April 3, Arlington County Staff Edition
Quaranzine is a weekly collection of creative works from the Arlington community that documents how we responded to this strange time we find ourselves in. Submit your own work.
Alex Zealand, "Rats for Social Distancing" - Street diorama with rubber rats holding signs. Photographed in Old Town Alexandria.
Aline Brito, "AFACting in Times of Quarantine" - A group of us from HR went down to AFAC to give them a gloved hand during the CORONA time as they were hurting in number of volunteers.
Brit Austin, "The Doctor" - I like to research and find out more when I'm anxious and feel I don't have control. Questions like, have we gone through something like this in the past? The answer is always yes, in a way. Plague Doctors look scary, but I encourage you to look closer; they were doctors. They were there on the front lines to diagnose and help. The beak of the mask was filled with flowers and herbs often thought to chase away the bad smells of disease. The stick or cane was used for social distancing and for examining. The round hat was the symbol of a doctor at this time. Of course, this was before germ theory. I wanted to draw and play with ink to get my mind off of our current situation, but still remember that we have survived.
Brittany Ham, "A Timeline of my Self-Quarantine Sweets" - A visual timeline of all the sweets I've made completely from scratch in the past two weeks!
Diane Kresh, "What a Difference 14 Years Makes" - When I was a teenager, I painted this scene on the cinder block wall of my parents’ basement. For 50+ years, The Caterpillar smoked his hookah and watched the world go by. His hookah smoking days may be coming to an end. The house was sold last week and the new owners might not be hip enough to handle it. The picture was taken on March 24, 2020.
Hannah Axt, "How to Make a Hand Sanitizer Mini Piñata " - Click on image for link to pdf instruction.
Janelle Ortiz, "Pothos Sketch" - I've decided to start making daily sketches of things in & around my home. This was my first sketch (3/29/2020) and I hope to continue this practice until this pandemic passes.
Liz Laribee, "Apologies I've Made to My Partner This Month vol. 1" - Remorse gets really specific in quarantine.
Megan Biggins, "OK" - I made this for a friend who is having a lot happen in her life, in addition to what we're all living with. She's not the type to sit quietly and wait for something to be resolved. She's a fixer and a doer and I know how our current world and the necessity of just waiting is wearing on her. Going through this is requiring a quiet kind of courage and I wanted her to know that I see that in her.
Patricia Loverich, "Happy Birthday James" -A neighborhood birthday party in the time of coronavirus.
Peg Owen, "Haiku-In the Voice of Cheety" - My submission is inspired by a book in our library catalog called What I Lick Before Your Face: And Other Haikus by Dogs by Jamie Coleman. I decided to write a haiku in the voice of my dog, with the content of the poem being inspired by the lazy dog picture
Pete Petruski, "My Friend the 3 O'clock Shadow" - A poem about a very first world problem and minor disappointment of the social isolation era.
The next deadline for submissions to Quaranzine is Thursday, April 9.
Great idea. Do all those creative things you were afraid to do before.
Oh my goodness! The creativity, generosity of spirit, and humor that shines through in these pieces is an inspiration! Thank you, Arlington County staff for an awesome first issue of Quaranzine! Such an awesome idea and so well-executed.
People are so creative and clever 🙂
Thank you to the artists for a bit of levity as well as reflection in this uncertain time.
Such a wonderful idea! And so much talent; I am impressed with Arlingtonians more and more every day.
Made me smile.
This is a great project! Please keep doing it.
May I share the poem “Reparo”. I’ll give credit to author.
Katelyn says that’s fine if it’s for personal use. If it’s for a commercial publication, you will need to contact her in person. Let me know here, and I can email you directly in needed.
A message for Katelyn: It’s not easy. It’s a time to remember Rumi, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” <3
Thanks so much for doing this!
This was so much fun to look and and then go back and look again., Thanks to all the creative folks who contributed and to those who arranged and sent it out to us in the quaranzine locality.
Thanks for this. I am so appreciative of the talent the contributors show. It was a lovely break from the (now) usual down stuff I get on my emails.
How do I forward this to all my friends and family?
You can forward send the link to this post in an email. The link is: https://library.arlingtonva.us/2020/04/03/quaranzine-issue-1/
Thank you for these creative reflections. PLEASE post the pages of instructions for the amazing Coronavirus piñata! !
Rebecca,
If you click or tap on the image of Amy’s piñata, the link to download the instructions is in the footer.
What thoughtful gestures of a community coming together during this time when we are separated a minimum of six feet.
Sending virtual hugs to the participants and organizers of the first Quaranzine issue🤗🤗🤗
Thank you for your inspiration! I miss be able to go the library; e-books are not the same as holding a real book.
I love the dog haiku! All of the dogs in our neighborhood look so much happier.
Thanks, Debbie! They are happier, aren’t they? 🙂
Thank you all the way from Yakima Neighborhood Health Services in Washington where we are creating “activity kits” for youth unable to come to our resource centers.
Greetings to the Yakima Neighborhood in Washington State from Arlington Virginia – stay safe!
What a lovely bright spot in a turbulent day. Thank you!
What a wonderful addition to our lives! “Fresh Ink,” as it might be. Love the title. Thanks to the instigators and the contributors.
This is amazing. Thank you so much, from both is artist-types who need to feel connected and productive, and us consuming-types who appreciate the talent and community around us!
I love this and am encouraging my kids to submit some of their work. I might even submit some of mine! Keep up the good work that brings a little sunshine into our days!
Very cool keep up the good work. But I was hoping fur some recipes hope you get some next time!
How amazing you all are! What a wonderful community we live in! Thank you so very much to the staff and the contributors with their fantastic submissions. I loved it all and am looking forward to the next issue!!