Covid Abroad
COVID Indoors
When I returned home from my trip to Poland due to COVID-19, I felt as though a great opportunity had passed me. I had felt freedom and joy wandering the streets of Poland. I was progressing my art the way that I had wanted to for years, and I had just gotten a solid friend group to explore the area with. Once COVID-19 hit, I rushed to America with a new friend in a complete state of panic, and after that and being locked in the basement for two weeks to quarantine, I felt as though I was stuck in a cage. There was so much of the world I almost got to explore, but instead, I sat in my room for years wishing for any semblance of novelty.
This red body clay piece is a bedroom inside of a coronavirus. I made it as a way to symbolize the fact many people were stuck in a room for years due to COVID-19.
Covid Self-Portrait
In “Covid Self-portrait”, I tried to depict how I felt I was perceived by the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. I felt as though clothing and posture played a more important role in identifying people than their faces at this time. I wore a green sweatshirt and boots, gained back my freshman fifteen, and wore a mask that kept my face hidden from everyone else. I mimicked the relaxed position which I take when there is nothing else going on, and even hunched the shoulders of my figure like I do when I sit for too long and no longer have good posture.
My COVID self-portrait is a ceramic sculpture made out of a combination of thrown vessels and coil building. It is a five-piece sculpture almost as big as I am. This was a laborious process in which I had to climb tables, mold large vessels, and seamlessly fit my sculpture together to make it appear as though it is a person.
Letters From Poland
When I was in Poland, I wrote a diary entry almost every day in the form of letters. I used many of my sketches and experiences in writing these letters. Once I got home, I put all of my letters in sealed envelopes and binded them into a book. Along with this book of letters, I also made an artist book with a compilation of the photos that I took when I was in Poland.
They are my personal account of what studying abroad was like when the coronavirus was first spreading through the world. It includes the story of how I traveled back to the States with only a day’s notice, and what mental and emotional challenges I had to overcome to be the person I am today.
