1,002 Gifts

It has been a rough ride for over a year now. Many difficult and intense experiences - in my life, in the lives of those around me, and in the world at large - prompted me to create something with my hands that would express my grief and perhaps help me find a way through it. What I came up with is a collage called 1,001 Sorrows, 1,002 Gifts. It's pretty damn intense! but it expresses the way little seedings of new life and possibility sprout in the dark soil of sorrow.

There's a picture of my father and me in the cockpit of the Spruce Goose in the upper left hand corner. It was the last trip we took together before his fall two days later. He was in a coma for almost a year before he passed away in March 2010, two days after my birthday. That trip was such a gift for me, probably the best day we'd shared, just the two of us, since I was a child. Above the picture of the Spruce Goose is my favorite picture of my father and me when I was a child.

There's a watch face that symbolizes time and timing. It is a reminder to me that "this too shall pass" and maybe it says something about the right timing for the seeds to sprout. The bolt of lightning suggests the way grief and trouble can break one open, so the heart is more open to receive and give love. In the bottom left corner is a glass lens (if you click on the pictures it should be easier to see). The lens focuses on a bird flying against the backdrop of a sunset - or is that a sunrise?

Then there's the rainbow behind the curtain and all the little crystal "stars" glued onto the canvas - seeds of light or love or life. It hasn't been easy to track the gifts while things have been so difficult but my vision is getting better. Maybe it gets easier over time. Yes, I think so.