intellectually. Using that time to write gave me the emotional grounding I needed to focus on my family’s and students’ needs throughout the rest of the day. Whether following the energy of the practice means reading literature by writers I admire, sketching out ideas for a new project, discussing revision suggestions with another writer or actually writing, in difficult times keeping my finger on the pulse of creativity has helped me re-engage more fully when the stress, chaos or pressure has subsided. It also discourages me from judging my productivity and comparing myself to others—both of which dampen the creative process. And flexibility is key. As spring has turned to summer, I’m following the energy of new work and folding more poetry drafting into my writing sessions. Wherever this pandemic takes us, I hope my practice will be a tool to help me get through it.
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