May 26: Keep Hope Alive
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.
Sirena Pearl, "The Quarantine is Surreal" - I drew this piece during my time spent isolating due to our current situation. I've noticed a lot more families spending time together and I wanted to make that the main focus of this piece. I think it is a sweet thing that even during scary times of uncertainty, you can see new positives such as neighbors working together as a community, people trying new hobbies, or even the increased amount of time spent outdoors.
Alexandra Bowman, "#CatADayApril, Day 25" - Here's #CatadayApril Day 25, modeled after the "cat tuba" meme.
Rohitha Bhushan, "Krish" - This is a pencil portrait of my 2 year old son, Krish. All I need is a good photograph, my sketchbook, pencils, and a quarantine to speed things up and finish in record time!
Pat Loverich, "Postcards from the Pandemic" - Early in the pandemic, I received a postcard from a friend that prompted a much needed laugh. So I decided to start making some DIY postcards to send to folks using stuff I had around--mostly The Post, scissors, glue, and some markers. It's become a bit of an obsession.
Michael O'Harro, "Photo Montage of my Cars Over the Years" - During my Social Isolation I continue to create montages of my various interests and businesses to put in my over 135 scrapbooks and share with my 2,600 plus friends on Facebook. I have also been going through my collection of over 20,000 photos and using Photoshop. I have created some works of personal art and again enjoy sharing. I encourage everyone who is bored and looking for something to do during this period of quarantine to get out all those old memories, diplomas, military experiences, sports & other heroics, articles, invitations, photos etc. to organize them and share with friends and family. This is a particularly fun project to share with children and grandchildren. All you need to do this type of project is a printer, a scanner, glue, construction paper, scissors, and a scrapbook or binder. This is a montage of all the cars I have owned over the years, beginning with my first peddle car, and the more recent additions to the collection including my 1957 Thunderbird. I might also mention that sharing the things in my scrapbooks on Facebook has brought interest from all kinds of media, including feature stories in Arlington Magazine and Northern Virginia Magazine.
Jennifer Beinhacker, "The State of the Union" - The state of the union in the age of the global COVID-19 pandemic is sorely lacking direction. Our union needed to be prepared to act swiftly, but aside from a few other countries, this was not so. It is said "we are all in this together," but alas, this is not how many in our union are acting. If we do not act together, we will have no union left when we reach the other side.
Jennie Lovelace, "2020 Spectrum" - Poster art: Acrylic painting on Poster. “Seeing colors of creativity in 2020” Seeing and giving feeling to emotions using art to express The inner thoughts on social and emotional response to the current epidemic happening the world today.
Janelle Ortiz, "Jaida Essence Hall" - I never thought that RuPaul's Drag Race would be helping me keep track of the days of the week, but here we are. New episodes on Fridays have helped punctuate the end of each week. Here is fan art of my favorite queen this season, Jaida Essence Hall. The runway theme was "Stars & Stripes."
Jacqueline Acker, "Groundhog Day" - Many Arlingtonians are lucky to be in a position to contribute by staying at home during this pandemic. This painting represents how quickly that routine can feel like “Groundhog Day.”
Hannah Foster, "Coral Roses" - An abstract piece done in pen and ink with watercolor markers on mixed media paper. This piece is an example of one of the ways I've been dealing with this quarantine: through highly detailed, Zentangle-inspired art.
Gregory Luce, "May Dusk" - In this time of quarantine, nature, even in our urbanized county, is fully available at all times, providing both solace and a space for reflection. My experience of the dusk, with its mellow light and late-singing birds is uplifting, but tinged with melancholy now.
The next deadline for submissions to Quaranzine is Thursday, May 28
I love Quaranzine so much! Thank you to all the creatives who have shared their work. What talent! In each issue I find insight, escape, perspective, joy. Thank you Arlington Public Library for holding up this mirror to our community. We’re all having this scary, shared, crazy experience. You’re helping us see it — and understand it — in new ways.