Betsy Jennifer
We often think of ourselves as writing or making art, but the process often changes or makes us as well. How do you feel like your writing or art makes you?
Art makes me know myself better in surprising measures. Whenever I try to express myself through art, the beginning is often confusing. I hesitate to start or feel that I am starting at the wrong place, but it is amazing how something pieces itself together by the end. When I take a step back to look at what I have put together, what I observe is different parts of myself at the different stages of creating it. Whether it is painting or writing or photography, many times I start somewhere blindly and end somewhere else that continues to baffle me. Between when I begin and when I complete something – whether the duration is two days or two weeks or more – I am constantly being impacted by the world outside myself and am endlessly evolving, not always consciously aware of it. So, making art helps me see those subtle changes and nuances in myself. In addition to being a reflective surface, it allows me to blend those distinct nuances and make peace with them.
What do you hope readers or viewers of your piece take from it?
I love focusing on nature and its simple, seemingly ordinary aspects that can be easily overlooked. What I have learned about noticing the small things in everyday life and deriving pleasure from them is that perspective matters when we look at anything, literally and figuratively. I hope that viewers take with them the message that it is worth paying attention to the intricate details of the average, commonplace objects of daily life, to try and see them with newer perspectives and be immersed in childlike awe of their newfound beauty.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your relationship to art and writing, either in the creation of it or the consumption of it?
I am from India, and the Covid-19 lockdown started here sometime in mid-March, a week or so before my final exams at college were set to begin. Ever since, there has been severe uncertainty about whether or not the government is going to allow the exams to happen and how that decision is going to impact students nationwide. As a student (and an artist), the pandemic has caused deep anxieties in me and the long months of languid waiting has slowed down my usual pace of work. Even though there has been more time on my hands, I have not been able to create or be creative as much as I have wanted to, due to constant angst. To try and maintain discipline has been a struggle whether it is in creating art or in the consumption of it.
On the other hand, this downtime has encouraged me to try and explore new areas of literature and art that I have previously never delved into. I have noticed that I have consumed more art than having created much of it. The Covid-19 pandemic has injected an indefinable languor into my relationship with art which I am recovering from.
What do you think is the most essential advice that most writers and artists ignore?
One essential rule that is easy to ignore is discipline when it comes to practicing one's art. It is important to set aside time to practice every day although it may be very difficult when there are other commitments to keep. As a young artist, I come to realize repeatedly how important and serious this advice is to stand by yet I notice all around me how easy it is to ignore.