Year 3 of this pandemic is quickly approaching and one might think we’d be getting used to being in these “unprecedented times.” And yet the last several months have been extra challenging for me, particularly as a parent of small children (one of whom cannot be vaccinated yet). So this blog has been silent as my focus has been simply to get through the weeks with everyone being healthy and safe.
The good news is that I have a bunch of new stuff to talk about in 2022, including my second book which will be published this summer! I’ll write about everything in future posts, but for now I want to circle back to my handwoven COVID visualization from last year.
In January 2022 I wrote up a post for the Data Visualization Society’s blog, the Nightingale, that goes beyond the mechanics of the visualization to discuss how central my emotions and my anxiety were to creating my 2020 COVID visualization. With a little distance between finishing the visualization and now, it became clear to me that having an outlet for my pandemic-induced feelings was a critical, if yet untold, part of the visualization. I’m glad to finally be able to put into words what was originally only subconscious thoughts.
As a result of my post with the Nightingale, I was invited to participate in the COVID Calls podcast, which I’m sharing here:
In addition to discussing the visualization, I also share some of my thoughts as a science librarian and show off a couple hexagons from the 2021 edition of the visualization. Expect the 2021 visualization to appear on the blog later this year once I finally finish it.
That’s what I have for now: I’m still here and will be back with more exciting content soon.
