Her paintings tell the story of the brave nurses amid COVID-19

Looking at nurse Tessa Moeller’s art in the time of COVID-19 is a haunting and yet hopeful experience.

The strength, the dedication, the love, the care, the exhaustion, and the fear are all in the eyes of her subjects, who show up every day to fight this unforgiving disease.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Moeller, 28, was working in the Trauma Burn Unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital. As Miami-Dade quickly became a coronavirus hot spot, she started painting what she saw.

“My initial paintings focused on the chaos, uncertainty and fear that swept through the hospital,” Moeller said.

“I feel compelled to capture this time in nursing and medicine through my art as I have always used painting to evoke the rawness of the human experience. In this scary time, I find that capturing my experience as a nurse during COVID is something that gives me a sense of control and purpose.”

She said the kindness and bravery of her fellow nurses have inspired her to share their stories.

One of those fellow nurses she painted is Grant Hertz, a vascular access nurse at Jackson who works with COVID-19 patients in the ICUs.

In May, Moeller moved to Portland, Oregon, and now works in a Surgical Oncology Intermediate Care Unit at Providence Portland Medical Center. She learned to paint from her professional artist father.

In Portland, she said her patients are especially vulnerable to COVID.

“We have to treat everyone as though they do have it and be super vigilant about it. Everyone is tested numerous times and then retested before surgery,” she said.

Through it all she keeps painting.

“I continue to work on this series of COVID experiences by drawing upon my own experiences as well as seeking out the stories of my fellow nurses,” Moeller said.

“What I hope to convey through my work is the strength and bravery of my fellow healthcare workers who show up every day to face the unknown. I hope to capture the beauty within the chaos.”

Moeller has posted the collection of her current work on Instagram @tessamoellerart. You can write to her at moellertessa@gmail.com.

Award winners announced at virtual ceremony

Congratulations to Ana B. Rodriguez on being the 2020 Lori Brener Scholarship Fund Recipient.

“On June 23rd, due to the pandemic, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami held a virtual graduation for our students hosted by our president and CEO Gale S. Nelson. Following the beautiful ceremony, we had a Zoom Winner’s Circle with all the kids who received scholarships. It was very emotional to see them and watch their reactions about being a scholarship winner,” said Miriam Salazar.

Each year, Salazar presents the Lori Brener Scholarship Fund winner in memory of her daughter, who died in 2009 at age 42. Lori, a graduate of Coral Park High School, graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in fine arts and worked in the film industry.

Scholarship recipient Ana, who has been in America just two years, graduated from Cutler Bay Senior High School with an un-weighted 4.0 average. She is president of the Spanish Honor Society, and vice president of the Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society. She was accepted to four universities and will attend Florida International University to major in law.

“After I graduate I’m planning on helping the community in multiple ways. I have gone through many situations in my life in which people around me have helped me,” Ana said.

“If I’m able to become a business lawyer, I would like to assist others that might need legal guidance at the beginning of their social development. The Lori Brener Scholarship has given me such an amazing opportunity and I am so grateful. Thank you for believing in me. I will not disappoint you! I cannot express how grateful and excited I am.”

The Fund renewed five scholarships to previous recipients who are performing “so amazingly well that the Committee decided to give them scholarships again to help them continue their education and achieve their goals,” Salazar said.

The renewals went to Raphaella Alexandre, Laura Santos, Odjeena Jean Louis, Jordon Perry and Nicole Cruz.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami established the Lori Brener Scholarship Fund in 2009 in loving memory of past member Lori Brener for her exceptional contribution to the organization. This year the group’s primary fundraising event had to be postponed. To donate and help students, visit bbbsmiami.org/programs/education/.

Virtual Camps at MDC

Kids and teens love to learn through screens and now they can enjoy even more through the diverse selection of virtual summer camps presented by Miami Dade College.

The Summer On-Screen Camps include classes in international cooking, art, photography, science, dance, film production, virtual CSI, and even podcasting.

Weekly sessions are available in the mornings and afternoons for children ages 7-12 and teenagers ages 13-17. The cost is $35 per class with some camps being offered at no cost. Courses are offered through Aug. 14.

Explore what’s there and register at http://www.mdc.edu/summercamps or call 305-237-2161. To learn about and register for the CSI and Procedural Justice Virtual Camp, contact Rachelle Tanega at 305-237-8415 or rtanega@mdc.edu.

Frost Music live stream concerts extended

Frost School of Music at the University of Miami started its virtual concert series March 27 to help us through the early days of the pandemic. Now, due to popular demand, the live stream events are back through Aug. 21.

Friday Nights @ Frost includes inspiring concert rebroadcasts available to watch on You Tube at 7:30 p.m., every Friday. Check out the schedule and learn more at https://frost-music-live.miami.edu/

Learn about kaiju, fictional giant monsters

We all need diversions right now and this is a good one.

On July 9, James B. Levy, Professor at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law and a longtime collector of Japanese kaiju toys, gave a virtual presentation about the history and cultural impact of the fictional giant monster-like characters that have transcended Japanese culture.

Kaiju are popular among science fiction fans, artists, scholars and folklore lovers around the globe.

The event, hosted by the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale and the Consulate-General of Japan, can be viewed, along with many other interesting virtual tours and museum lectures, at https://nsuartmuseum.org/

First depicted during the 1960s and ‘70s in Japanese television shows, these giant monsters were usually shown battling superheroes and trying to save cities from destruction. Collectors include influential artists, musicians, designers, and writers who rediscovered the vinyl monster toys decades later.

You can also enjoy a virtual tour of art inspired by kaiju in the “Happy!” exhibition through Aug. 30.

If you have news for this column, write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com.