A Potter, a Weaver, and a Pandemic

End Up with Their Art and an Epic Story

Our Epic Story

On January 16, 2020, Cheryl, a weaver, and Paul, a potter, Molesky, left the USA for their dream vacation in Tokyo, Japan. The planned destinations were a cruise through Asia onboard the Diamond Princess and a train journey through Japan. Events took an extraordinary turn when, on February 5th, the captain of the Diamond Princess announced that passengers could not disembark, but were quarantined due to the coronavirus.

This was the beginning of not one, but two official quarantines, the second on Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, USA. After returning home to Syracuse, New York, shelter in place, or home quarantine, became the new normal. How do we survive all this chaos? We’ll make art! It’s the way we see the world clearly and make sense of events. Talking about the pandemic, documenting it, and making art is like… all we can do right now.

Cheryl Molesky, Weaver, Spinner, Contemporary Textiles

Paul Molesky, Potter, Sculptor, Collage Artist

Cheryl and Paul’s Art Work Inspired by the Pandemic

 

In the news all over the world!

It was quite surprising to find ourselves on the Diamond Princess in the center of this surreal media frenzy. This was the story, at the beginning of the pandemic, that made the coronavirus real to many people. We were interviewed and our photos published by news organizations all over the world.

Click on the pictures below for some of the news stories.

Technology Kept Us in Touch with the Outside World

Our YouTube channel, that started out as a way to communicate with our family and friends while on the Diamond Princess, turned into a beautiful thing, with strangers wishing strangers well around the world. The comments from many people were a source of strength and inspiration for us.

Follow Us on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook

 

We believe Our Epic Story is historical and important to document. Rather than write and market, a book, this website is a multimedia way to tell our story. The photos, text, and videos are an important part of the narrative and hard to publish in book form. The plan, which may take a number of months, is to post the daily events starting with the beginning in Tokyo and continuing to life in Syracuse, NY during the pandemic. All this content is free to everyone who visits our page. If you'd like to help support the effort of maintaining this site, please buy our artwork or donate. Thank you from Cheryl and Paul