Category: Creative Works

Poetry, visual art, installations, dance – REL 361 responds to this apocalypse

My Mini Mask Making Apocalypse by Veronica Hineman

My Mini Mask Making Apocalypse by Veronica Hineman

Published April 28, 2020 By Jenny Knust, Ph.D.

Friday, April 10th: Word was buzzing on the news that all essential businesses in my home county starting on Monday would require all its employees to wear facemasks.

Now, with masks sold out all across the tri-state area, I knew I had to get creative in order for my family’s essential business to open on Monday. When we heard the news, I looked at my mom and she read my mind. We had to sew them ourselves. With no other way of obtaining these masks, it was what I had to do in order to keep the business up and running during these tough economic times. With my mother’s sewing knowledge, machine, and thread, and with my unwavering motivation to save the day, we put our heads together to get the job done. I knew it was going to be a long weekend as I had to both create over 30 masks (it takes about 30 minutes to make each one!) and study for multiple tests and quizzes I had early next week. I had limited time. However, I knew I had to focus on the masks as not making them would put bigger issues on the table for my family and me.

Now, at this point in time, I needed to obtain fabric, elastic, and inner-facing to make even one mask. Elastic had been on order for 2 weeks now as I was interested in making masks when there was an initial shortage. I just needed to get 100% cotton fabric and inner-facing. According to Amazon, the elastic will be delivered tomorrow…perfect timing! With the little time left in the day, I made a plan to get to Joanne Fabrics early the next morning when the store opened in order to get the supplies I needed.

Saturday, April 11th: Still no elastic. Amazon pushed my elastic delivery back one day. Now I can’t even start sewing the masks until it arrives. Meaning, I will have to sew all 30 masks on Sunday (tomorrow!).

Moving on with the process, I left my house for the first time during quarantine to obtain the fabric and inner-facing necessary. With a mask on my face, I stood in a cold line outside of the store as customers were able to file in one at a time as another customer left. The line out the door went around the side of the shopping complex as everyone had to stand 6 feet apart. I guess I wasn’t the only one starting up a new craft! After over an hour of waiting in line despite getting to Joanne Fabrics at its opening, I finally entered the store.

Making sure all of the fabrics were 100% cotton, I grabbed 10 different one-yard cuts of fabric and the inner-facing that would allow for thicker material and better blockage of trespassing germs in the air when the mask is worn. After getting my goods, I checked out, left the store, and drove home. When I got home, I washed, dried, and ironed all of my fabrics. I wanted to get everything set up for tomorrow when I get the elastic so that I could immediately start sewing. I cut out all of the fabrics and ironed the inner-facing to them. Tomorrow was going to be a long, long, day.

Sunday, April 12th: Still no elastic. Yet again, the delivery day had pushed back. Any hope of completing the masks in time quickly diminished. But…I was determined and it was time to get creative.

I searched around my house for extra shoelaces, ribbon, and strings. I even started sewing leftover fabric into long skinny ties to attach to the masks. It was go-time. Through my creative measures, I was able to sew 25 masks on Sunday. I needed a few more for the company, but a few employees had their own. Thankfully, everyone could return to work the next day.

Saturday, April 25th: Two weeks later, the elastic has arrived! Time to get to work. While my family’s essential business has all of the masks that it needs, my goal now is to sew masks for more community members and businesses that have not been able to find masks as they are extremely rare to come by. For gosh sakes, it took me over 2 weeks just to get in an order of elastic…and that turns out to be on the faster end!

In the weeks to come, I look forward to using up the rest of my fabric and buying more to help serve my community during these very difficult times. After what felt like a mini Apocalypse, I am excited to keep on sewing!

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The (Not So) Tiny Virus

The (Not So) Tiny Virus

Published April 26, 2020 By Kelsey Reznick

I started this painting on March 15^th, 2020. It was completed on April 24^th, 2020. Why is this important? The message I was trying to portray when I started on March 15^th, the vision in my head of what all the little details in my work mean, have drastically changed to what I have now on April 24^th. My beginning intentions were to show how Duke students from all over the world are still connected by their affiliations to the institution while the Corona Virus Pandemic was unfolding. The map was to show what areas were affected and how severe it was. I looked up a map of the COVID-19 outbreak on March 15^th, 2020 and this is what I got.

As days went by, working on filling in the white spaces of the canvas, I could hear the TV blaring newly reported cases in states that have been unaffected thus far. I can also hear reporters highlighting how severe it was becoming in states that have already come into contact with the virus. A week or two went by and as my map was completed, I realized in this short amount of time, a week maybe two, that it was completely inaccurate. Every single state should be burned red, the east and west coasts where the virus originated should bleed into the center of the country, showing how millions of Americans have become infected by this deadly virus. But I made the decision to keep my map the way it was, to tell a different story.

Not only has the virus spread throughout the United States, but the other continents shown have seen the COVID-19 Pandemic explode in their cities, countries and provinces. As we know Europe was the first to be hit hard by the virus and that can be seen in this map. Our reality, like so many others, was to follow in Europe’s footsteps, something we tried so hard to prevent, but there is no controlling this virus.

It still holds true that Duke students are connected with each other in these troubling times through Zoom calls, group projects, and study sessions in their homes, but the more important focus in this image is how much has changed in so little time. This virus has swept over our country and many people and families have fallen victim to its horrible effects. Health care workers and essential business workers are risking their lives in these hot red zones to keep people alive and healthy. We have no control over a parasite that cannot be seen with the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye it has covered my entire map with red bubbles without me even stopping to notice.

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Vision of the Apocalypse

Published April 25, 2020 By Jaye Bullock

I hope

that the stars fall into the rolling sea

that the sky folds like an old scroll in the crook of the creators arm

that the Four Horsemen ride stridently

and Kingdoms and Principalities fall at their feet

If that

is not the way it all ends

then God is surely a cheat

How could he let our

beautiful disaster of a world,

with hopes

dreams

schemes

ideas

demons

legion

simply wither away

like last year’s marigolds?

