We have stepped through the sociological looking glass to flatten out the pandemic curve only to discover yet another degree of digital isolation with social distancing and self-quarantine. I’m not saying texting, emails, and FaceTime doesn’t have a role in keeping us connected in our brave new world. They do, but with one significant limitation. There is an element of personal touch that is missing, even if our emails say the same thing as our more personal forms of communication. That was made clear to me when I recently got a notecard I got from a long time friend I hadn’t heard from in years.
The first surprise came when I opened the card. The graphic on the front panel triggered an intense time warp back to grad school days in Seattle, which we both attended. While the recall of younger days brought joy with a tinge of melancholy, it was the handwriting inside that caught my attention. Unlike impersonal digital fonts, his script with a familiar quirky style made the notecard more real and comforting despite his news of medical setbacks and personal losses. I instantly felt like a confidant with a sudden urge to gather pen and notecard and draft my response.
In our “don’t stand to close to me” world with no end in sight, a personal communique may be the thing you need to reconnect with a critical friend who got misplaced in your busy life.
Below is a deck of notecards of some of my paintings that you can purchase online.
