COVID-19 "Stay-at-Home" Order Inspires Fun Book by Kalamazoo Artist

    KALAMAZOO, MI, November 24, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Forced to "stay at home" in a small mid-western city for almost three months during 2020's COVID-pandemic, artist Brenda Fettig Murphy looked for ways to "keep from going nuts."

One day she went down into her art studio, picked up a pencil, closed her eyes, and drew a "squiggle." And another…and another. She colored them and they took shape. She began sharing her creations via social media, along with the question: "What do you see?" And boy, did she get responses! No two people saw the same thing. It became a sort of a daily COVID-19 Rorschach test for her growing number of followers.

Murphy took her best drawings and turned them into the book: "Squiggling Thru COVID-19: How this Artist Kept from Going Nuts during the Pandemic," which is now for sale on Amazon.

The 46-page book is a stunning compilation of colored pencil drawings that inspires readers to find a focus or purpose during a very difficult time in our society. The illustrations are brightly colored and narrated with fun and thoughtful captions collected from her social media community. Pages at the back of the book encourage readers to draw and name their own "squiggles." Moxie Magazine's November issue features an article about the book. It was also featured on WMUK Art Beat.

- Listen to WMUK's Art Beat radio interview with Brenda here

"I like to use mixed media. I love bright colors, whimsical ideas and touches of humor in my artwork. I've used pen, ink, markers, watercolors, acrylics, and even nail polish to draw geometric abstracts and impressionistic landscapes. Art and creativity bring balance to my life. Having people look at my artwork and see them smile makes my day."

Brenda is a New York City native who was transplanted from mid-town Manhattan to Kalamazoo, Michigan, years ago when her husband took a job with the Upjohn Company.

She is one of those rare individuals who uses both her left and right brain to achieve her goals. She has a B.A. in Chemistry from Trinity College, an M.A. in Mathematics Education from Columbia University, owned a full-service market research company for 12 years, tutored Math to students from middle school to MCAT prep and has an art studio to keep the creative side flowing. She has attempted to answer the question "What is art?" through her work at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Western Michigan University, Ox-Bow, and at art workshops in the U.S. and France.

Murphy has a store on Etsy at BrendArt. Prints of the drawings in this book are available at [email protected]

For more information, contact:
Brenda Fettig Murphy
3658 Woodcliff Drive
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
269-598-2808 C | [email protected]

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