On day one at Elite Animation Academy Summer Camp, which this painting depicts, I had three students. I realized the tables were about six feet long so I got rid of all the extra chairs and had students sit at the end of the tables to maintain social distancing. I also made sure the tables were six feet apart. I carry a six foot stick each day to have a physical reminder of the six foot distance. I place it on the floor at my feet and it is amazing how often people trip over it. During the course of this class I realized that I could not see the drawings that students were doing from six feet away. So I encouraged them to draw darker and with more conviction.
I usually give students drawings which offer notes about how they might improve each sketch they had done. But then I realized that sheets of paper could carry the Covid-19 virus from person to person. I decided against giving students drawings. Any time I touched a pencil or pencil sharpener I disinfected my hands and I encouraged my students to do the same. I focused on safety first and art second. Creating a playful learning environment was a challenge on day one with my voice muffled by a mask and the elephant in the room.
Outside the entrance at Elite, I get my temperature taken each morning. Each day I have been layering on more PPE. I started with a cloth mask and on day two upgraded to an N95 mask and a medical face shield. Between these two PPE items I was guaranteed to never touch my face.
My remaining student and I have worked out a unique and playful way of communicating. Hearing through the masks is difficult especially with the background sound of an area fan. We hold up our sketches from across the table like flash cards and I do sketch notes which I leave on the table for her to see from a distance but not touch. I also throw all my sketches on the floor. They create a six foot circle of sketches around me. Learning to maintain a six foot distance is a challenge. I tend to know more about this virus than most since I have been researching it for the past 3 months while in home isolation. I am making sure my student is the safest person in the room. She forgot her mask on day two and I gave her one of my own.
On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health reported 5,511 coronavirus cases in one day which is an all time high. Each day the case counts keep rising by about a thousand cases making it clear the virus is flaring out of control. There is now wide spread transmission of Covid-19 in Florida.
An adult student of mine at Crealde had to get tested since she had been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. She was wearing a mask and met with my students but I was a no show that first class since I didn’t have a roster. She got back to me to let me know she tested negative and I let all the students know. Another close acquaintance tested positive. For now I am two degrees removed and only by being extremely careful can I hope to avoid the infection.
I have watched many videos of nurses describing the emotional toll of being a front line worker. Now, working 7 days a week, I am also feeling the strain. I am watching maps of how the virus spreads in enclosed spaces worried that any lax practices in one area would spread throughout the room. The spread in a call center is even more unnerving. I feel the need to stay vigilant. I am wearing my mask to protect the students and other instructors. I gave another instructor this larger class space shown in this painting, when I lost my two sister students so he could spread his students out more.
15 to 34 year olds in Florida are now getting infected the most. They are less likely to need hospitalization but can spread the virus to others. Younger people infected by Covid-19 often show no symptoms but can be infectious. A 17-year-old in Florida died from COVID-19 complications, making him the first person in the state under 18 confirmed to have died from the disease, according to Florida Department of Health records.
There is much that is unknown about the virus, so every precaution is needed if the state struggles to re-open safely.