recalling a WWII Dutch survivor’s story and celebrating our human connection
Read Morethe story
how "Beholding Touch" was born
Those unforgettable moments. The times that make the hair stand up at the back of your neck. The moments your mind refers back to time and time again.
That's what matters most.
During the trip to The Netherlands with my dear Dad in 2015, I captured a moment that became the inspiration for the Gratitude Collection, eight pieces of art honoring WWII Veterans and the Dutch citizens, who's love and respect for their beloved heroes is incredible.
The collection's signature piece, "Beholding Touch", became the first, born from a photograph that spurred my creativity and longing to create a lasting legacy for those we love.
I invite you to travel with me back to the moment...
Dad and I are in the city of Apeldoorn, along with over a hundred Veterans and their families to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation. Holland has held a tradition of hosting a major celebration every five years and there are throngs of people lining the streets for the parade in the heart of the city. It's a cool spring day, camera crews and photographers are everywhere, period army vehicles from the 1940's and drivers dressed in gear replicating wartime, are transporting the Veterans. There are shouts of joy, flowers, flags, and children and parents and grandparents who vividly remembered their plight during the war and wear their emotion on their sleeves. And many respectfully make their way close enough in genuine hope of touching one of the soldiers who helped free them.
We're in an old army ambulance vehicle, I'm seated behind my Dad, but it's difficult for me to see the people. I jump out of the back to walk alongside and experience things more fully. Soon after, a young girl gingerly reaches her little hand up to touch my Dad's and she stares him in the eyes for what seems like a full minute. The image shows up in my camera, intact, clear, intently calling out to me.
Another day, another location in the province of Friesland during that same trip, put me in front of a bronze sculpture by Tineke Willemse - Steen, of a beautiful young child with a cherub-like face. This photograph becomes part of Beholding Touch (in the top left of the image), and is symbolic of children who did not survive the war and who were witnessing - beholding - the generations who were free and that did survive.
We were to board a plane this week, May 1st, 2020, with my Dad, bound for Amsterdam, to celebrate the 75th Liberation Day with the Dutch and five other Veterans and families. We were to be in Dokkum, and the Gratitude Collection was to be exhibited there, where my Dad and fellow Vets would see the artwork for the first time.
Instead, we're home and nesting due to the pandemic that has gripped the world. And Dad has peacefully and quietly moved on to his final resting place in heaven above. He's watching life unfold with cherubs and angels.
The legacy remains.
in the army
vehicle behind my Dad
Apeldoorn, May 2015
me walking beside the army
vehicle and coming upon
the little girl (bottom left)
who appears in
"Beholding Touch"
original photograph
Apeldoorn parade
Dad with young child
May 2015
photograph of bronze
by Dutch sculptress Tineke Willemse - Steen
located in Hotel Landgoed Lauswolt, Beetsterzwaag
May 2015
Go here for information about the Gratitude Collection and the exhibition that is now rescheduled.
What's Cookin'?
Definitely nothing in my kitchen!
Much to the disappointment of my family.
I am making a "recipe" I have never really made before. Some of the ingredients I have used and know very well, others not often if at all. Some are like those little-known spices you have to reach way back in the cupboard to get and realize how much you've wanted to use but never had the right recipe.
The ingredients I'm using are not spices, or culinary in nature. Instead, here's the list:
cradled wooden panels
photographs of a memorable experience
encaustic wax, heated on an electric griddle
encaustic paints & pigment sticks
archival print paper
hake brushes
blowtorch & heat gun
strong arms and good eyesight
No, I'm not in my kitchen. I'm in my studio creating a body of artwork called the Gratitude Collection, based on a memorable trip to the Netherlands in 2015 with my father - a WWII Canadian Veteran who helped liberate that country. I'm working through trial and error and, well, a few science experiments.
The element of using encaustic, or fusing hot wax, is new to me, and after a fantastic workshop with artist Dietlind Vander Schaaf, I knew instantly that the beautiful texture and ethereal quality of the wax were what these images needed to come to life.
I'm accepting the challenges and the unknowns because I think it is important, and I'm hell-bent to get this work into the world. The people of the Netherlands need to know how powerful their gratitude is and what it can accomplish in the world.
This recipe will take patience, resilience, maybe an assistant or two (AKA children), and a supportive network of family and friends. I am blessed.
So, while my husband makes his cranberry relish (it's Pepto pink but we love it!) for our US Thanksgiving meal, I'll continue feverishly working in my studio.
I invite you to watch this video of the first piece in the making:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e_Vmwb6anY
Be grateful. It is powerful.
gratitude + love = pure joy
THEIR EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE IS LIKE NOTHING YOU COULD IMAGINE...
It was powerful and overwhelming, and it was a trip that will be forever etched in my heart.
In May 2015, I was honored to travel to the Netherlands with my father, then a 90-year-old WWII Canadian veteran. We were invited there to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their liberation, and I experienced firsthand what it is like to be immersed in the kindness and gratitude of the Dutch. They value their freedom, and they feel it is their duty to thank the people who fought for it.
In 1945, my father was witness to the horrific impact war had on the people of the Netherlands. He was there at the end of the war and also experienced the jubilation of their freedom. During his subsequent trips back, and also in 2015, seeing survivors and their families and children celebrating in the streets, brought him much joy and brought me to tears.
It also made me realize I needed to create a body of work inspired by those emotions.
The piece above is comprised of photographs I took on that trip in 2015. It is intended to recognize the continuation of generations and pay tribute to those children who did not survive the war. My father was keen to shake the hand of this young girl in the crowd at a parade in the city of Apeldoorn. The cherubic image at the top left (a photo of a bronze sculpture also taken while there) represents those children who lost their lives and are viewing the exchange between soldier and survivor's family.
The things we experience in life have so much meaning. When we take the time to preserve those moments, especially the moments that land in our soul, they can be enjoyed generation after generation.
Preserve what matters most.
If you receive my newsletter, you will be notified when prints of the collection inspired by this trip are available. Please share this with those who might be interested and encourage them to provide their email and be on my mailing list too. Thanks!