“Quarantine, Just What I Needed”
By Jennifer Kleven
Like many, I started quarantining in the middle of March, during a very busy time at work and home. Spring is a fantastic season to prepare for the languid days of summer spent in the air-conditioned oasis of home. We had moved into a new place the previous autumn, and we had planned to renovate areas and do a little DIYing because we like to get our hands dirty (a.k.a. I can use a paint roller, I guess). Many plans were surfacing. Vacations had been scheduled. Work was going to be done. My many 2020 calendars had been filled.
Nope. Stop. Slow down. Sit.
Abruptly, my life changed. The speed at which I was catapulting myself forward threw me into a COVID-19 wall. The wall said, “You’re not going anywhere and you’re not doing anything.” I had to regroup but my brain had to go through turmoil first. As an avid planner, this did not serve me well.
Week one, WFH: This is great. I can cook all my meals and be safe in my house. I can communicate with my coworkers and get stuff done in my office/studio. I don’t have to wear makeup. I love this!
Week two, WFH: Crying to my husband “When can I go back to the office? Are things ever going to be the same? I just want it to go back to normal.”
It was not going great.
However, in the weeks to come, I learned that all my excessive planning and “strategic goal setting” would not be allowed in this era. I would need to fuel that desire for structure in a new way. I would allow myself to slow down, turn off the news, and take a deep look at the things I’d lost in my attempt to schedule my life.
I love photography. I love the deceptiveness and the authenticity, the duality of the medium. For years I’d taken thousands of photos with my iPhone of streetside vignettes that captured light and subject in a way that hinted at who I am. I set a goal to review my most current images and post one image a day for two months, March 16 - May 17, 2020. In that time, I was able to review happy and sad times, the mundane, my cats, the ceramic work I’d created, the trips I took, my friends and family (I miss you!). I was able to review myself and who I’ve become over the years. I began to understand the concept of mindfulness and staying in the moment rather than thinking of the future and how to get there.
I compiled these photographs in The Serendipity of Space, an ongoing series:
Those two months of WFH transformed my brain a bit and although I am back in the office, working on projects and planning for years in the future, I no longer cram my days full of tasks. I give myself time to go outside and take long, deep breaths during the workday. I try not to stress about the things I cannot control, and I attempt to live my life in a more gentle way.
The COVID-19 break reminded me that I am not the sum of my work or accomplishments, rather, I am everything, from beginning to end. However, a little planning never hurts so I’m thinking of when to start my next iteration of the Serendipity of Space.
Photos/Jennifer Kleven.
Jennifer Kleven is an arts administrator, artist, and curator. She holds a BA in Art History and BFA in Art from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work has been exhibited most recently in the Las Vegas City Hall gallery, Winchester Cultural Center gallery, and the Nevada Arts Council touring exhibit Basin and Range. From 2010-2013 she operated Kleven Contemporary, a gallery exhibiting emerging artists in downtown Las Vegas. She strives to expand access to arts and culture for communities of color and seeks innovative ways to bring the arts to new audiences. She enjoys the outdoors, gardening, ceramics, photography, her cats, and a new hot tub in her spare time.
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