Housebound Artists Conquer COVID with "Quarantine Creations"

By Holley Calmes

Artists OTP have been affected by the recent sequestration as well as those in downtown Atlanta. Eventually however, the creative urge overcomes all obstacles.

Visual and performing artists in Gwinnett County have used their “down time” well, growing from moods of bored frustration to “ha-hah” moments of innovation.

Duluth photographer Mary Buck’s portfolio includes masterful depictions of Cuba, Paris, and Venice. When sequestration began, Buck wondered how to spend her time and decided to redecorate her backyard with birdfeeders and birdbaths. Suddenly, a whole new realm of visual beauty caught her camera’s eye.

“I soon found the silver lining in my quarantine when birds started to appear,” says Buck.

Daily images of bright winged creatures now delight her social media followers. “I never took time to watch for birds before,” she explains. “A whole new world has opened up for me, and all this time they werethere in front of my eyes.”

Becca Parker of Live Arts Theatre in Norcross faced major challenges when Covid -19 struck. Theater doors were closed, putting an end to a season where ticket sales and support had skyrocketed. Revenue was lost. But Parker lives by the motto: “Challenge Accepted!”

Zoom 10-Minute Plays were created to provide support for writers and actors. “We are releasing one play a week via YouTube and Facebook,” Parker says. She plans to have the playwrights expand their “Zooms” to full one act plays for future performances.

Live Arts is also holding “Virtual 5K” fundraising events where supporters complete a 5K walk, run, bike, or swim and mail in their photo for the “Finishers Wall.”

Miss Cardinal by Mary Buck

Another Duluth photographer, Dustin Grau, turned away from the camera for a bit. “I love making prop replicas of movie and pop culture items, so I dove deep into my 3D printer, creating designs and spending hours painting them.”

“When I did get out, I photographed Duluth, Lawrenceville and Atlanta while the state was under lockdown, documenting some historic sights without people.”

Robert Siegel of Gwinnett’s Stone Mountain Chorus reports that although weekly rehearsals were suspended, and the Spring Concert was cancelled, creative ideas have emerged.

“We are still rehearsing virtually on Zoom but plan to get together soon for an outdoor rehearsal at a local park. We’re also working on a virtual recording where we mix our separate voices into one musical track.”

Visit these innovative artists

Mary Buck – Duluth Photographer https://1-mary-buck.pixels.com/

Live Arts Theatre http://liveartstheatre.org/

Dustin Grau http://photography.dustingrau.com/

Stone Mountain Chorus https://www.stonemountainchorus.org/

Stone Mountain Chorus