When COVID swept through our world, I struggled to remain creative. But as things began to open up again, I started meeting with an artist friend for hours-long, safely-distanced outdoor art-making sessions. And slowly, I began to find my way back. In one of those sessions, my friend showed me work she’d done during the early days of the pandemic. Inspired by guidance to stay six feet apart at all times, she’d painted and collaged yardsticks to give to friends as beautiful ways to measure out social distance. Something about the form factor felt magical to me, and I began to create my own yardstick stories. They capture pervasive symbols of these times and reflect the ongoing calculus of what we missed, what we’ve lost, what we’ve gained, and where we might go next.