(Therese, an 11th-grade student of STCA, uses her artistic ability and her beautifully articulated thoughts to express what many are feeling during this time)
Recently, I went for a walk outside on a beautiful sunny day. Being locked indoors for so long, the breeze was refreshing and the sunshine warmed more than just my skin, but my heart as well. While on my walk, I passed a young man about my age, masked as I was for safety. As we passed, I gave him a squinted smile, my eyes the only form of communication. He only glanced at me with his piercing green eyes then looked down quickly, an emotionless gesture. Little did this young man know that our encounter would stick with me for a while.
I saw something in his eyes. It seemed like a trace of loneliness or emptiness, dreadfulness or distress. It was such a warm delightful day, and he seemed content on the outside, strolling along the dirt path with ease, yet, above his blue medical mask, the look in his eyes seemed cold. This short glance reminded me that, although we were freely roaming out in the sunshine, we are very much not free during this time. His empty stare reminded me of how the seclusion of this pandemic is leading many to despondence. Many are losing hope that this crisis will ever end. The thought that we are never going to be “released” plays over and over in their minds, and those thoughts haunt them endlessly. We are human beings, it is not safe to cage us like animals, but we are strong and are capable of pushing through and going on. Though, some, including my own friends, have admitted to becoming almost numb to emotion all together. When Adam was created, he was lonely and begged God for another like himself to keep him company, and that’s when Eve was created from his rib. Humans are made to serve and be with others, we are not meant to be secluded. Inspired by this boy, I wanted to try and capture all this in a painting.
Immediately when I arrived at home, I collected my supplies and ran upstairs to paint. I have little experience with painting, so this project was definitely a challenge. I couldn’t help but try and recreate the boy I saw, the one who inspired me so. The only features I could remember were his serious green eyes and dark hair, which I included in my painting. This piece was later simply titled: QUARANTINED
The painting pictures a masked young man, naked, for the world has stripped him of his dignity, yet masked due to one of the many rules. His emerald eyes are crying, for the most prominent emotions during this time appears to be sadness and indignation. The dull black background being the darkness and emotional numbness brought about by this pandemic, yet the fully lit subject being a sense of hope in this darkness.
Shortly after completing this piece, I was inspired to create the main reason for the subject’s loneliness: the loss of human interaction. So, QUARANTINED II came to be.
This piece pictures the same elements, but presented by a young woman instead. The boy and the girl long to be together, but are forcefully drawn apart by the walls of quarantine. People were created to accompany and serve others. This quarantine is taking that fundamental purpose away, but there is nothing that we can do besides obey and wait. Let these paintings be a reminder that, although this is a dreadful and lonely time, we can still be light of hope in this darkness by staying strong. Let’s take this time to overcome the numbness or sadness that we are experiencing. Let’s take this time to spiritually renew ourselves. Let us take this time to put our trust in God and to remember that He has a plan for the future and we are not to give up. This pandemic will end, we just need to stay strong and close to God so that we may get through it.