Week 1 of 4

Arlington Arts May 3 · On Monday we asked you to give us ONE WORD expressing your feelings and perception of the #COVID19 quarantine and watch it get transformed into art.

This week artists chose the words were CHASTENED, LONELY, NON-ESSENTIAL, SURVIVAL, and STUCK.

Make your own artwork expressing this word at home and post it with #WordsToArtArlington. You can also share it at home in your window, or as chalk art on the sidewalk!

#wordstoart #WordsToArtArlington #arlingtonarts #windowart #doodle #sketch #chalkart #explore #covidart #chalkyourwalk #socialdistancingart #sketchbook #quarantineart #sidewalkart #neighboroodart StayArlington Virginia Studio PAUSE

1. CHASTENED submitted by Frank Higgins, rendered by David Amoroso
David chose the word “chastened” in response to the masks we must wear – which simultaneously feel like a muzzle and punishment. Gray tones are used to reflect the oppression of the situation.

2. LONELY submitted by Colleen Moore, rendered by Kate Fleming. While in social isolation, Kate has been making oil paintings of toilet paper — a silly but suddenly valuable and much-discussed commodity.

3. SURVIVAL submitted by Lloyd Wolfe, rendered by Maribeth Egan. Her collage includes a visual bombardment of natural forces threatening to obscure the word. A cartoon hand in the background suggests a route to survival: WASH YOUR HANDS. Mixed Medium collage, ink jet, gouache, and embroidery floss on paper. See Maribeth’s process video here.

4. STUCK submitted by Leigh Bailey, rendered by MasPaz. For this week he chose to use digital illustration as his medium to represent the people who choose to not leave their homes in order to protect the well being of their family, yet do not have enough money to feed their children. In his home country of Colombia, those in need of help, hang a red flag outside of their homes. Many feel STUCK.

5. NON-ESSENTIAL submitted by Rosendo Escareno, rendered by Sushmita Mazumdar. She illustrated the word “Non-Essential”, with mixed media using ink, water soluble crayons, graphite and handmade paper. “I love the power conveyed by thick strokes of Chinese ink, so I used it to write the 2 Ns in “non”. As I wrote the word NON over and over with water-soluble crayons, I thought of how many of us were suddenly declared “non-essential”. Yet in my home, I had decided that I would be the one to go shopping for groceries. I had made myself essential! I even swapped some NON for MOM but I doubt you can find them in there.”

Back to Words To Art 2020 page

See Week 2