I am a local artist and stay at home dad (of a 2 and 5 year old) that initiated this collaborative art project, "We are in it together" to share something positive during these challenging times.

There were 6 kid artists aged 10-16 and 6 adults aged 40-58 at different skill levels involved. Most were local, but there were a few from MN, and NE.

The purpose of the artwork was to demonstrate what we are all going through right now. Not only in the representation of the final piece, but mostly in how it was produced. I sent each artist a section or sections of a photo of the final piece to be recreated in pencil. They had no idea what the final piece was or who the others were involved.

Symbolically, some were comfortable, some were challenged, but commonly, they all had no idea of the outcome and completed it "together" from a distance with pencil. The end product was put together virtually and digitally. There are also two sections to honor the deceased within the piece.

The video below includes the artist statement, credits, and final artwork.