We’ve done this long enough that most days it seems almost normal. The masks, the distance, the hand washing. But every once in a while, the strangeness of it hits me. This odd isolation of the pandemic. I felt it as I sketched this scene.
Working behind plexiglass screens at the reception desk. A spare desk with a jar of clean pens and a tray for dirty ones. A giant bottle of hand sanitizer and a box of tissues prominently displayed. Big yellow stickers explain, politely, the new rules of engagement.
She wanted to see the sketch. Normally, I’d just hand the book to her. I held it up for her this time, more than 6 feet away. Sketchbooks are for looking at up close, for turning the pages of if you want to. I miss some things about the old normal.
Sketch Away: Travels with my sketchbook 
Oh yes, and with sketches like these, we can always look back and remember the good old days of living in/with the pandemic. Fingers closed that we will get back to the “old normal” even if not totally, as I’m thinking that we will continue to observe some of the protocols and cautions we’ve been forced to observe since it began.
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I had a similar encounter early on in the pandemic… I wanted so much to hand over the sketchbook, but all I could do was hold it up. I felt like crying, thinking then that it would last months (and here we are, a year later). The pandemic has taken so much — all those lives are the biggest thing, but many small things, too.
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This is a powerful sketch! It talks about the changes in our lives and the uncertainty we live in now. Our culture is changing around the world. Whenever I meet with people I know, masked and all, I never know what is right to do these days. Handshakes are a no-no – hugs are a no-no – fist pump? elbow bump? nodding or bowing to each other? That recognition of each other is what I miss the most in this times of social distancing.
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This so captures the times! I love your line-work and those feather soft touches of color. Thanks so much for sharing!
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