One of the things that recent Covid restrictions have exposed is that many people have become (or already were) isolated from others, for various reasons, or anxious about getting back out and doing things.
One way that Lifeline Church responded to the need to connect was by inviting me to run a drawing group in a park for the local community. We called this 'Drawing Together' and that's just what we did. We (a group of ladies) met once a week with our sketchbooks in the beautiful herb gardens of a local park in Dagenham. Every week we would chat, catch up. I would do a short teaching and we would all draw together. We carefully observed what we could see with a fresh appreciation of being together, talking and laughing, breathing the fresh air and remarking on the beauty all around us as we drew. It was a lovely chilled time, usually followed by a coffee in the cafe. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other and produced some drawings we were proud of! And we kept in touch during the week, sharing our work and encouraging one another.
I personally find that creativity can be life giving especially in challenging times. I find that when I am drawing the time passes and I am able to switch off from overthinking.
I currently run 'Learn to Draw' - an online drawing course which I taught on Zoom throughout Lockdown. 'Learn to Draw' is fantastic way to learn a new skill, relax, meet new people (from all over the world) and to appreciate beauty through observational drawing. If you are 'stuck at home' observational drawing can also help you to discover beauty in the most seemingly mundane everyday things.