Newsletter

Artists in the time of Coronavirus, an ongoing virtual exhibition, Part 4

In the face of COVID-19, Artblog is hosting an open call, non-juried, first come first-served online exhibition entitled "Artists in the time of Coronavirus." If you want to participate, send your statement (250 words max) and 2 photos to support@theartblog.org.

Our fourth post of the series, Artists in the Time of Coronavirus includes Deborah Moss Marris, Sara Smith, Carole Loeffler, Nan Ring, and David Ohlerking! Thank you for all who submitted! And if you want to participate, send your statement (250 words max) and 2 photos to support@theartblog.org. More details here. Stay safe and stay positive, and come back in the days to come for more “Artists in the Time of Coronavirus.” We have a wonderful community and are so proud of being able to share everyone’s art.


Deborah Moss Marris

Painting of three birds
Deborah Moss Marris,
“Three Sisters” 11″x 14″ oil,plaster,and metal leaf on canvas. Courtesy Deborah Moss Marris
painting of a flower
Deborah Moss Marris, “June” 20″ x 20″, Courtesy Deborah Moss Marris

My usual routine involves teaching Visual Art. I have students from Pre K – 8th grade at Westfield Friends’ School, and am an Adjunct Professor at Camden County College. Currently, I am creating an online version of all of it, which has not been as painful as I had thought. I have been happily working in my studio, planting seeds for the garden, and arguing with a partner who is resistant to staying home. (He who is invincible). Thank you for putting this together. Stay well.

website: deborahmossmarris.com
@deborahmossmarris on instagram


Sara Smith

Fantasy illustration of a nature scene involving a waterfall and many small homes with dragon flies and ladybugs
Illustration by Sara Smith. Courtesy Sara Smith.
Sara Smith's home studio with a desk, pencils, and drawings hanging on the walls
Sara Smith’s home studio. Courtesy Sara Smith

Life and work has just stopped for me. Not really being able to leave the house and being responsible for my son’s school work has me struggling for inspiration and time. It’s weird to walk into my studio because it’s sitting just as it was when I finished my last piece – the same day I made jokes about how these kinds of things don’t happen in the States – that we’d be fine.

I’m looking forward to when all of this breaks and we realize how wonderful “normal” really is. I miss people, I miss being in a busy street, I miss street musicians and kids running and laughing. It’s weird what we don’t appreciate until we don’t have it suddenly. It would be cool to have someone drop me a line on Instagram or Facebook, especially if they’re struggling for inspiration or just looking for another person to talk to.

Pointy Ears Illustration
Instagram: @pointyearsillustration
Website: pointyearsillustration.com


Carole Loeffler

Fabric stitched with "take care of yourself" hung on a telephone pole
Carole Loeffler, “Granny Graffiti” Courtesy Carole Loeffler
Fabric stitched with "be kind" hung on a telephone pole
Carole Loeffler, “Granny Graffiti” Courtesy Carole Loeffler

Thank you for the platform to share! I live in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and have been placing some of my “Granny Graffiti” works when I go out for walks. I started this in February 2018 and have been working on them on and off since then. Now more than ever – it seems important to spread positive messages.

My IG: @caroleloeffler
Www.caroleloeffler.com
FB page: Carole loeffler

As a side note:
I am the Chair of an Art and Design Department and have been working with faculty and students to adjust to online course delivery. I also created a new account to share creative studios for all of us to see (especially students setting up studios for the first time). That account is @studio.share.

I also put a call out for the community at Arcadia to share small businesses, recent work and thank You’s to the community here: @arcadiaartanddesign


Nan Ring

Drawing of a person named Max swaying around as if they are dancing
Max in Red, gouache on paper, 8 x 8 inches, 2020, copyright Nan Ring

Eerie empty streets and closed doors can make us feel disconnected and lost. My first thought about this current and unfortunate state of being from the start was and remains “Keep bringing art to the world. Art heals.” This portrait of my son, a musician, came to mind when I passed painted-over signboards — muted of their previous messages — on the highway as we traveled out of state. Their silence felt vast for some reason, somehow bringing the now invisible text more into focus as color and shape. Self-quarantined in an Airbnb where I ended up with my partner, a writer, and armed with my watercolors and his computer, we spent afternoons deep in concentration on our separate but united tasks to bring a bit of poetry to an over-anxious reality. I drew my son with open arms, perhaps falling, dancing, disconnected, lost, surrendering, against the background of the abstracted signs. Red has so many metaphors attached to it — heart, blood, anger, love — and the red of his shirt felt right. I live in New Jersey now but went to the University of the Arts for graduate school and remain connected to my beloved Philly in many ways. This painting, the first I painted since the crisis became acute, is a little poem that I send out to Philly and to the world with hope.

www.nanringstudio.com


David Ohlerking

Painting of a car covered with paint on a city block in front of a yellow house with trees nearby and another house, painted orange, to its right.
Painting by David Ohlerking. Courtesy David Ohlerking.
An in-progress painting surrounded by jars full of brushes in David's home studio
In-progress painting by David Ohlerking in his studio. Courtesy David Ohlerking.

I’m just painting in my studio as usual.
davidohlerking.com

sponsored
sponsored