20/20: Through the lens of an artist, mother, and art educator

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent shut-down resulted in my two daughters, ages 16 and 20, being confined with me at home attempting to navigate online learning, social distancing and protecting the older members of our close-knit family. At the time, I was a full-time student studying art education and almost enjoyed distance learning, but neither of my girls made the adjustment well. As time went on and I watched them become more and more depressed, unmotivated, and borderline hopeless, I not only became depressed myself, but angry because of the time and experiences that we all lost because of this virus.

My studio became my space for healing and my art initially focused on my mental health and that of my daughters but grew into concern and empathy for all the children that I hope to encounter as a teacher. The conditions that teachers and students struggled through in 2020 is unprecedented and there is little information about the long-term effects on our kids. Most of the information in the media reminds us that children are resilient, but I’m not sure that resilience is enough. The goal of my art is to shine an empathetic light on all of our children so that we can add our strength to their resilience and grow some mentally healthy adults.