Alva Review-Courier -

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The archetype of the gloomy, secluded artist never appealed to Bismarck painter Nicole Gagner.

"Community connection is really another big part of my work, since everything is inspired by the world around me," she said. "It is really easy to get isolated as an artist and just hole up in your studio and not talk to anybody for days. It would be so easy for me to do that, and I know that that wouldn't make me happy."

But in the time of the coronavirus pandemic, artists, like most people, are being asked to do just that: keep to themselves. In the Bismarck arts community, cr...