SEARCY, Ark. – During this time of self isolation, many people have extra time on their hands to explore hobbies. One Searcy dentist has done just that.
Dr. Beth Patterson has turned into a cartoon illustrator to pass the time until she can reopen her practice.
The Searcy dentist was anxious when she found out her practice had to close over coronavirus spread concerns. It left her without work for a while.
“I’ve never been without a job I worked since I was 13,” Dr. Patterson said.
Quickly, she turned to the hobby of cartooning to cope with her changing world. She made doodles about standing in line at the unemployment office.
“It’s really humbling to stand in line with other people who are out of work.”
She made drawings about what it was like going to the grocery store during panic buying.
“There were huge shelves of nothing which just frightened the heck out of me.”
She says it’s something she started doing casually in the last few years to bring joy to a friend who was having a medical scare.
“I started drawing little pictures to cheer him up and it involved unto a 7 panel Sunday paper,” Dr. Patterson said.
This time, the dentist is using her hands in a different type of way, to cope with COVID-19.
‘It’s really soothing to sit down and draw the color then it is kind of mellows you out and makes you feel less panicky.”
