OTTAWA -- As the pandemic continues to keep people physically distant, two Kingston artists are working on building connections.

Marney McDiarmid and Grace MacDonald are drawing public art on the windows of long-term care homes and retirement residences. They are using chalk and colour, hoping to bring smiles to the faces of those inside.

McDiarmid is a ceramic artist who uses plant life as inspiration in her work, while MacDonald uses her talents to draw animals on the windows.

MacDonald says while the two are painting, residents will watch from inside, or come out and join if they feel comfortable. They also have people stop and watch in the street.

“It was a really nice way to bring art to people in an enclosed space, bringing nature to people who are in an enclosed space,” she says. “This kind of art is playful, it’s illustrative, and so I think it brings a lot of joy.”

The work started on sidewalks and businesses around town. But in the last few weeks, the two switched to seniors’ residences, including the Alzheimer’s wing of the Rideaucrest long-term care home.

McDiarmid says the work is personal, as her 100-year old grandparents are in separate homes in British Columbia. She says it has been hard not to be there for them, but wanted to reach out to those locally

“That just made me feel a little less powerless, and like I could I could do something to make the situation a little bit better,” she said.

The art is appreciated.

“A lot of times during something strange like a pandemic our residents can feel very cut off, and just very isolated from the world at large…so this is awesome,” said Karl Tymciw of the St. Lawrence Place Retirement Residence.

The work is an extension of McDiarmid’s grant from the Ontario Arts Council. She was studying plant life in Hawaii when the pandemic closed the borders.

The two are hoping to cover as many retirement and long-term care home windows as they can before the snow falls.

To contact McDiarmid about her work, visit her website.