Springfield artist Felicia Olin relies on the Old State Capitol Art Fair for about a third of her annual income. Previously scheduled for mid-May, the fair has been canceled “due to the uncertainty of the COVID 19.”
Olin said at times, lately, she’s felt despondent. “I’m literally just staring at a pile of stuff I’ve started,” she said. She’s been lacking the motivation to finish it. Usually, she provides dozens of pieces for the fair’s kids’ tent, in addition to the hundreds of other paintings she sells there.
“I kind of consider myself a children’s artist,” said Olin. Her work is whimsical. It often involves animals or magical creatures such as fairies and mermaids. She illustrated a children’s book of poetry by Springfield’s Vachel Lindsay called A Net to Snare the Moonlight.
Inspired by “the movement where people in Italy were painting signs outside their houses” she recently took her own work outside. Italy has been one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. Slogans like, “Andrà tutto bene” cropped up en masse, often drawn by children and left hanging in windows. The phrase translates to, “Everything will be alright.”
Olin painted the words “Everything will be okay” on the back of her shed, along with a heart and a swirl of colors. The shed overlooks the parking lot of Graham Elementary School.
And then she got an even bigger idea. She painted the whole of the back of her fence, also overlooking the school. Six feet tall, and roughly 50 feet in length, including her shed, the fence has become an outdoor art gallery.
Olin painted various pictures over the course of two weeks: a butterfly, mermaid, cat, rabbit and more of her favorite things. She used frames to outline individual pieces and the entire fence is covered in colorful paint and hearts.
She hopes it will offer some emotional benefit. She said seeing outdoor art comforts her, and she considers it a form of magic that adds uniqueness to the city.
The magic is spreading. One little girl in the neighborhood took note of Olin’s artwork. She dropped off her own piece of art as a gift on Olin’s porch. She wanted Olin to know she was an artist too. And a teacher from Graham messaged Olin to say parents who had come to pick up electronic devices from the school were uplifted to see the artwork. “Thank you for spreading joy during this strange and difficult time. Our families need every bit of sustenance we can give them,” the note read.
Another movement is afoot that has made its way to Springfield. People are cutting out and decorating hearts and hanging them in windows to honor health care workers. Olin said she’s loved seeing the hearts as well as messages of thanks and hope that children have written on the sidewalks in chalk.
Another area effort involves signs made by Dave Heinzel with a red heart and the words, “Everything will be OK.” He’s screen-printed them by the hundreds, and is teaming up with Springfield business Miles TShirts to sell tees with the slogan as well. Proceeds are going to the COVID-19 Response Fund.
For Olin, much about the future is uncertain. “I feel like a deer in headlights,” she said. But one thing is clear. Art is the way she shares her voice and vision. And she’s going to paint.
You can contact Rachel Otwell at rotwell@illinoistimes.com and follow her on Twitter @MsOtwell.
This article appears in Apr 9-14, 2020.
