黑洞社区

May 14, 2020

Angela Rangel graduated from Wichita State in 2019 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art (emphasis in ceramics). During her 黑洞社区 career, Angela served as the president of the Ceramics Guild and worked at the Ulrich Museum of Art.

I recently started working again and moved into a studio through , which has been a nice change of pace. I also have received some really exciting news: I accepted an offer to begin a post-baccalaureate program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. If all goes well, I will be moving there at the beginning of August to continue my formal education in ceramics. So fingers crossed, good vibes and positive thoughts that that will happen because similar to many other future plans, it is currently conditional based on the current health crisis.

For a few months, I have been working at ; however, at the beginning of the stay-at-home order, our facility closed. Previous to the closure, I was teaching youth classes and working part time as an administrative assistant. It has been wonderful to work again especially since I need to be saving for a very big move across the continent.

While we are preparing to open, I am doing more administrative work. I have been helping with some new ideas and projects and have had the pleasure of bringing in new artists to our Art Shoppe. I鈥檝e never been given this kind of creative freedom at a job before and I am so grateful for it. It鈥檚 really amazing to work there with my coworkers who just so happen to all be strong and inspiring women.

In quarantine, I didn鈥檛 put a lot of pressure on myself to produce a lot of artwork, but I have dabbled in embroidery, book binding, and repairing clothing. I have a hard time being productive in my artwork when my mind is so distracted. I haven鈥檛 had access to a space where I can utilize clay; however, that is changing with OpenStudios. My summer studio is on Commerce Street, in Finn Lofts.. As things are open now, I am making pottery and jewelry for a sale to help me fund my big move to Alaska.

At the beginning of quarantine, I had no routine. I was playing a lot of video games and staying up way too late. I absolutely was not okay and not taking care of myself. Obviously, life was super depressing as we all adjusted to a new normal. Or whatever you want to call it, it sucks. I let myself do whatever for a few weeks and then I was like, 鈥淭hat's enough. Develop a routine or you鈥檙e going to lose your mind.鈥�

So I changed my sleeping schedule to meet my friend at a park to work out in the mornings, socially distanced, of course. It was really nice to hear the birds and go get some sunshine first thing in the morning. But then I badly sprained my ankle, which was hard to get through mentally because I was really enjoying the routine I had finally developed. It's not 100%, but it鈥檚 definitely better, and hopefully I can get back into exercising soon. And now that I am working again, I have some sense of normalcy back, so that has been beneficial.

I have been eating nutritious foods. Not the whole quarantine, because I have definitely indulged. I鈥檝e had a lot of sweets, but a lot of healthy food as well. 鈥淏alance,鈥� as all the memes say. I was really active when I was able to be but I am also not pushing myself too far, which I consider a form of self-care.

I don鈥檛 know if everyone would consider video games a form of self-care, but I think they have helped me detach from how worried I feel about the world right now. Sometimes I feel okay and sometimes I don鈥檛 and that鈥檚 okay, everyone is dealing with this in the best way they can. My concerns can be put on pause for however long while I play. The gamer in me has undeniably come out during quarantine. I've mostly been playing The Sims and if you鈥檝e ever played then you know that you can create your own little world however you鈥檇 like it to be. And most recently, I started playing Runescape which is so nostalgic and I love it. It's an open world and online so I鈥檝e been able to hang out with friends, near and far, virtually. These breaks from reality have become necessary as the world feels so heavy right now.

Something this pandemic has taught me is that I am pretty content with simple things; slowly waking up, making breakfast, going for a walk, long skincare routines, dabbling in crafts, just really taking my time and not being in a rush. However, some of what I really miss are long hugs, singing karaoke in my friends' living room, touching everything in the grocery store 鈥� nothing extravagant. I miss being able to see my friends and family without having the fear of unintentionally hurting someone. I am definitely looking forward to holding my loved ones in my arms and them holding me back. The collective sigh of relief that we got through these tough times.

I didn't have a problem with doing my part to 鈥渇latten the curve鈥� because one of my biggest fears in all of this is that I become infected without knowing it and potentially hurt someone else. I do not have a problem limiting my social interaction to prevent that. I do not have a problem wearing a mask to prevent that. Just because it has been said that 鈥淲e are all in this together,鈥� everyone鈥檚 situation looks different, some will struggle more than others and I think of that often. My heart feels heavy for those disproportionately affected. It鈥檚 deeply disappointing that our government and many in our society are so nonchalant about the current climate of the country we all live in.

We have all had to confront our mortality head on whether we ever wanted to or not, and I don鈥檛 want to have any regrets. I鈥檝e spent too much time second guessing myself and sometimes not even realizing it. Life is way too short for all that. Be confident, don鈥檛 stay in unhealthy situations, get that tattoo, eat that dessert, say yes when you feel like it and absolutely say no when you feel like it. Do the thing you鈥檝e always wanted to but don鈥檛 think you鈥檙e ready for! Everything always works out, no matter how dark it may seem. You got this.

Pandemic Portraits is a collaboration between the Wichita State ShiftSpace Student Group and the School of Art, Design and Creative Industries. Originally intended to document how members of the Wichita State art and design community are coping and creating during a global pandemic, the project has expanded to reflect on more than one ongoing crisis.

The structure of Pandemic Portraits is inspired by the exhibition and book by photographer Jess T. Dugan and social worker Vanessa Fabbre.