SARASOTA - Many small businesses took a big hit from the pandemic, but a local artist has never lost hope and even has used her talents to help others. 

Inside the Bazaar on Apricot & Lime you’ll find artists of many talents, including Karle Murdock.

“This is my lifetime of work," Murdock said at her booth. "It was at home, and I wanted to show the world.

And sell it to the world, but until a few weeks ago, she hasn’t been able to do that.

“I was just coming up to season, when COVID shut us down," Murdock said.

Her main income essentially disappeared, but she found a way to stay busy.

“I thought, 'What do people need; what do they want?'" Murdock said.

She designed and made her own line of masks, creating a surgical shape with her own patterns and removable, adjustable straps.

“I'm learning as the need presents itself," Murdock said.

In the meantime Carl Reynolds Law thought Murdock could use 'A Helping Hand.'

“God bless you and your business here, and we hope you continue to grow," H. Bowen Summer of Carl Reynolds Law said, presenting Murdock with a check for $1,000.

Murdock hopes as restrictions loosen, sales for her whole family of artists at the Bazaar will start coming back in.

“We’re just now coming back, and wish us luck, please," Murdock said.

You can visit Karle Murdock and see her work at the Bazaar on Apricot & Lime Thursday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.