Visual Journal | Sheltering

The COVID-19 sheltering “quarantine” in Rome forced me and my husband to move our work into our home, with our son, whose school is closed. We’ve remained in good health and mostly serene – through a combination of both having a light routine and letting go of having a “normal life”. Immediately following the decree to shelter in place, I created two artistic experiences online – one for children that I lead with my son Ludovico, and one for adults: Art Breaks and Inner {Art} Shifts. These two weekly appointments keep me focused on service and creativity.

Since Ludovico’s school work was greatly reduced – almost to nothing at all, Mauro and I decided to pass on some of our knowledge. For Mauro, that is photography and history. They also made a nightly ritual of watching films together, series on different themes.

I brought Ludovico into my design studio, and showed him how to set up an event (our workshop), design a webpage for it, and finally, promote it with others. I encouraged him to help me lead it, as his Italian is so much better than mine. We also did some cooking together, and we always read and share stories.

Another sanity-saving activity was my daily solo walk. Having never truly explored my neighborhood, Prati delle Vittorie – habitually heading to the Centro Storico – I set out to “get lost” each day. I was amazed at what I discovered within 30 minutes of my house. I documented all of this in a photo diary of my days in sheltering. There have been many silver linings, and out of this I know I’ll be embracing my regular life with deeper gratitude.