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Rush Hour in San Francisco

Published April 25, 2020 By Lizzie Fleming

In the photographs above one can see the current city of San Francisco during rush hour. What once was overflowing with people is now a city of emptiness. Will it ever be the same?

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Regression

Published April 24, 2020 By Schuyler Nowicki

We are so tired of this and we want it to end

We want to see our friends again and for this whole ordeal to be over

We didn’t sign up for this

Not good enough, go back (the present)

We remember the last time we drove down from the mountains

We remember wondering if we will see any of those people again

We remember a strange feeling on that trip

Hope shadowed by anxiety, dig deeper (leaving the mountains)

We remember the glass splinters in our hands and the acid burns on our forearms

We remember a sense of accomplishment at the end of a long day

We remember getting home to a house full of guests and wishing we could be alone

But they were good friends, if you can recall (quitting a job)

We remember losing a close friend to sickness too early

We remember how positive that person was until the very end

We remember realizing how much we had learned from that individual

You’re getting somewhere, try again (a friend died)

We remember the excitement of a new journey

We remember meeting so many fascinating people

We remember the basement we lived in fondly

And the nickname you have because of it, try harder (moving to the mountains)

We remember feeling lost without any sense of direction

We remember the decision to stop what we were doing and start over

We remember thinking that it was the right decision

That was a defining moment, think past it (deciding to leave college)

We remember getting along with everyone even when we thought we didn’t like them

We remember throwing rocks a fence talking about life with a false enemy

We remember being happy to see our friends growing into themselves

A very long time ago now, how much further can you go (high school)

We remember moving away to a magical place for a significant time

We remember the girl who could play piano so well

We remember understanding why some people believe in faeries

Good memories, keep going (living in a foreign country)

We remember how much energy we had and when nothing could stop us

We remember being adept at catching lizards and frogs and spiders and crickets

We remember running through the endless woods without a care in the world

You’re almost there, one last attempt (early childhood)

We remember being taught a new concept and the fascination of learning

We remember an early spark of understanding the way the world works

We remember marching proudly around the house chanting “photosynthesis”

Ah, there it is… (life)

And we do believe that it will continue

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Published April 24, 2020 By Schuyler Nowicki

A Someday in the [quarantine] Life of Schuyler Nowicki

(recommendations for staying sane? maybe?)

7:00am Pretend that I am going to wake up… start reading Calvin & Hobbes… go back to sleep

8:15am Actually get out of bed, make coffee

8:30am Let the chickens out, collect eggs, make toast and eggs for breakfast, delicious

9:00am Pace around the backyard contemplating the nature of the frogs in the pond and the lizards on the deck

9:50am Find a baby black snake near the pond, it lets me pick it up, but I disturb the frogs

10:30am Reach a conclusion that amphibians are generally more antisocial towards humans than reptiles, who seem to enjoy my company. Damn, frogs

11:15am Call my best friend in Asheville because I’m bored, talk about life during the virus

12:15pm Make a chicken salad sandwich and eat it, also delicious

12:40pm Call the same friend in Asheville, he doesn’t pick up

12:45pm Call the same friend’s girlfriend and demand that she put him on the phone because I haven’t yet explained to him my recent observations of amphibians and reptiles, successful

1:15pm Decide I should do something productive, but not sure what yet

1:20pm Start practicing scales on the piano

1:30pm Remember how tedious it is to play scales and decide to improvise over 12-bar blues instead, not a bad decision

2:15pm Decide that I’ve earned a beer

2:45pm Facetime a different friend in Asheville under the pretense that I want to catch up, but really, I want to facetime with her dog, also successful

3:15pm Rearrange bookshelf based on author

3:40pm Crack another beer because quarantine

3:45pm Rearrange bookshelf based on subject

4:00pm Stand disapprovingly in the hallway while roommates are watching reality TV shows that I don’t understand

4:05pm Start packing books based on subject, I’m moving out of here soon one way or the other

4:50pm Get a surprise phone call from my friend in Puerto Rico, we laugh a lot

5:30pm Pace around the backyard again, wondering where my reptile friends hide when they are not on the porch

6:00pm Join an online meeting with my parents, have a beer and chat and pretend that this is the first beer I’ve had today

7:00pm Leave online meeting with parents and eat leftover stir-fry for dinner, not as delicious as it was yesterday, but still pretty good

7:30pm Corral chickens back into their coop, make sure they have food and water

7:45pm Stand disapprovingly in the hallway again, wondering how anyone can watch so much reality TV; trying not to judge, but very confused

7:55pm Get yelled at for making too much noise when I start to play the piano again, God forbid I disturb the soothing noises of reality TV

8:00pm Start rereading Dante’s Inferno, thinking it could be appropriate for the circumstances

8:05pm Realize that Dante’s Inferno was a terrible choice, switch to reading Calvin & Hobbes, much better, laughing again

9:45pm Get a message from the first friend, unsurprisingly, he is still in Asheville, his girlfriend has decided to go to bed early and he wants to play video games online, great news

9:55pm Finally finish downloading an update for a game, get another beer, log on

11:15pm Realize how late it is, decide that we have time for one more round online

12:20am Realize I have stayed up way to late playing games with my friend and should probably think about going to bed

12:30am Not really that tired, start to read more Calvin & Hobbes to go to sleep

1:20am Realize that I am still reading Calvin & Hobbes and I should probably put it down and actually go to bed

Wasn’t a terrible day… maybe tomorrow will be better?

7:00am Pretend that I am going to wake up… still lying in bed, open up Calvin & Hobbes…

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