Shelter from the Storm
By Carolyn Rhinebarger | August 7, 2020
Shelter has taken on a whole new meaning in the time of Covid. Stay-at-home orders were, at first, nothing short of terrifying. Never in my lifetime had I faced such a serious, yet invisible, threat. As days stretched into weeks, I both dreaded and eagerly anticipated the news. I was compelled to check the counts several times a day.
Life as I knew it just stopped in its tracks. Coffee dates with friends cancelled, no dinners out on Saturday nights, spin class and workouts gone, and—worst of all—no more family get-togethers. Even walking the dog became a lonely excursion; I could no longer allow our sweet Maggie to get nose-to-nose with her neighborhood buddies.
But time marches on, and my family and I have coped, constantly adjusting our expectations. We have learned new ways of socializing—from virtual family time on Sunday nights to digging in deeper with my social media art groups. While deeply saddened by the rising number of cases of Covid-19, I simply cannot bear to keep up with the counts and dire nightly news anymore. So, I shield myself, working in my home studio daily and producing more work than I ever did before the pandemic.
“Shelter from the Storm” is one in a series of six small works on paper that I have just completed. They are quite different from anything I have done before. Simple, minimalist, high contrast…a reflection of my Covid experience.
“Shelter from the Storm,” acrylic, 6″ x 6″ 2020
In time, the storm of Covid-19 will pass and we will awaken to a world scarred by the disease but rebounding. Our shelters will still need to be our safe havens as we take tentative steps back out into the world.
I am grateful for the comfort my home provides during these turbulent and tumultuous times. And I look forward to the day that will dawn without the threat of Coronavirus.
“Shelter from the Storm” and the five other works in the series are each floated mounted on a 9″ x 12″ mat board. The series is available exclusively in the online gallery New Art for You.
Copyright © 2020 Carolyn Rhinebarger
Carolyn Rhinebarger is a North Carolina contemporary artist. Her ethereal abstract landscapes evolve from layers of color, texture, shape, and pattern. See more of the Carolyn’s work and order face masks in the Fine Art Products section of her website