dark places and light hearts

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves

at the same time.

- Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

Sometimes, i get images in my head
of mom's last moments in the hospital...

I am overwhelmed with grief
until i sketch or paint the memory in my head
and it somehow eases the burden in my heart.

i believe that every day,
we are faced with the choice to move past difficult moments and live
- or stay stuck and die.

Making art is my way of moving on.

I like to think we all have our own way of moving on
from the dark days.

From divorce.

From death.

From tragedy.

From confusion.

From abuse.

From the loss of a job

the loss of a house

the loss of a limb...

some places are darker than others
and who am i to judge
those who are unable to find their way out?

We all have our crosses to bear.

I only know that art helps me

move through my own darkness.

This little video is of a song from a movie i saw a while ago
and fell in love with, called YOUNG AT HEART.

If you haven't seen it, you must.

This song is particularly touching,
because it was meant to be a duet,
but his partner died only one week before the performance.

And Fred Knittle had the courage
to go on without him and sing alone.

Here's the trailer for the movie...

it made me laugh and cry.

xox