The pandemic hit while I was attending to a family medical emergency in California. I had been there for months and was not able to head back to Maine until the end of April. My husband and I had been isolating with the California family for six weeks when we made the cross-country leap. Terrified of the travel, we were exhausted and desperate to finally be home.
Quarantine for 14 days in our comfort zone seemed a luxury.
Joyful at the opportunity to be in my studio, safe, healthy and surrounded by loved ones, I have been overwhelmed with gratitude at my good fortune.
As a news junky, every day I absorb the shock of COVID-19’s impact on the world. Uncertainty, anxiety, fear, anger and heartbreak roll in waves through the media and personal stories, creating a strange emotional rollercoaster.
The stark contrasting realities of my privileged life in isolation versus the trauma of daily life for so many can be immobilizing.
My first step towards balance is to acknowledge the privilege of my life. I have much to be grateful for, and many people who personify the qualities that inspire and energize me.
My gratitude project emerged as a process of celebrating and thanking people for their gifts by making a small mailable piece for an individual and writing a note that tells them why I am grateful to them. As I proceed, I am finding gratitude to be a good antidote for virus-related fallout. It helps to create the spiritual/emotional space for positive action.
As we move beyond the virus, the fragility of our systems, the house of cards we call our democracy, economy, and social network has been exposed to the world, requiring the work and attention of us all. I hope to move forward with clear eyes and gratitude to support me.
Nora Tryon 
Nora, I saw a yard sign at Patti ganache’s farm stand- liberty and justice for all- and wondered if you had any for sale
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Thanks Elizabeth! I am not selling them, I am part of the Artists’ Rapid Response Team! (ARRT!) and we do work for progressive causes. We will collect the signs when the elections are over and are grateful for people to put them up in their yards for the election season. That one is hand painted and one of a kind. Right now all of the hand painted signs are up until I do more, but there is a group that is copying many of them and asking people to give a donation to cover the cost, they are a little smaller, with the metal frames like political signs, that are easy to press into the ground. They are in Lincoln County so I’m not sure how they manage getting them to people out of their area.
I am also open to people copying any of my designs for free, open source, no copyright, to use however they want and can send you a high resolution image if you want. You could probably print copies any size from a home printer or bigger at Staples, they may even do the metal framed yard signs. Hope this isn’t too complicated.
You can see more signs at:
http://www.arrteam.org/arrt-banners/
If you’d like me to send you some high resolution images or the Indivisible Yard Sign Appeal letter, send me your email address and I’ll send attachments. I don’t think I can do that from the comment section. My email is noratryon@gmail.com
Best, Nora
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