Sarah Dolan, Alone and Not. All at Once.
Sarah Dolan (she/her)
Alone and Not. All at Once.
Color Pencil, collaged onto 3.5 year old daughter's drawing
11" x 14"
In this piece, I depict myself looking out of a house made from my daughter’s colorful magnetic tiles. My daughter uses these to build houses for her toys to play in. All day I play with my daughter, which is not so different as to what life was like before the pandemic, except now we cannot leave. There are not as many play dates, there are no playgrounds full of children that she can play with, there are no more story times at the library, and there is no preschool.
With fewer options for safe childcare, mothers have found their roles at home magnified throughout the pandemic. Many mothers are burned out after a year of living this way.
Even though I am socially distanced from most of my peers, I am never physically alone. There is always the sound of my child saying “mama” somewhere near me. It is the odd feeling of being alone and not. All at once.
@sdolan_arim