Elizabeth Melton 1. I absolutely love history and spend a lot of free time researching and immersing myself in history. As the world ascended into this chaos, I turned to history to learn to cope with this. I had one big question on my mind as crowds became scarce and masks became a norm: has modern day society ever dealt with something like this before? And turns out, we have. The 1918 Spanish Influenza. Masks became their norm as the virus spread throughout the world, and seeing humanity continue to thrive after that disaster gave me hope that one day everything will return back to normal just like it did to them. If these men can fight in a war wearing gas masks only to come home to wear face masks and survive, then so can we. 2. This allowed me to express how connected I have felt with history. Before this, I knew of the Spanish Flu but never immersed myself in it, I looked at it through numbers and statistics, not lives, as do so many other people. So many people facing one problem of war with another of disease, it must have been overwhelming, and going through this pandemic helped me understand and sympathize a little more than I did. Although I am lucky to still have all the people around me healthy, not everyone is. I was terrified, and I still am. My dad recently won his battle with cancer, so his immune system is almost obsolete. I as well as the rest of my family fear of catching the virus when we get groceries or prescriptions and passing it to him. I know at least one person back in 1918 felt the same way as I do, and knowing I’m not alone with my feelings, in both 1918 and 2020, makes me feel a little bit better.
Coral Hatch 1. I made this art to represent myself through this pandemic because I found myself having to “water my own garden”. I was no longer receiving validation from school or dance or anywhere else, so I almost felt useless. Also, during quarantine I painted one of my walls with chalkboard paint and drew a similar flower pattern on my wall.
2. Making this allowed me to express a lot of pent up feelings I’ve been almost unknowingly holding in all of quarantine.
Aurora Hutchens 1. I choose this art to represent myself during the pandemic because it showcases my frustration of loosing my motivation and inspiration to do things i enjoy. It made things harder to enjoy and felt like i wasted a lot of my time not doing anything during the pandemic.
2. Making this art piece of me allowed me to express all my frustration throughout the pandemic.
Emma James I chose this art to represent myself during the pandemic because, i think many people’s mental health was affected in many ways and many people had to adapt to a different living style. This allowed me to express how i felt during both times during the pandemic and before the pandemic.
Kaia Long I choose this art piece of art to represent me during the pandemic because the fish cant go outside the bubble like how i couldn't go out side my house at one point. The trash in the water represents the virus. This allowed me to express how i felt like i couldn't go anywhere or do anything out side of my home kinda like i was trapped.
Alex Hollingsworth I chose this as art to represent myself during a pandemic because while stuck at home I didn't have the energy to do anything, half the time I didn't even have the energy to watch TV. The clouds in this piece block out the sun preventing the flower from creating energy, much like how the pandemic prevented me from getting out of bed and doing things.
This allowed me to express how difficult it is for me to get things done when I don't have any real reason for getting out of bed.
Sara Jilcott I was going to make another piece of art but decided to use this picture of a butterfly I took a few weeks ago instead. This butterfly represents the change that not only I, myself has experienced and gone through during this time but also what the whole world has gone through. I love butterflies and in the past few months I have seen so many flying around. Butterflies represent transformation and the changes that one can experience. I think we can all take something away from this picture, even though it is simply a picture. This picture allowed me to express the change I've experienced personally. At the beginning of the pandemic, I went through a really tough time mentally. Since then, I've been able to move out of that toxic mindset and into more a positive one. Through family and friends, I have been able to be become happier and content with my life at the moment, despite living in a pandemic. Butterflies are beautiful and they make me feel happy which is what I feel in this very moment. I hope at least one person can take something away from this, whether through this picture or through my words. Much love. x
Frida Escobar Well to me it represents being in quarantine and not being able to go anywhere and just feels like your trapped in one place not able to get out it was really frustrating and boring
Kryslyn Rivera so in these pictures its my baby brother he is 3 months old his name is kai michael rivera born may 5 2020 the reason i decided to choose him to represent hows its been during this pandemic is because he was born during all of this is gonna be a short story of it all me my mom and my oldest sister were all talking about when we think her water would break and playing around about it then my mom said she felt like she needed to use the bathroom as soon as she got up there her water broke we were all surprised cause we were just talking about it then it was the rush to get everything together for the hospital we were all freaking out running to put stuff in the car my mom water was everywhere it was bad they got everything and went off to the hospital what really sucked was only her and my dad could just go cause of corona so me and my sisters had to sit home and just wait my dad facetimed us to update us on everything everything was good but the reason i did choose this was because i was at home and i have watch this little man just grow up i have never had the best chance to really do that with my other younger brothers but during this pandemic i have spent so much time with kai and it was a good time for me i have watched him grow to where now he can roll over on his own and try to talk he smiles and laughs i have a good connection with him everytime im with him he is always happy he has the cutest smile in the last picture it is my youngest brother alek and him holding kai i took that picture and the first one with him sleeping in my arms what this allowed me to express is love and affection and just happiness over all cause how much time i really got to spend with my brother and my big family
Chloe Long I chose this piece of art to represent me during the pandemic because all the things I drew represented some of the things I done to get through the pandemic, and what other people had to do as well. The little virus thing I drew represents Covid. The mask represents how everyone had to wear a mask when leaving your house. The hand sanitizer represents all the rules we have to follow to not spread the pandemic. The two signs represent protest, sense there were a lot of those, which were for the BLM. I drew the volleyball because it's something I done a lot of, and the cross represents me staying close to god in these uncertain times. The sun represents when Covid started getting worse which was in summer. That caused mine and others peoples summer plans to go away. Lastly the saying be happy in the sun represents what I think people needed to be more of, because I personally have not be so postive. All the things I drew allowed me to express what I done to get through and some of the rules placed.
