Towards the start of this health crisis I wanted to find my own personal way to give back to our healthcare heroes. The people on the front lines of the pandemic who are risking their lives every single day to keep us safe. I've been giving what I can personally, and now doing my part professionally. I launched my first Instagram live series titled
Our Frontline Figures where for six weeks I created custom illustrations of our healthcare heroes inspired by photos submitted by their friends and families.
Every week my community joined me on Instagram live as I walked them through the custom illustration process. I taught how my process works every step of the way, people followed along and created their own custom sketches of a healthcare hero in their life and got to ask questions throughout. Throughout the six weeks I received submissions of healthcare heroes from across the country (and people tuned to learn to draw from around the globe!) winners were chosen at random. We had an ER nurse, a Pulmonary Doctor, two Manhattan based Covid nurses, a newly engaged nurse from Georgia and a New Jersey nurse who actually hosted a socially distanced IG live margarita viewing party on her front lawn because she was so excited about being chosen. The messages of gratitude from these heroes who are saving lives and risking their own health everyday continually moved me to tears. As many of us do, I have a tendency to be my own worst critic and occasionally devalue myself and my talent. But this global pandemic has made me thankful for my talent and the talent and work of other artists in my community. Now more than ever, with everyone quarentined and isolated at home, people have been turning to the art and entertainment industries. I'm in a membership group for artists and
another artist in the community recently commented on Facebook that "artist are barometers and scribes of society and the times we live in." (Darcy Goedecke) I think we'll look back on 2020 and in addition to it being a history making year it will also be a pivotal moment in art. That being said, I'm excited to say theres more to come from me soon and Our Frontline Figure series was only the first creative creation series.
Thank you for all the submissions and thank you to all the amazing Healthcare Heroes who participated every week and more importantly thank you for all that you to do save lives everyday during this global pandemic. You're truly an inspiration.
Post a Comment