The Marking Lives Covid-19 Project — The Arithmetic of Compassion

By Elizabeth Awalt

In December 2020, after nine months of Covid-19 deaths, I woke to the unsettling statistic that 270,000 people had died. The lives lost were simply numbers on the front page. Our government did not have a plan. Testing was expensive and not readily available, and a vaccine wasn’t anything but a hope. My immediate friends and family were well, but for how long? I felt scared, numb, enraged and unable to help in any way. The virus was impossible to ignore, but at the same time, somehow unmarked.

I’m an artist who paints from nature. Out of a need to do something personal, and to understand the numbers of people losing their lives to the pandemic, I started making paintings. I set simple boundaries for myself, making marks on a page with brush and ink to honor those who died from Covid-19. Each mark represented a life lost. I counted as I created. Working toward a thousand marks, I found the process to be akin to prayer or meditation. I did not think of the final work as “art” or to judge it as good or bad. The process allowed me to pay attention to each life—each mother, child, grandparent or father who had left this earth. Surprisingly, the limitations freed me to explore color, type of mark, and image.

Finding it compelling to mark so many lives, 1,000 to 5,000 on a page, I thought maybe others would feel the same way. I posted some of my images on Instagram and invited painters, fiber artists, printmakers and an architect to join me. To my delight, they sent me wonderfully varied images to post, along with expressions of gratitude for the opportunity to honor the many victims of Covid-19. It was the beginning of “Marking Lives Covid-19,” an exciting project that is growing every day.

How to Participate in Marking Lives Covid-19

Who Can Participate? Anyone! Young and Old!

The Directions: Most people start with a piece of paper but some have used fabric, collage, pom poms, seeds—whatever you love to work with. Make a mark with a brush, pencil, marker, finger, crayon, stick, needle and thread or any tool you would like. Use paint, ink, watercolor, pastel, pencil or any material you have.

To post your work please follow me on Facebook at Markinglivescovid19 and Instagram at #markinglivescovid19. Share and invite friends to join!

As participation expands, I plan to create an online or live exhibition to share the work at my website elizabethawalt.com.