Distanced

Distanced

12x16 oil on panel

Coronavirus series

What is it like to be young and have no playmates, no time at a park or school? Though social distancing is hard for everyone, children especially suffer and are affected both psychologically and developmentally by the isolation.

Routines, social interactions and friendships are some of the most important factors of a child’s psychological development. Much of early learning comes from watching, listening and mimicking others. Similarly, the development of co-ordination and physical skill takes trial, error and practice. In quarantine social and physical activity is in large part being replaced with more passive screen time. Psychological, social and physical mastery and confidence are not being built while kids are watching life rather than participating in it.

How will today’s change in the traditional childhood forms of stimulation, challenge and social contact effect the overall development of this generation? Running, climbing, singing, swinging and goofing around with other kids isn’t just fun, it’s important!

 

Gratitude

Gratitude

12x16 oil on panel

coronavirus series

We tend to focus on things that worry us or need changing. By giving attention to problems we can decide how best to make improvements. However sometimes this drive to root out problems makes us less aware of what is good or even great in our lives and in the world.

In the midst of the fearful rollercoaster ride that the pandemic has forced the whole world on we have seen kindness, selflessness and caring on levels that bring me to tears.  When quarantine orders drove most people home, there were legions of “essential workers” who ensured that we had the care, supplies and services we needed. Healthcare professionals, grocery, retail and food service workers, janitors and maids, transportation workers, gas station attendants and mechanics, postal employees, delivery drivers, grocery store employees and countless more put themselves at risk by interacting with large numbers of people daily. Essential workers, often not granted the privilege to isolate, made social distancing possible for the majority.

Expressions of gratitude bubbled up around the globe. Red Cross volunteers picked thousands of flowers to give to healthcare workers in Italy, The US Air Force Thunderbirds conducted flyovers in many US cities, the statue of Christ the Redeemer who overlooks Rio de Janeiro was illuminated with a stethoscope draped around his neck, and the Eiffel Tower bore “MERCI” in lights while Michelin starred chefs made meals for employees of Parisian hospitals. 

Between 6:00 and 7:00 PM, the most common period for a change of shifts, New York City rang with applause as people opened their windows, stepped onto balconies or fire escapes and clapped, banged pots and pans and chanted their thanks. People in Italy, India and Spain offered similar tributes.

Unable to directly thank all those willing to sacrifice their own safety and well being in this global crisis, people found other ways to express themselves. Home made signs appeared in windows and on lawns, chalk spelled out thanks on sidewalks, and chain link fences became galleries of grateful messages.  Throughout the country and around the world groups of people stood on random corners or in parks and simply held a message of appreciation and gratitude over their head.

Yup, I’m crying again. 

The Staff of Life

The Staff of Life

12x16 oil on panel

A few weeks into quarantine when the days had begun to feel indistinguishable people began to bake. Social media began to look like the window of a giant bakery - full of muffins, scones, banana bread and lots of sourdough. 

The baking section of markets emptied just after the paper goods aisle emptied of toilet tissue. Those packets of yeast that sat undisturbed on the top shelf since your grandmother’s time became a hot commodity. Flour mills couldn’t keep up with the demand. 

Yes, everyone was trapped at home and had nothing but time on their hands, and yes, every trip out the door was viewed as a health risk, but really, what was going on?

Social scientists say that baking offers comfort and is nurturing of others. The sudden passion for kneading grew out of a survival instinct not only to feed but to control. We were realizing that our entire world could be tipped over by a tiny virus and that we weren’t the masters of all we see after all. But if we kept our dough warm and timed the rise, punched it down and let it rise again we could create an ancient food considered essential.

Home cooking had become a bit of a rarity in the last decade as markets sold more prepared food and dinner could easily be delivered. We spent lots of time and money enjoying more and more elaborate food while eating out. When all restaurants closed what we could produce in our kitchens was all there was. The impulse to do it well, and go deeper than ever before is so sweet. I mean if you can create the staff of life in your own kitchen, isn’t that the perfect way to push back a pandemic?

You’ve just got to love the resilient nature of the human spirit! 

Assault Rifles in the Capitol

                                                    Assault Rifles in the Capitol

In late April governor Gretchen Whitmer requested that Michigan’s lawmakers consider extending the stay at home orders. A crowd of protesters soon gathered at the state capitol brandishing swastikas, confederate flags, nooses and some came bearing arms. Automatic rifles to be exact.

It is legal to openly carry firearms in Michigan and they were allowed to enter the capitol building. When they were bared from entering the chamber where the debate was taking place, they transformed the elegant rotunda of the Senate visitors gallery into a snipers nest.

Furious about the governor’s proactive attempt to shelter the citizens of her state from the most fierce virus to move through humanity in a century, this group saw fit to threaten elected officials with assault rifles and hand guns. 

This painting was very hard to complete because the image upsets me so deeply.

Portrait of a Virus

 

Portrait of a Virus

8x10, oil on panel

coronavirus series

How often has everyone known what a specific virus looks like? 

Closed in our homes and staying abreast of the rapidly changing story of the pandemic, we became well acquainted with the model of the virus that was upending our lives. 

Keep Out

 

Keep Out

16x12 oil on panel

Parks were reopened with the realization that fresh air and exercise are fundamental to good physical and mental health, but playgrounds or “tot lots” have remained closed. Who needs sunshine, fresh air and movement more than our kids? Towns, cities and states have rightly agreed that kids under 6 don’t keep masks on and have no concept of social distancing.  Children touch their face often and surface transmission is a concern on playgrounds where it is difficult to clean and disinfect all surfaces. 

Playgrounds are often crowded with not only children, but their parents, grandparents and caretakers too. With schools and daycare facilities closed playgrounds could become more crowded than ever. But what do parents do parents do to fill all the hours, keep kids stimulated and burn off some of that youthful energy that simply needs to be released? 

The vision of closed play areas reminds me of all the limitations we currently face that lead to quiet losses. Through enjoying ourselves in the company of one another we feel whole, we grow, we feel joy. Without that experience what happens, especially to young children? Not only are they being kept from the simple pleasure of one another, they are not challenging themselves to climb higher, slide faster or learning how to get yourself as close to the sky as possible on a swing. 

What could be more sad that a fenced off playground?  

18 Wheeled Morgues

 

18 Wheeled Morgues

18x12 oil on Panel

The death rate in New York City overwhelmed its system for burying the dead. Someone in 

the city died every 2 minutes, four times the normal death rate. Hospital morgues, funeral homes and cemeteries overflowed and backed up. Hospitals ran out of body bags, military teams were called in to assist in mortuary work, and funeral homes were working around 

the clock. One funeral director said “the death rate is so high, there’s no way we can 

bury or cremate them fast enough.”

Refrigerated trucks were parked behind hospitals to serve as makeshift mobile morgues. Stacked on quickly built shelves, each truck could hold 36 bodies and store them until 

funeral homes could accommodate them. After dying without family or friends, the favorite aunt, the checker at the market, the teacher who had inspired kids year after year, 

the beloved spouse were stored in body bags in 18 wheelers.