Macy Pierce I chose This to represent my life throughout the pandemic because whether I was at home or at the store or even at the beach, I was aware that there was still a pandemic. You still have to be safe and keep your distance from people. This allowed me to express that even in areas they’re calm and relaxing you should still be cautious. Also, you should clean up after yourself. Pandemic or not, we have to respect and take care of our beaches.
Emilie Bowman I chose this art to represent myself during the pandemic because I feel that it shows not only are we going through a pandemic but everywhere you look there is something else happening. This art allowed me to express how during COVID -19 there are many different things taking place including the black lives matter movement, and how the world is slowly getting weaker. (I also did two art pieces because I made one but then i didn't like it so i made a different one so I just turned in both.)
Justin Mussen chose this art to represent myself during the pandemic because i wanted to show the chaos of the world in a natural scene.
Making this allowed me to express how the walls of my house keep me blocked from the chaos from the outside world
Vyctoria Ball I chose to make this peice because i wanted to express how trapped I feel in my emotions and how much I hold back from everyone else. This Pandemic has made me realize how suffocated in my emotions I really am. It has made me feel this way because usually I am always busy and never have time to myself to sit down and relax and process my feelings or thoughts. I am still trying to be positive and as kind as I can be, but sometimes it's really hard because of all the stress that gets put on me to deal with. So to express how much I hold back I drew a book with me holding a key to it and all the differnt colors around me represent my emotions. They are blurred and sort of mixed together because when I hold back I dont know how I feel. I drew myself as abstract because I have no clarity on how I feel or how to act.
Zoe Myers This piece of art represents the changes that not only myself but society as a whole is going through. I chose to make an abstract piece to convey that we are all, in a sense, becoming new people. The pandemic, along with people all over the world fighting for justice and standing up in the name of those who are oppressed has allowed us all to have a new beginning. The sun rising in the background of this composition represents just that - a new "day" has started. The creation of this artwork has allowed me to express my feeling of hope toward the future now that change is on the rise.
Andrew Flores Acrylic on canvas panel
“Why did you choose this as art to represent yourself during a pandemic?” - I chose this art piece to represent myself because the colors around the eye are in varying bright shades, instead of regular skin tone, because this is a time of chaos in the world around me and not “regular”, and I believe the flurry of colors represent that.
“What did making this allow you to express?” - Making this allowed me to express that among all the uncertainty and chaos, I have hope in my eyes, which is why the eye doesn’t particularly look sad. It is calm. You could think of the eye as the eye of a hurricane, where it is calm, while there is a storm around it: the colors.
Emma Taber Living through this pandemic hasn't affected me much, fortunately. I spend a lot of time on the computer anyways doing digital art, socializing, or entertaining myself with videos and games. I chose this art to represent myself during the pandemic because I like to be optimistic in situations that aren't so much. This artwork allowed me to express that behind the red curtain of the play; the pandemic, behind there, are some happy memories even if it doesn't seem so. Behind the red curtain, I believe there's a rainbow of happiness and content!
Misa Clubb Why did you choose this as art to represent yourself during a pandemic?
- I chose to take this picture instead of drawing something or painting something because I feel like it accurately sums up what my everyday life was like during the quarantine. All of the clutter and overwhelming thoughts, but also the environment that I was working and living in.
What did making this allow you to express?
- This allowed me to express what was going on inside my head during the pandemic but also the reality of my surroundings in everyday life. It also allowed me to show how much I was just emotionally drained from all that was going on.
Stephen Craven I choose this art because I am an African American. This allows me to express how angry I am that it takes this much for a change to happen.
Logan Sams Why did you choose this as art to represent yourself during a pandemic?
i choose to draw because i thought it would represent my frustration the best.
What did making this allow you to express?
I chose this because going into high school there is more work and more hours to study and its all just a cluster building up in my head. I also put two of my favorite things to do in the art because they both got canceled do to the virus.
Cecil Hairston I was sad I could not leave the house as much and sad I couldn't see my friends or run cross country or go to the beach.
Allie Payne here is a photo of my younger cousin Ava having her mask below her chin because she hates wearing masks as much as i do and wishes the pandemic could be over. she says "i hate the way it makes me breathe and it tickles my nose it's so annoying".
Willow Brown I drew my main oc, Fuwa, who is a character that keeps me calm when drawing them. They are one of my oldest ocs that I´ve stuck with (Since 2017) and I grew close with.
Quarantine has made my mental health downfall, so art is the only way I can feel happy. So I´ve been drawing in quarantine and summer break so I can avoid harming myself like I did in the past.
Tools of Trade:
- Paint tool sai v.1
- Ibispaint X (for lineart)
(BRUSHES)
- Default PTS pen tool
- Hard airbrush
- Grain brush