TheBurg

Tristan Bond Tristan has been a massage therapist at Hershey Spa for 11 years, but, like many businesses, the spa has been closed since mid-March. He's trying to be mindful of not procrastinating with ample free time. Activation comes and goes, but, when his hands are busy, the ideas are fluid. Keeping his brain and body active are instrumental to maintaining creative flow. He's been working on concepts for two murals in Midtown and feeling grateful that the pandemic hasn't tabled the projects. Tristan is a little worried that there might be complications ordering supplies right now, but they will be his first murals painting directly on a wall instead of using parachute cloth, and he loves the prospect of growing as a muralist. Tristan is also glowing more than usual. He's going to be a dad soon, and, pandemic be damned, he is so excited. Phil Wells Phil lost some projects due to the economic hardship of the small businesses that usually contract him, especially restaurants and small retail shops. But he feels fortunate to have picked up a couple of projects as places like Little Amps transitioned for modified service. ey hired him to make a hand-painted sign and to modify a coffee cart previously intended for Troegs, which will now live at the downtown shop on State Street. He's had a bit more time to draw, sketch custom furniture designs, and work in the garden. Walking through the gate of Phil's house feels like walking into some kind of city garden oasis. e side of the house has been tilled into beds of lettuce, arugula, peppers, tomatoes, peas and an alphabet of other vegetables and produce. Community connectivity was always incredibly important to Phil and his partner, Kate. ey were already planning on doing what he calls a "homestead style" vegetable garden, but, with the looming pandemic, they expedited a lot of the work this spring with intentions to produce high yield—much more than they need. He hopes that the crisis opens up more discussion on solving issues of food insecurity here in Harrisburg. Jovana Sarver Jovana's usual projects have been sidelined during the pandemic: drawing, DJing, creating live multimedia installations and other art. She's also no longer working at Rubicon as a server. But, while being mindful of frugality for the first time in her life, she actually has the time to really explore what kind of medium she wants to focus on. Dyeing fabric was something that she started doing before stay-at-home orders, but now she's fully immersed. She's been foraging lichen on the Greenbelt to test and develop dyes, working with indigo, ice dyes and Cochineal dyes. ere is a long line of vibrant pieces hanging between the blooming trees in her backyard. She's a bit conflicted at times—the weight of this time is undeniable, and she still experiences moments of despair, but over all, sheltering in place has given her the opportunity to re-center and discover.

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