With millions of creatives stuck at home during lockdown, many have struggled keeping their creativity alive. In ‘Lockdown Stories’, I have asked creatives to share their stories.

Evie Mundy

Office Administrator and Photographer

Q: What do you work with?

I’m an office administrator in Cambridge.

Q: How did the lockdown affect you, on a professional level, as well as personally?

Lockdown really acted as a pause button for me. It gave me the time to really look at myself and what I want and gave me the chance to get on with all the things I always thought about, but never put into action!

Q: How did you stay creative throughout lockdown?

So, the first thing I did was sign up for an Arts Management Course with Central Saint Martins (CSM). I’ve always been quite crafty, so I had really gotten into macrame.. The two things organically led to me starting my own craft business, where I provide kits and tutorials so people can make their own craft items! I found that being fully emersed in something creative really helped with my mental health during the stress of lockdown, so I wanted to try and facilitate that for other people.

Q: Do you think that the lockdown, or the current situation in general, has had an impact on your creativity?

Definitely! Before lockdown I was so down about the fact that I hadn’t yet found a job in the creative industry, but then instead I started thinking about what I could do and I feel so much better for it! I think this year has given so many people the opportunity they needed to explore what they really want to do and start pursueing it!

You can visit Evie’s Website here.

Jessica Kashdan-Brown

Poet and Freelance Copywriter

Q: What do you work with?

I’m a poet and writer, and I’m just starting out as a freelance copywriter and editor.

Q: How did the lockdown affect you, on a professional level as well as personally?

The lockdown threw me into a bit of a mess, to be honest. I had just left my job as a bookseller at an independent bookshop in March, in order to snap-up an opportunity to work in a beautiful location in the South of France, when the lockdown kicked-in. As I couldn’t go to France anymore, I was left pretty much unemployed.

Thankfully, my parents were in the privileged position of being able to support me, so I’ve been living at home since then. It hit me hard though, suddenly six months or more of plans were gone, and I had absolutely no idea what to do with my time. It’s taken me a long time to find my feet again.

Q: How did you stay creative throughout lockdown?

Initially, I found it hard to be creative during lockdown. With so much uncertainty, surrounding my employment and how long lockdown was going to last, I couldn’t write or create much without feeling like I should have been searching for a job instead and seeking stability first. Once it looked like it was going to go on for a while though, I found it easier to accept.

I started with smaller things: poetry, mostly, and keeping a fragmented sort of journal. I applied to a lot of jobs throughout this but heard nothing back from any paid positions, so I decided I would start building a portfolio instead, and I had the time to work on some personal creative projects. I started a podcast with a friend, which I’m still co-running now.

Lastly, I started up an experimental collaborative poetry project, centred around predictive text, as a way of providing insight into what’s on people’s minds at the moment. I take each day as it comes now, with whatever level of productivity I have at the time. It hasn’t been easy to stay creative, but I think I would have gone insane without it.

Q: Do you think that the lockdown, or the current situation in general, has impacted your creativity?

I have found that I haven’t been able to embark on longer-form projects since lockdown started. Because the end of this pandemic situation is so unknowable, and because I don’t know when I will next find paid work, the concept of starting something longer, like that novel I’ve had in the back of my head for a few years now, seems completely unbroachable.

Fragmented things, like poetry, thoughts and reflections, blog articles, or flash fiction, have felt much easier to turn to at this time. Poetry, in particular, has been a real solace to me throughout lockdown. I think it has a way of transcending traditional narratives and expressing things in abstract and expansive ways that’s very helpful to understanding the situation right now.

In many ways, the lockdown has proven to me how much I value my own creativity, and — at a time when I’ve been so uncertain about career paths — I’ve confirmed to myself that creativity has to be at the heart of whatever it is I do.

You can visit Jessica’s Website here.