Remote learning was hard and unprecedented in my lifetime. It was especially hard for the students.. As a former teacher myself, I am so amazed at the teachers that persevered through covid, with the daunting task of remote learning and constantly facing the unknown of-“WHAT’S NEXT?” I was in awe of Miss Powers as she provided daily inspiration and love to her students through it all. I was happy to be retired and able to be there for Elouise. She missed her friends. She missed Salem.
After 18 months of remote learning and being away from friends and classmates, Elo and her friends finally returned to school in Salem. They were together again-at last! Elouise and her friends met to walk to school together. The exuberance they displayed and the joy at being together once more was a feeling I wanted to capture. Hopefully, the situation that caused remote schooling,(covid), is in the rearview mirror. Hopefully they will always feel excited to return to school in the fall. The excitement on this day I felt needed preserving: So I painted it.
An added bonus is Webb Street’s resemblance to Abby Road. Thanks to Don Seiffert for taking his life in his hands to capture the moment with his camera and for sharing his photos of the girls from that morning. Thanks Don for allowing me to take liberties with your photo. (Sorry to the young man I eliminated. ) The resemblance to the Beatles Abby Road album cover was too good to pass up. I changed the colors of the houses for a more harmonious painting. I used reds to help move the viewer's eye though the scene. To establish a sense of the times, one girl is wearing her mask, one has hers dangling from her wrist and the others have theirs in their backpacks. Little did I know the controversy that would result from the masks!
I hope to preserve a bit of history for the girls. Each girl (as well as Elo's teachers) received a print of the painting.
I hope this painting brings you a smile. We all need one.
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