Editor’s note: What activities and practices have gotten us through the pandemic? What have we learned about ourselves during this dismal time? Baltimore Watchdog reporters wrote personal essays and interviewed people on this topic. Here’s what they found.
By Katherine Jones
One small favor for her brother during quarantine quickly turned into a side hustle for 20 year old Maggie Jester.
In August, Jester made a custom pair of white Vans for her younger brother’s girlfriend, Julia, who had just committed to playing volleyball at Rider University. Julia’s shoes featured the college’s logo and mascot, along with a little volleyball to add a personal touch. The main canvas of the shoe was decorated in the school’s colors of red, gray and black, with quirky polka dot designs, stripes and paint drips throughout.
The shoes were a hit. Julia instantly posted them onto her Instagram story and tagged Jester in the post. Shortly after, parents and other college students reached out to her on her Instagram asking for their own pair of custom Vans.
“I had never done anything like this before,” Jester said. “I was unsure of whether or not I was going to be able to execute them the way my brother wanted them to.”
As more requests came in, Jester thought about creating an Etsy shop for her shoes. Her brother joked that he should get half of the money since he’s the reason she started making them. Jester accepted a few custom orders at a time for family and close family friends.
“I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the shoes and my schoolwork,” Jester said. “When the requests really started coming in, it was around midterms. I didn’t want to risk my grades.”
Painting was an outlet for Maggie over quarantine. Her days were mostly spent on Zoom learning about the human anatomy and speech pathology, so switching out her color-coordinated note taking pens for a paintbrush and some markers was a nice change.
All she had to do was sit down at her painting table in her basement, light her favorite candle scent of the month, listen to SZA or Ruel and get to work. She’d research the colleges, find inspiration on Pinterest and then print out what she was going to trace onto the shoes.
“I typically just feel my mind start to clear,” Jester said. “I am typically an overthinker in my daily life, so when I paint and am able to be creative, I feel calmer. The tension just all lets out.”
Because most of the orders were for local family and friends, Jester was able to hand deliver her designs to those who ordered them. Jester repackaged the shoes in their original box, wrapped them up and headed out for deliveries.
“Those drives were my second favorite part,” Jester said. “A little drive around town with my music up is just what I would need sometimes.”
As Jester continued making custom shoes, she felt a sense of pride knowing that her painting hobby paid off. Not only was she able to relax and paint after a long day, but she was going to be getting paid for it, too.
“I learned that I am more artistic than I originally thought,” Jester said. “I just love how creative I can be with the shoes.”
Of course there were days when Jester didn’t feel like searching for logos and designs on Pinterest. Some college logos and background designs required a lot of detail, so the work seemed intimidating.
“If I’m not in the painting mindset,” Jester said, “then I feel as if my designs aren’t as good.”
There have been a few shoes Jester thought she couldn’t complete because of the small details that go into the designs.
“I almost gave up on a pair of shoes I was making for my cousin,” Jester said. “I felt like the logo was not looking how I wanted it to and it was very frustrating.”
The shoes featured the mascot for Shepherd University, which is a ram. The horns were what caused her trouble. The small twists in the details of the horns caused a lot of paint and marker to blend together. Jester thought the shoes were going to turn into one gray blob.
“I ended up just taking a break from them and then finishing them later,” Jester said. “These shoes ended up being one of my favorite pairs that I have done.”
With every design Jester has done, she wanted to ensure the customer would be happy with the shoes, along with herself.
“I have been described as a perfectionist,” she said. “In the end it was really cool to see the shoes come out the way I wanted them to, despite the small issues I saw in them.”
By Hannah Sabo
I have always loved tattoos. Ever since I was a child, I would get reprimanded for doodling designs up and down my arms, my legs and on my sisters. I have nearly 30 tattoos, and I’ve gotten most of them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the last year, I got married to a woman who loves tattoos as much as I do.
We felt inspired by the time to learn something new and embrace an existing interest. So we took it upon ourselves to do research and buy supplies to learn how give each other tattoos.
I remember the very first time I held a tattoo gun in my hand. The needle buzzed rapidly and the ink spattered all over the floor. I was distraught, but I grasped the utensil tightly like a pen, wiped up the ink and tattooed a magnificent gardenia on my wife’s back. With flecks of soft lilac purple and baby pink, I was impressed in myself to say the least.
There’s a tactic to tattooing, I’ve learned. One would think the idea is to penetrate the surface of the skin as deeply as possible without making someone bleed to make the ink stick. But as it turns out, I have found that if your tattoo hurts too much, it’s going past too many layers of your skin and is essentially damaging your flesh, therefore making your tattoo reject from the skin and the pain ends up being pointless.
Before we dove right in, we practiced on orange peels. Yes, orange peels.
The surface of an orange peel is similar enough to human skin and the thickness of it matches approximately how deep one should tattoo someone. So using it for practice can be quite beneficial.
I learned how to tattoo from my cousin, Carin. At age 15 she put a tattoo needle in my hand and taught me to do stick n’ pokes and how careful you need to be when penetrating the skin. I bought an official tattoo gun this past year though, at 21. It’s a bit different and more complex than the ‘by hand’ stuck n poke method.
But it’s not as simple as having a tattoo gun and practicing here and there. You need to make sure your taking safety precautions to ensure that the tattoo won’t get infected and…rot off.
Once your work surface and the area of skin that will be tattooed is disinfected with rubbing alcohol, the area needs to be shaved whether it appears hairless or not for a seamless application of the stencil. The stencil is drawn out between ink and parchment paper and can simply be peeled from itself and adhered to the skin. Consistency is key— once you start, you must hold the tattoo gun down at exactly the same pressure for each stroke or your line work will be very uneven. Shading is done with a lighter hand than line work, and when the session has concluded, you absolutely must moisturize the area tenderly with an antibacterial ointment to ensure healthy healing of the tattoo. Because, essentially, a tattoo is a type of wound.
I first started getting tattoos to cover scars from abusive situations in my life. My first tattoo was a butterfly over a painful scar to signify new beginnings and forgiveness. I inked the butterfly purple because it symbolizes peace and tranquility. I’ve found that I can help other people cover battle wounds both self inflicted and abuse related and I feel as if I’m doing my part to make the world a happier place in doing so. I know that it helped me cope.
COVID-19 hit at a very unexpected time for me. But I remain without regret. I met a lifelong companion who I have learned a skill and am trying to improve on a hobby with, and I’ve learned a new way to express myself and help others express themselves through body art. So whenever I do a tattoo, I’m reminded that everything happens for a reason.