This year I have decided to create a huge project using my Mizzles in memory of my dad, who passed away on July 21, 2014. He wasn’t a perfect man, nor was he a perfect father, but he loved his family unconditionally. He always worked hard for us, all the way to the end. He loved to laugh and play jokes; and he was very giving...to a fault at many times! And he loved my Mizzles! I miss him greatly!
In memory of my dad, I will be randomly choosing 50 people to receive either a numbered painting or a Mizzle doll. I created a series of paintings that I call The Remembering Dad Project. To the right, you will see 10 images. These were painted specifically for this project. There are 10 images total, but I created 5 paintings of each image. The paintings are inspired by the Rise Festival that my mom, sister, and I attended a few months after my dad passed away. It was such a beautiful experience for us to share, where we reflected on where we were at the moment, what were our future goals and wishes, and where we were able to send thoughts of love and messages of “we miss you” up in the sky to my dad. The Remembering Dad Project came about in January 2015 after having a few emotionally rough weeks. In addition to being an artist, I’m a high school art teacher. During that month, one of my students lost his mother to cancer; another student was in the process of watching her mom deteriorate from cancer; and a former student, now great friend, lost her father in a very brief amount of time to cancer tumors (similar to what my dad had) amongst other health issues. These events all retriggered my own grief of losing my father and it allowed me to reflect on how blessed I am. When my father passed away, my mom, sister and I were not alone. We were surrounded by what felt like an army of people who loved us. With all of this in mind, I felt I needed to do something to honor my dad’s memory and to honor the people who we were blessed to have in our life. If you’d like to see some of the progress of this project you can search #rememberingdadproject for photos and blog posts. |
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