How we are dealing with Social Distancing, Boredom and Fear of the Unknown...
We've always felt our spirits lift at the sight of Golden Age travel poster art, WPA-era National Parks and Public Service poster art. One of our missions at Anderson Design Group is to study and preserve the time-honored traditions of vintage poster artwork—the same style of art that brought America through challenging times like The Great Depression and World War 2.
One of our favorite books on WPA-era poster art is Posters For The People by Ennis Carter.
Today, we are facing our own challenging times with this new global pandemic. The coronavirus (COVID-19) has altered everyday life in ways none of us could have imagined. The internet is filled with photos of pillaged store shelves, eerily empty streets, hoards of weary travelers trying to get back home from overseas, and testing centers with lines of worried people standing 6 feet apart. We all have our own stories of cancelled concerts, vacations, classes, worship services, conventions, sporting events, gatherings and even weddings.
The effects of the COVID-19 virus are hitting us close to home. Anderson Design Group is a small, family-owned business. While we and our families are all healthy and virus-free (as far as we know), we have closed our Studio Store/Gallery to help encourage social distancing and protect the most vulnerable people in our population from accidental exposure. We have cancelled all of our design student studio tours. Our staff artists Aaron and Derek are working from home. ADG's founder Joel Anderson is holed up in the 2nd floor design area. Patty (his wife of 33 years who is also the bookkeeper) is working from home. Nathan, Molly, Ally and Mimi are still coming to the studio to print and fulfill on-line orders, as well as prepare pick-up orders for local customers (who must wait for Ally to bring orders to them outside!)
The street in front of our Studio is usually packed with cars. Today, it looks like the Zombie Apocalypse...
Joel chimes in: "Things are definitely not normal right now... My daughter Mimi is home from college... all of her friends are moving out of their dorms and returning home to study online for the rest of the semester. My son Benji was laid off from his locally-owned coffee shop job after they had to close due to lack of business. My son David's girlfriend is a musician who had all of her festival dates and concerts get cancelled. My friends who own local restaurants have seen their traffic and sales plummet. For all of us, this is a time of uncertainty. But it's also a time for courage and mutual sacrifice as we heed instructions by health officials to limit the potential spread of this virus. It's a time to be selfless, careful, courteous, inventive, and flexible. Wash your hands. Practice social distancing. Order take out to support struggling local restaurants. Encourage others and choose to have a good attitude in the midst of all this funky stuff. Tough times like this can change us for the better if we focus on the most important things in life. We will probably be talking about this experience for years to come, so we should make wise choices and good memories with whatever we are given to deal with over the next weeks/months."
If you are getting lots of conflicting info on the Corona Virus, one good place to look is the official CDC site.
Meanwhile, let's all do our part to limit the spread of this pandemic. Quoting the Director-General for the World Health Organization, "We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: all countries can still change the course of this pandemic."
Now that we have more time on our hands, we should enjoy a good book, listen to music, or ponder some beautiful art. Do some day dreaming... plan a few "ultimate bucket-list trips"—research new adventures to enjoy once life gets back to normal. And if you are trying to find things to do with healthy (but bored) family and friends, build a puzzle, play a game, or binge-watch some nature documentaries. A great way to practice social distancing is to go hiking or camping in wide open spaces! Do some redecorating and bring a little joy to your walls. (To avoid crowds, browse and shop for art online!) Go to your happy place and pray for those who are hurting.
You are in our hearts and our prayers,
Your friends at Anderson Design Group
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