Towards the Light
Towards the Light, 2018, Monotype on synthetic non-woven paper, 11.75”x11.75”
“Being an artist means forever healing your own wounds and at the same time endlessly exposing them.” –Annette Messager
July 27, was the day my beloved Mother passed, transitioned, died. All words that carry a different weight, but regardless mean the same thing.
We all have an expiration date. Mom knew hers was imminent. She had been battling renal cancer for about a year or so. Chronic back pain, for decades. She was ready. In fact, only a couple of weeks prior to, she was showing me where she kept certain papers and valuables she wanted me to be aware of, I asked if she was afraid. She was not. Ellen R. Hersh, was a straight shooter. I always knew how she felt about things. She had a strong moral compass and codes of ethics.
She was truly my North Star. Guiding me, a somewhat difficult, rebellious teen and young adult, pointing me Toward the Light.
When she passed, I recited Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead for a full year. Finding comfort and solace in the ancient tradition, I also turned to the studio, where like the French artist Annette Messager says above, ““Being an artist means forever healing your own wounds and at the same time endlessly exposing them.”