20" x 20" Mixed media on wood This piece is one of a series that emerged from a set of 100 letters written by my grandfather to my grandmother while he was a young soldier serving in the US Army during World War I. I never met my grandfather. At the center of the absolute misery of war is the human being, striving to survive against both the bombarding threats and a harrowing sense of isolation. The only abiding antidote to war’s cruelties is real human connection. This truth radiates out from my grandfather’s words, including when he wrote to his beloved “Goldie”: I need to hear from you more to take “the blue” out of me. Feeling isolated and yearning to reconnect are hardly unique to war—they can occur during a global pandemic or simply everyday life. I try to reflect both the joyous dream of reuniting with a loved one as well as the “blue” -- the longing and gloom that befalls all of us now and then. $695
