Arts and Crafts Have Saved Me During This Pandemic

Vanessa K. De Luca
ZORA
Published in
2 min readJan 27, 2021

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Photo courtesy of the author

I never considered myself much of a crafts person. I mean, like everyone else, I did art projects in grade school and tried my best to color within the lines. But I never felt an overwhelming desire to create in that way.

That is until now.

Over the last year, I have found my inner artisan, and it has transformed the way I think about the arts overall.

It started with a team-building virtual event that I organized for my staff. We all took a watercolor painting class, complete with a spectrum of hues to choose from. The act of painstakingly trying to paint flower petals, leaves, and tiny berries — something that probably would have driven me batty before the pandemic because I lacked the patience — was actually incredibly soothing.

So I didn’t stop there. I found myself needing another art fix.

First, I reacquainted myself with vision boards — you know, those collages you can create from cutouts of words, pictures, and letters that inspire you. Take a look at my latest creations — it reminds me of what I most want out of life at the moment and keeps me centered in the most satisfying way.

Most recently, I’ve picked up my colored pencils and started coloring again, only this time in books geared toward adults. The pages are filled…

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Vanessa K. De Luca
ZORA

Editor-in-chief of @zoramag @medium. Wife, mom, daughter, friend, community servant. Twitter and IG: @Vanessa_KDeLuca