Letters: Return to Roaring Twenties, vaccine ethics and Portman
Letters to the editor
It s up to us to create a new Roaring Twenties
The Spanish Influenza has been on my mind lately. We heard a lot about the parallels between the 1918 pandemic and our COVID-19 crisis early on, and it s reemerged as we look ahead to what may come next.
Historians argue that an eagerness to return to a communal social life after years of staying indoors contributed to the flourishing art scenes and cultural revolutions of jazz, art deco, surrealism, the Harlem Renaissance and other important movements.
Can we be so lucky again? How can we contribute to the cultural renaissance of our next “Roaring Twenties?” Unlike a century ago, now we have a plethora of screens and at-home entertainment options that may placate us and slow our return to a public cultural life. But, without our return and the active support we all provide for the arts when we patronize galleries, museums, concert halls, and
Toward the end of the life of her mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Susanne Dotson began painting scenes of flowers, especially the roses her mother loved.
The Columbus artist, who began the homage to her mother at the beginning of 2020, said the acrylic paintings “just started pouring out of me.” On Dec. 20, at the age of 96, Harriet Keller Wise also a painter died in her home in LaGrange, Ohio, in the northeastern part of the state.
Dotson’s colorful floral series is presented in the Short North’s Sarah Gormley Gallery. The exhibit, which also can be seen on the gallery website, is titled “Can You Tell Me Who I Am,” one of the questions Dotson’s mother would ask in her final years.
With the calendar finally turned over on 2020, Allison Richmond-Leeth wishes she could feel more excited to start fresh in a new year.
However, she admits she’s a bit nervous about all the uncertainty about the pandemic, her career, her artwork that still looms.
To combat that anxiety, the 25-year-old Downtown resident wrote down a list of New Year’s resolutions to help her continue to grow the art business, Soft Peach Designs, she’s focused on the past 10 months since being laid off from her event-planning job in March.
“If you’re having trouble focusing on things, having goals can help you focus in all aspects of life,” Richmond-Leeth said. “You can look back and see, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do,’ and you can do it today or next week, however long it takes you to do.”
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Jason Harris, Publisher
Jason Harris, son of founder of Harris Publishing Darryl Harris, is a lifelong resident of Idaho Falls. Jason married his high school sweetheart, Michelle Clements, after serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Curitiba, Brazil. Jason is the father of four daughters and considers himself the luckiest guy in the world. A graduate of both Ricks College and Idaho State University, Jason brings with him a degree in journalism and his experience growing up in the publishing industry.