How have I engaged art in the last 6 months?
Listening to music became much more important to me during the pandemic. Partly this was because I was furloughed for a month and a half, which gave me a lot of time explore new music. Partly this was because I needed something to listen to while I packed up boxes for a move. But mostly, it was because I needed music to take the edge off my anxiety. I found that I either wanted music to soothe my nerves or confront the dread head-on, which meant bouncing between Frank Ocean and Shostakovich. Watching my partner become more involved in crafting made me want to change the way I practiced, too. I wanted playing violin to be less automatic and technical, and involve more spontaneity. I challenged myself to interpret my rep in as many different ways as possible, and to introduce an element of improvisation to the way I ran through scales and Ă©tudes.

What is the dominant colour of a walk I take frequently?
As of the time of writing*, I would say the dominant colour of most walks anywhere in Victoria is “sickly yellow”. I can only see two rows of trees ahead of me. Yesterday I could see three. Normally, I can see clear to the other side of the Gorge. Yesterday the sky was full of smoke but with a much paler grey tone of grey, so that I could almost fool myself into thinking that the weather was overcast.

* : This was written in the first week of class, but I decided to leave it there because it already seems like a time capsule. As of the time of posting, the dominant colour of my favourite walk along the Gorge is green and blazing orangey-red. It’s been fall-ish for a while, but finally the maple leaves have started to pile up on the ground. It’s fascinating to think that only two weeks ago I was wearing shorts and we were under siege from a sickly pall of smoke.

What things surrounding me give me power, or do I consider powerful?
Sitting at my desk I am surrounded by my collection of pens, into which I sank a minor fortune before the start of the school year. Pens are one of my favourite things to collect, because for only a few dollars you can buy an object that’s both a practical tool and a beautifully designed miniature work of art. Some of them I’ve bought in a variety of different colours, such Marvy’s Le Pen and the Pilot V5 hi-techpoint. They make me feel motivated to take out my agenda, plan my week using different colours to represent different tasks, and really get on top of my life.

What do I make of Leslie Laskey’s observation that “Free time only works if you steal it”?
It’s an astonishing insight, and I admit that since the start of school I’ve found it much more satisfying to steal away some time to read a book purely for pleasure. I do wish Leslie Laskey had gone on to think a little bit harder about the implications of what he’d just said. It’s frankly very sad that we feel like we’re being “useless” if we’re not devoting ourselves to a project that hoovers up most of our time. I’ve heard it said that because capitalism seeks to maximize the profitability of labour time, and because we are moulded by a society built by capitalism, we are socialized to feel guilty when we are not working long hours and when we are not being maximally efficient with our time. Difficult to be like Harry McClintock in 1928 and sing “Hallelujah, I’m a bum!”

What else did I take away from Leslie Laskey?
The main takeaways I have from the documentary are a) how important it is to pay attention and notice what is around you, b) to use absolutely anything as a springboard for art, c) not to overthink your creations, and, relatedly, d) to strive for a spontaneous and fun relationship with art.