december fotoplay: gallery 12

The photograph of the work above arrived by email yesterday, along with the series of photographs that I posted below. I have a long, complicated history with my friend Aviva, which weaves in and out of many phases of my life. In her email to me she wrote: I created this painting/collage in memory of a teacher who had such an influence on me when I was in high school. Mr. Smith was my art teacher, his art room was my refuge, and he was my role model at a time when I really needed a role model. I recently found out that Mr. Smith died of cancer, and it seriously upset me. Through the years, I’ve thought about him so much. But I never told him. I never told him how his spirit shaped my life. I never told him how his curiosity about everything, was completely exciting to be around. I never told him that the way he responded to what I made in his class (with inquisitiveness and a sense of wonder) set the tone for the way I look at my own work and the work of my students. There’s a real feeling of pain that comes with not telling people about the impact of their presence in your life. There’s a strange sensation of energy that builds… I made this collage of tears to send out to sea, in honor of Mr. H. Edward Smith.

Just before dusk, I went to the shore, and placed it on the surface of the water.

The sea was moving very gently, rippling in small waves, in and out, in and out…

after some time, my collage of tears turned and moved beyond my reach

and headed out to sea…