This piece represents my experience during the pandemic and quarantine caused by Covid-19 – Entry for “Out the Window” Artist Challenge for Whatcom Art Guild
Unlike the vast majority of people, I was not affected by being sequestered in my home. I work in health care, and while not working in the hospital on the “front lines”, my position was deemed essential.
Shattered: There were still people who needed care beyond the realm of a covid-19 infection. There were still people who were receiving shattering news. Young ladies finding out they had breast cancer and brain tumors. Old people with metastasized cancer that had entered their bones. Men discovering the heartbreak of prostate cancer. To them finding out they had covid instead would have been a blessing, or the least of their worries.
Bright Spot: I was in my normal routine as far as my work, earning a full pay check until we slowed down immensely. Then my paycheck was covered and we were able to manage as normal in my household. I was able to care for people who were so very grateful for my service. We had so much time to spend with patients and there was no complaining about wait times, difficulty of the exam, or challenges with getting scheduled.
Shattered: We had just returned from a week in Palm Springs when the shut downs happened and planned to return again the following month. Those plans had to be canceled and we moved them out to next week. They may be shattered again. This has been a difficult winter/spring/early summer for my husband who suffers with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Finding sunshine is one of his deepest needs.
Bright Spot: My family isn’t very sociable so we did not suffer through the loss of social interaction. My son, who lives with us, was at a healthy time mentally after three years of struggling. He has handled this time with strength. He started walking more, riding his bicycle for the first time in years. Stayed in touch with friends on Zoom and daily texting, though they missed their brotherly trips to the comedy clubs, dinner out, and just hanging out. My newly retired husband was already settling into a home-based routine. I offered him projects to work on for my art – framing, building crates, and other “honey-do’s”. He tried that and embraced the process, buying new saws and creating a workspace in the garage.
Shattered: My drop in studio classes had just started in January and I had been building up a good following. Art Walk was the highlight of the month for the studio where people could come and see my latest projects and hear about the workshops and opportunity to create with me. Suddenly those classes were shut down and art walks were cancelled.
Bright Spot: I would go to my studio every day after abbreviated schedules at my job. The first trip downtown was so interesting. There was no one, and I mean no one, anywhere to be seen in downtown Bellingham. It was a literal ghost town. I had the entire building to myself and it was so peaceful. I cleaned, reorganized, and settled in for months of solo projects. I was inspired to try creating more and making self-care products. I spent countless hours making collages, whipping up lotions, and pouring candles. I sold some equipment that I didn’t find joyful. I got a printer and started making greeting cards. I worked on my Etsy Shop. It has been an introverts dream. Big shiny bright spot. I added face masks to my Etsy store and my sales have been really good.
I saw a load of tempered glass for sale online and went to pick up 65 pieces of it for whatever may come to mind. I had a vision of shattering some of it to use in upcoming projects. Have you ever tried to shatter tempered glass? I brought a few pieces into the studio. Wrapped one in canvas and tried with all my might to hammer it to pieces. Nothing. A few days later I went to get something out of my trunk where the pile was sitting. Lo and behold… one had shattered all on its own! My dream come true. I just had to figure out how to get it out of the trunk without causing a ruckus. I had been trying different products like polyacrylics, acrylic pour, and polyurethane to create art pieces with the glass and pressed flowers. So I slid the broken pieces onto another full sheet of glass and poured polyurethane over it to create this fractured piece, leaving a space for a pressed yellow gerbera daisy to create the bright spot. It became the piece for the artist challenge for our local art guild. We were to come up with something that represented what we have seen “Out The Window” during the time of being quarantined.
So many people never left their home even once for weeks on end. I cannot imagine how shattered your life has been. The pandemic of fear of the virus for many has been far worse than the virus itself even. Living in fear shatters hope, dreams, aspirations, and ideas. Some were paralyzed by this fear and a new layer of mental health issues have been poured out on a portion of people who were already teetering on the edges.
No matter what you’ve seen or experienced in any part of life, always look for the bright spot. There are lives shattering around us. Be the bright spot. Even when those clouds fill our skies and the rains pour endlessly gray, it always ends with a bright spot. When mental health fails us and we are pressed until we shatter from the loss, grief, overwhelming pressures we must find the bright spot. Whether it is in a baby’s laugh, a psalm, a song, a wish or a touch, God always provides a bright spot. Sometimes we have to look hard, dig deep, hold on tight, or ask for help finding it. But it is always there.
