“Roses Three”, Painting by David Wright
And here it is, spring 2020, with the normal spring rush of birds, bugs and plants pollinating, reproducing and getting ready for an active summer. Meanwhile we are in the midst of the worst pandemic of Coronavirus also known as Covid-19, and many cities and states are under stay-a-home orders so as to slow down and stop the virus from infecting others.
In this blog I wish to share thoughts of the seasons, work I am doing, paintings I am working on, and scientific studies particular to cosmic impacts and their resultant shaping of the modern landscape. I have thoughts about cities and their potential changes during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for sustainable planning, and a rethinking of some of the most fundamental values of our society.
It is both scary and exciting to see what it is we are leaving behind as a culture in the face of the deadliest disease since the Spanish Influenza of 1918-1919. We stand at a threshold where we get to re-imagine our collective lives post-pandemic, and potentially, rearrange our living patterns to suit new emerging realities.
As the disease spreads, forcing one government, country and nation after another to shut down and enforce social distancing strategies, the earth is responding in very interesting ways that can feed our ongoing conversation as to what can happen:
The Ozone Hole over Antarctica has closed (April 29, 2020), Venice canals are running clean, skies are cleaner than I can remember-true worldwide, animals are wandering streets of major cities wondering where we have all gone, endangered turtles by the thousands are laying eggs on beaches now deserted by humans, and cities are opening up miles and miles of urban streets to pedestrian activity to allow outside exercise and interaction during lock-downs. We are all having major re-evaluations of the importance of cultural and economic artifacts, from driving (we are driving much less), to a stark re examination of how capitalism has made for widening gaps between the states and federal government, and exposed fractures in our social safety net for uninsured, less fortunate people.
I recently moved to Bellingham, Washington in November 2019 to start a new life here after selling my house in Seattle and am looking to establish a new market in Northwest Washington state and my local area. If you wish to contact me, reach me at my email dwright@wrighthanddesigns.com
Stay safe, and hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks for reading.