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‘Creating in COVID’: Art show features work of local artists, writers

By Tabitha Johnston - Chronicle Staff | Jul 30, 2021

Kay Christy, of Shepherdstown, looks at art in the Creating in COVID show last Thursday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Along with the health crisis the coronavirus has caused around the globe over the past year-and-a-half, the COVID-19 Pandemic has also majorly inconvenienced the livelihoods and hobbies of people — not the least, being artists and writers. Since the pandemic started, the work of many artists and writers has been majorly effected.

For some local creatives, the pandemic-related change in pace has led to them losing much of their inspiration, according to Evolve co-owner Elise Baach. But for others, the pandemic became an opportunity to create in a different way.

Starting last Thursday with an opening reception, Evolve is hosting a two-week show, Creating in COVID. Organized by Shepherd University art professor Sonya Evanisko, the art featured in the show includes work and artist’s statements from herself as well as local artists Christian Benefiel, Evan Boggess, Ally Christmas, Kay Christy, Lisa Lafferty, Alizah Lathrop and Alexander Taughinbaugh.

According to Evanisko, the art reflects a variety of perspectives resulting from living in the pandemic. Her own paintings in the show feature some common themes in her work — tornadoes and desolate landscapes. They, however, take on a deeper meaning with the new addition of packing materials in the landscape.

“I was fascinated that anything you needed in the pandemic could be delivered to your front door. But then, I watched as the towers of packing material built up,” Evanisko said of the conservation-related themes. “Making art provided a great reprieve, especially for teachers like me, who had to teach online. It was a great escape from the constant time on the internet!”

Lisa Lafferty, of Shepherdstown, stands by her contribution to the Creating in COVID show last Thursday. Tabitha Johnston

Christmas, her fellow Shepherd University art professor, agreed with her. Her own works in the show include a quilt and photography printed on cotton-muslin fabric, which reflect the psychological challenges the pandemic has presented for many people.

“The overarching vibe is anxiety and trying to conquer that anxiety through art,” Christmas said. “My prerogative was trying to process all of this anxiety that was brought on by all of that.”

Along with art being on tap in the show, seven local writers were selected by Shepherdstown Poet Laureate Ed Zahniser to present collections of the work they created since the beginning of the pandemic.

“It’s about creativity, it’s not about any specific forum,” Zahniser said of the collections, mentioning the featured writers ranged from elementary school age through retirement years. “This explored the question of ‘How do you stay creative when your world changes significantly?’ Personally, COVID has affected me by shutting off my usual mode of writing in public places.”

Fellow Shepherdstown-based poet Tom Donlon said his creative experience during the pandemic has been muted, but not stopped. One of his poems in the show, “Toilet Paper,” regarding the toilet paper shortage across the country at the beginning of the pandemic was recently published in the West Virginia COVID-19 Anthology.

Joshua Gray, of Shepherdstown, writes in the Creating in COVID guest notebook about his experience during the pandemic, during the show’s opening reception last Thursday. Tabitha Johnston

“During COVID, I didn’t want to write about all of the bad stuff, so I wrote less,” Donlon said.

Creating in COVID is free and open to the public to view today and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To learn about artist and writer talks taking place at the show, visit Evolve’s social media pages or https://www.evolveshepherdstown.com/.

The writers’ collections of work in the show lay on display last Thursday. Tabitha Johnston

Local residents view works of art in the Creating in COVID show, during its opening reception last Thursday. Tabitha Johnston