The result includes gentle affirmations like “Little by little, become yourself,” straight-up guidance “Take the vaccine. Do not mistake politics for science” and low-stakes suggestions, “Write a fan letter to your favorite restaurant” which Bateman spent a year or so coaxing out in a zen-like process that could be described as a creative abdication of control.
“I would get the lighting in my studio right, turn on music, smoke some weed, allow myself to let my guard down by lulling myself into a place where I could let my subconscious speak,” she says. “I would show up at the desk with this blank stack of paper and have no idea what was going to come out at any given time.”
The LA resident is somewhat of a quarantine pro, having spent the majority of her career freelancing remotely (she even wrote a Daily Shouts, Working From Home: Orientation Day, to serve as a tongue-in-cheek guide for newbies). I called up Bateman to hear all the ways she’s coping, from having an art practice that serves as ”an island of safety where I can go and sort things out when I feel anxious or absolutely terrified,” a flip phone for the occasional social media sanity break and Felicity the show when she wants to feel pure joy.
