Pandemic

“I want to talk to everybody I can as deeply as I can.

I want to be able to sleep in an open field, to travel west, to walk freely at night…”

Silvia Plath sylviaplath_quotes

March 13, 2020

Visual is what I’m all about and writing down the bones is how I have to begin because writing is not my first language. Since I was a kid I placed my marks wherever I could. This included wood (furniture sometimes), paper,  stones, and sidewalks. You may have had the same experience. Is it art? Hell, who knows. I know whenever there has been a terror deep inside me it has been a go to place.  Make marks and they will tell you something. 

Some of us have been lucky enough to have guides to get us started in life. I had two, Ginger and Janey.  Don’t remember what they looked like. I can’t ask anyone because no one else saw them but me. This is the best part. If I didn’t like something (like soup for instance) I’d just say, “Nope can’t do, Ginger died from that.”

Where was I? I’m hitting the keys not knowing where I am on keyboard or page. It is a river of thoughts and comments. Bear with me. So, these two girls followed me til I was around 5. If I tracked them to here it would help to know what they thought of COVID-19. They would probably remain mute; not their style to comment on stuff they don’t know. But they did know darkness, they knew the signs you use to list it.

On March 12, 2020 I went down to the basement studio where I do larger art work and metalwork. I could hear the news on tv from upstairs as the corona virus was taking its toll on the population in Italy. I painted the first piece posted to instagram and thought where do I go from here.

So, by March 13 I found myself seeking asylum again in my basement trying to pour out the fear and anxiety as it was growing. Is it art? It is my replacement for medication and whatever drug of choice once did the trick in assuaging the discomfort.

On March 13, 2020 the United States coronavirus death toll 100. March 14, 2020, the United States declared a national emergency. COVID-19 is the technical term for the novel coronavirus. By March 18 the London Museum was the last museum to close its doors.

March 26, 2020

“Bin Cao, vice president and director of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, has worked on the front lines of patient care in Wuhan for the past few months. In closely monitoring the disease, he and his team are beginning to unlock some of its secrets. Cao talks to Josh Sharfstein about how the situation has changed in Wuhan, what we can learn about safeguarding providers, the primary risk factors for death, and the ongoing research that may reveal new treatment methods.“

Coronavirus began in Wuhan, China…A Doctor’s Perspective from Wuhan March 26, 2020

I started to keep a journal of COVID-19 as it spread globally. I created slideshows periodically with the data posting it to social media. Paintings were done on a range of materials from Arches paper, rice paper, canvas and masonite.

At the time of this writing there are 3,784,085 total confirmed cases of COVID-19. This includes 1,231,992 cases in the United States, 213,435 cases in Spain, and 214,457 cases in Italy. Total deaths globally are 264,679.

RIGHT NOW:

“The Texas Supreme Court ordered a salon owner released from jail after she defied virus restrictions and reopened her business.”

The C.D.C. prepared detailed guidelines for reopening. The White House rejected them, asking for revisions.

The New York Times

To learn more on the coronavirus or if you have questions visit: https://www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/questions-and-answers/coronavirus-questions-and-answers.html

Interested in learning more about writing down the bones? Click here to read the book by Natalie Goldberg.