Life and Design, before and after Covid-19

Spring of 2020 everything stopped. We sat inside and watched the world close down. We worked very hard, but at cooking, cleaning, binge-watching, reading and just being together all the time.

We couldn’t see our families or friends for such a long time. When we finally could see friends, we met in neighborhood places outside to protect everyone. Just this summer we saw our family and that was after a 2 year wait. We traveled by car and that was interesting also. First time on the road in years, wearing masks everywhere, but finally the reuniting.

I had gotten right back into advertising design everyday and kept that up for many months. It kept me creating when it was slower and brought in new work too. I am so grateful to have a home-based small business during these times. Being able to design something new each day was helpful.

Even though I mostly work on the computer, there are changes and those changes may stay for some time. It’s very rare now to have an in-person meeting; it’s all phone or Zoom talks. Getting feedback from co-workers is gone and somewhat replaced by social media. I see some artists posting various solutions to a project and asking their followers which one they like. I wouldn’t do this, I’ve never been a fan of “design by committee.”

This past week we visited MOMA and saw an exceptional exhibition: Cezanne Drawing with over 250 pieces. It was uplifting to be back inside a museum after so long. It wasn’t very crowded for a Friday. The subway wasn’t crowded either.

It definitely shows how dealing with this pandemic has affected our behavior. People who at first hated being inside, now might prefer to stay home rather than go out. It’s all about being safe.

Design, teaching art and Life Beyond

Life is returning to somewhat of a normal pace. I am still designing and teaching art (yes, in-person). Teaching during the last term and summer program had its challenges, but we got through it. Now we’re getting ready to begin again in September. Here we go.