A.OK

Alessandra finds inspiration in what she see. Walking around the block, she will notice the color of the leaves, or a kid whizzing by on their blue scooter in a hat with cat ears. All of the interactions and gestures between friends and neighbors spark ideas of connection and creation for her. But when the world suddenly shut down, seemingly overnight, and her daily visual cues disappeared, she was struggling to do even the simplest drawings. 

Like many others, difficult feelings showed up, and without motivation to make artwork, she was left empty. It was then that she began to wonder—visual sense could be such an important tool for creativity, perhaps some of the other senses could offer something similar, or something else. So she started to play around with smell and touch. She began using essential oils as tools for inspiring, but also grounding myself. One smell of jasmine would quickly shift a mood, or a hint of lavender might make her shoulders soften a little. She was so surprised by these uplifting feelings brought on by smell & touch that she turned it into a practice, maybe even a way of giving herself a hug. “You’re A.OK” became my mantra."