Recently, with the help of design assistant Laura Avila, Monica completed the layout for a Christmas tree commemorating our collective experience during the 2021 pandemic. The decision to use shades of blue for the tree was inspired by feedback gathered in 2023 from high school students at Fayetteville High School.
While collaborating on The Hearts Project with members of the FHS National Art Honor Society, Monica crafted writing prompts aimed at exploring the emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people. The students’ responses were moving and insightful, forming the artistic foundation for the paper heart designs that would represent the struggles of Christmas 2021.
A recurring and powerful theme emerged: isolation. The 2021 holiday season saw another surge in COVID-19 cases, with a death toll that surpassed Christmas 2020. Social distancing and mask mandates were still in place, even as students returned to in-person classes. These measures, while necessary, deepened the sense of separation at a time in life when connection is vital. Friendships, classroom interactions, and moments of teenage joy were stifled, leaving many feeling depressed and lonely.
The sorrow reflected in these responses reminded Monica of Elvis Presley’s 1957 classic, Blue Christmas—particularly the line, “I’ll have a blue Christmas without you.” During the pandemic, “without you” held a double meaning. For some, it referenced the painful loss of a loved one. For others, it captured the ache of being cut off from the living—family, friends, and community. Both forms of absence left lasting emotional wounds.
The feedback, along with the haunting resonance of Elvis’s words, inspired a concept: a Christmas frame dedicated to all who felt isolated during a season meant for togetherness. Called The Christmas Blues, the piece features a blue Christmas tree with white snowflakes falling in the background—evoking the ideal of a “white Christmas.” Many of the hearts surrounding the tree are black, representing the enduring presence of loss and grief during that time.
