THE SCHOOL PROJECT: 2019-2020

The 2019-2020 school year brought excitement, change, and a ‘project’. I set out to capture each day of Macallen’s first year in middle school, and Morgan’s first year flying solo in elementary school.  I was determined to draw three lunch bags from Monday -Thursday but only two on Friday. Becky, part of the lunch bag fun most days, was on her own Fridays, finding a lunch destination in downtown Minneapolis.  Most of the themes captured centered around school, personal interests or family events. There were of course the seasonal favorites such as Halloween, the Final Four, and College Football – Go Gophers! I even drew a colorful  family portrait that became our Christmas card too.

It was a fun, and challenging project. Everyday was not an amazing day of art, or one of inspiration, and the year ended with an unexpected whimper. Distance learning, cancelled events, and a move to an apartment (during a COVID lockdown no less), made the process and purpose of art feel different. It was less about the lunch bag  making it to school or work to share, but for the family to have something that felt similar, comfortable, or normal amongst all the change happening around us. I think the ‘Back-to-School’ bags and the ‘Last-day-of-School’ bag tell the story. But not the whole story.