Constant Through Grief

This concept was dancing in the back of my mind for almost a year before I was able to fully grasp it. I knew I wanted to depict the things my grandpa keeps on his nightstand, the objects he always has with him during the day, the things that remind me of him. However, as I began making it, it started to feel more important than that.

I was thinking of the day I realized the picture on his nightstand had changed. My grandparents used to keep pictures of their grandkids everywhere. This changed several years ago when my uncle passed away pretty quickly and unexpectedly after being diagnosed with melanoma. Photos of him and my dad started to become more prevalent in their home. My grandparents haven’t been the same since. Part of them was gone. While the tangible things they carried with them throughout the day remained constant, they were carrying new grief with them at the same time.

This is a woodcut print. The process consists of sketching a design onto a block of wood and carving it out until the image stands above the rest of the surface. I then rolled ink onto the raised surface of the wood, placed a piece of paper over it, and rolled them both through the press.

Woodcut (2023)

18” x 13”