Items

• 
  2020-05

  Social Distancing

  Being retired, my husband and I spent a lot of time going out to eat and dance and visit friends and grandchildren. Now we get to wave at our neighbors as they pass by separated from us at a safe distance. Some good friends we do not see at all because they have been scared to death by bad information. We spend a lot of time cleaning and re-cleaning the house and a few make work tasks. I have taken up bike ridging and a group of us do twice daily rides around the neighborhood. Our neighborhood has responded well to the stay-at-home by keeping safe distances. We have small group gathering in driveways instead of homes. Talking about the response to the virus has now become a "do not discuss topic" like religion and politics as households form their own opinions on what is safe. Some friends are laid back and some are panicked. Over all though our social circle is hanging in and anticipating the end of the lock down. Within my circle of friends we were always in touch but are now sharing more joke videos as they show up. My husband and I take short drives, break up the day, and visit with small groups of friends in driveways.
• 
  2020-02-27

  Mask trash #4

  Disposable masks are everywhere, I found this one stuck in my neighbor's fence.
• 2020-01-06

  covid 19

  On Christmas I did not travel because of covid. Instead we stayed at my house. I woke up and opened my presents right away. I got a lot of gift cards because my parents weren't able to go out and get my gifts. after opening my gifts I went outside and hung out with the kids in my neighborhood. one of the kids got a full suspension rocky mountain mountain bike and another got new grips for his bike so we went to this dirt area near my house and all of us built a big gaper and then just hit that jump for the rest of the day.
• 
  2020-10-08

  How The Pandemic Changed My Life For The Better

  Learning how to ride a bike so I can go outside and exercise and be active. It shows I learned something new during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-05-04

  Fish Wish in the time of Covid - Jewish Melbourne

  We decided as a family to create a film that documented our experience of lockdown. The film is a narrative that is loosely based on our family's lived experience in the time of Covid-19. The act of making the film as a family served to connect us creatively. The film also acts as a time capsule.
• 
  2020-05-04

  Virus Hoax

  On my walk I noticed the words, "virus hoax" written across the bike trail and on utility boxes. I wonder if they really think that the virus is a hoax?
• 
  2020-05-20

  Biking through COVID-19

  With my sport season cancelled before it could even begin and graduation becoming virtual, my family and I continue to exercise by biking and taking long walks.
• 
  2020-04-24

  Arizona Front Porch Project #10

  Local photographers, inspired by other groups across the country, are offering families photo sessions from the safety of their own front porches. The Arizona Front Porch Project photographers are donating 30% of proceeds to local charities. Families can choose to get creative with their photo shoot and this family chose to have a photo taken of their bike ride.
• 
  2020-04-02

  Hitting Softball from a Social Distance Pitch while Riding a Bike.

  During the quarantine I have released some of my manic energy by practicing softball tricks. A young neighbor kept a distance while she pitched to me as I rode bike with helmet on - Safety First.
• 
  2020-04-02

  Revisiting the Parking Lot Where I Learned How to Drive

  I currently live in Chicago with my mother, stepfather, and my four little siblings. Because of the pandemic, all playgrounds are closed and fenced off with biohazard tape (which, I find amusing). Lots of large parks are open, but these days they tend to get oddly crowded when it's nice outside. On this beautiful afternoon, we decided to take the kids to ride their bikes in the large and unused parking lot of the Basic Wire & Cable Company, a very out of the way spot where I learned how to ride a bike and drive a car. #DePaulHST391
• 
  2020-04-18

  Green Spaces

  I live in a city. I have lived in this city for about seven years, but I did not grow up here. I grew up in a place with space and trees and green, green grass. Birds and deer and foxes in the backyard. Sometimes I would forget how much I missed that room to breathe. When things started shutting down, when I got sent home, removed from my day-to-day of work and grad school and working out, I started taking walks again. I got a bike and began roaming around the threads of city park sewn together from patterns of a previous century. The trees there are so tall, and the lawns so wide, the paths are empty and the remains of stone foundations and concrete ponds are hidden under the grip of viney tendrils. Things feel slower now, they feel more like when I was a kid on long days outside, sitting on the grass with the four o'clock sun and no responsibilities. It feels strange, it feels a little guilty, to admit that right now I am more relaxed that I have been in years, but the streets are empty and silent at night and I can hear the crickets. For the first time in my life here, I walk down the street without catcalls, without fear of strangers. I am more confident in this new world where we are all afraid of each other. There is reason to keep away from me and from me to keep away from you. And this is privilege too. I still work, I still have school, I have a car and I have good health. I wear my mask and wash my hands after going to the store, I volunteer, I leave groceries on my neighbor's porches. I donated my $1,200. But in some ways these actions feel like penance for my guilt at being okay. Being calm and centered. It hasn't hit me yet. Maybe this is shock, maybe when it comes and I get it or my partner gets it or my parents get it everything will change. The world has changed so much already, I see both good things and bad at work. I have no ability to think about when it will end, I don't think it ever will. We are fundamentally different now and deep wounds will remain in us forever, but if men no longer yelled at me on the street, if I felt safe in my own city, if I knew the green spaces to retreat to in the worst moments, at least one small good thing would happen.
• 
  2020-03-30

  Sign Series #19

  This is part of a series exploring the role of language, typography and design in informing the general public. #FordhamUniversity #VART3030 #SignSeries