Growing up and living in Germany for the first decades of my life, I was living in the centre of Europe, in a densely populated area. We were just a few hours by car from Amsterdam or Paris. We didn’t think anything of going by bus or train to destinations like Rome or Lisbon. I took it for granted, it was normal to be in the middle of everything and have access to a lot of destinations and amenities.
Now, I’m living in Nova Scotia, Canada, which is this small outpost at the easternmost edge of the North American continent. The province is a peninsula and connected to the rest of Canada by a narrow isthmus (a narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, connecting two larger bodies of land). The population of our province is not even a million people. I live in a small rural town. The nearest airport is almost two hours away and travelling is not as easy as it used to be in other places I’ve lived. This kind of geographical isolation means that life here is quieter and does not offer exciting things like big musical acts performing, or a good variety of stores. For the longest time, we didn’t even have an IKEA store, the nearest one was in Montreal – 1200 km (750 miles) away! It does feel a bit isolated at times, compared to the hustle and bustle in other parts of the country.
But in times of a pandemic, all those apparent disadvantages suddenly turned to being positive things. The virus was slow in approaching, our public health officials had time to see it coming and to act accordingly. They observed what was happening in other parts of the world and Canada and prepared. We introduced strict measures from the start and have been successful so far in keeping the spread under control. We have a very low case load, and life is almost normal -with restrictions, of course. With four other Atlantic Provinces around us, we formed a bubble in July 2020 that is guarded against an influx of visitors from the rest of Canada and the world by strict quarantine and entry regulations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Bubble). And so far, it is holding up, the bubble has not burst yet.
We feel isolated and a bit safer at the same time. My piece will pick up on those thoughts – I will share the result soon! Here is a detail of the work in progress:
I also look very much forward to see the finished piece of my guest artist, Lisa Jenni (www.thinkquilts.com, Instagram: thinkquilts.lisa.jenni). She lives in the Pacific Northwest, in Redmond, Washington, and is excited to share her take on our Isolation theme with you very soon.
About her art, she writes: “In my artwork, color, composition, and allowing the “unexpected” to take place, pull the viewer deeper into the layers: First catch the eye and then engage the viewer to step closer and explore.”
Golden Ratio II – 34″ x 21″ 2016
Thanks for sharing the story for our world of artists, Regina… As an Ontario, CA resident (and yes, we have an awesome Health Department and in Kingston, ON are in the “green” or GO status here along Lake Ontario) we have Queen’s University and are struggling a bit to keep the students all in tow.
Loved the peek into your new work and especially the glorious colour both you and Lisa are bringing to us! Bethany in Kingston, ON
I agree, it is an effort to keep the local University students in line, we deal with the same issue here. But so far it worked. Thanks for your kind comment about my work, I hope you will like the finished piece!
OK…speaking of “geographical isolation,” I ha to read the first sentence a couple of times to process Ontario, CAnada instead of Ontario, CAlifornia–a relatively small town in Southern California near where I grew up. I do know about Canada and have even visited parts, though not Ontario (yet), so had to roll my eyes at myself a bit. Totally agree with your comment!
Thank you for commenting, Mary! Ontario would not be isolated as it is in the center of Canada, and we are perched on the Eastern Coast. But now I’m glad we are far away from any major population centres, it’s just easier here. Stay safe!
I have traveled to Prince Edward Island, the setting of Anne of Green Gables ,a novel that Japanese woman love. I also stopped by Nova Scotia and was impressed by it’s beauty.
Yes, all of Atlantic Canada is very beautiful. I love the beaches and especially the ones in PEI!
You have a public health department!
I remember one of our county commissioners exclaiming, we don’t need a public health department we have two hospital systems! Oh dear. The ignorance of that comment . . .
Yes, and the best part is that our local politicians let them speak and listen to their advice! I now know the names of every province’s medical officer because you see them on TV daily.