i am sassa

Awhile back I asked people following my project to tell me about the women they know who are working on the frontlines of the pandemic as healthcare workers. I had it in my head that I was going to get a recommendation that blew me away so profoundly that I would have to paint her. In reality, I got too many to list here.

You guys made me straight up weep with the stories of what your loved ones are doing right now. I learned about women who have been working tirelessly to better our understanding of infectious diseases for decades. I learned about brand new nurses who graduated nursing school and found themselves immediately in what has to feel like a war zone. Moms who are managing to balance work with their roles in a family that they are terrified to put in harms way. Daughters and granddaughters who haven’t seen their parents and grandparents all year, but have held the hands of other people’s parents and grandparents as they passed away. It was all heart wrenching to read, and I could not pick just one person.

I hope that my desire to embody them all works in some way. I hope this one even transcends any idea of gender. I cannot begin to imagine what this has been like for the people who are working the hardest and risking the most to keep the rest of us safe. I can’t imagine how tired they must be, and how broken they must feel some days. I can’t imagine what all that uncertainty and sickness and fear and death is doing to their hearts.

I am in awe of every person who has to look like this painting right now just to work a shift. I am so grateful for every one of you. Thank you.