The pandemic means spending a lot of time with yourself. I no longer have casual interactions when I go shopping, or work in a shared print space, or attend events with my granddaughter. Sure I talk to other caregivers at the park with my granddaughter, we see our kids for masked socially distant gatherings every week, and we even sometimes have a socially distant masked gathering with our neighbors . Thursdays this summer I have been out at Lindentree with my fellow Farm-Peeps. But unlike past years we do not hang out afterwards and share lunch together. We often work far apart and there is less socializing. None of these are the same as meeting a friend for coffee/tea or visiting another artist’s studio and working together for an afternoon.
This week was about the self portrait. Given that I care for our granddaughter it was only natural she should find her way into one of the drawings. She loves making marks with Charcoal. Especially because she can take her hand and wipe the marks away and then finger paint with the charcoal. She was so excited to draw a dark line while sitting on my lap. It let me actually complete the drawing. She did wipe out her face once she noticed the drawing was of herself. A new form of peek-a-boo, which she thought was very funny. I was able to add the eyes back in.
