I created this triptych of 8”X10” works in April, 2020, during the early, shocking weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was an absolutely glorious spring on Whidbey Island and I was struck by the dissonance between the darkness and fear of the disease and the beauty of the natural world surging back to life. You’ll see the repetition of some key elements across the three pieces: the vintage yellow buttons with black X’s are used to represent the virus; the metal circles represent different aspects of being isolated or confined; and the plastic grass, burlap, sky-blue tissue paper and vintage paper flowers bring the element of the rural spring which carried on despite the virus.

From left to right, the three pieces are:

1. Home/Fortress. This piece explores the experience of quarantine, particularly the sense of being captive inside your home, while the virus hovers in a cloud outside. The house is flying colorful tibetan prayer flags, trying to stay positive, but the eyes peering out are nervous. Only the cat is able to freely venture out, but the masked bunny is giving him that judgemental look that so many of us have become familiar with, the “put on a mask you idiot” side eye.

2. Covid ICU. This piece represents the place no one wants to go, the ICU. I surrounded the poor bird in ICU isolation with a circle of offerings, from vintage black buttons to flowers and shells. The ICU piece is at the center of the three because it is, I think, the imagined space of our deepest fears for ourselves and our loved ones - the experience that everything else is designed to avoid and the object of so many thoughts and prayers.

3. We Spent that Spring on Zoom. This more light-hearted piece contrasts the sweetness of the local spring lambs with the experience that so many of us have had of gathering with colleagues and loved ones on Zoom - a space in which we can connect, but only from within our separate bubbles. The poor sheep, instead of being together in their field, are isolated within their little personal spaces. Only the one masked sheep is able to walk free.