Mending heart completed

​My mother and I lived geographically apart since 1970, when I moved to the States. I had a deeply stressed childhood, being placed in the role of intermediary between warring parents. Only by escaping to another country did I feel that I could become my own person. The relationship between my mother and me was broken by my marriage, which my mother raged against. She never apologized for the massive tantrum she threw at my new husband and me, belittling him and my choice in men. 

This piece represents the mending of that broken relationship because that is miraculously what happened in the following years. By the time she passed away in November, 2023, we had come full circle. We started traveling together and through those travels, we talked about a lot of things in her life. I learned to laugh at her insults and to admire all she had done as a single parent. I understood her better than any other person in the world. I knew that she loved me and all her children to the best of her ability.    

mending heart wip

This new Art Tag round is "Mending," a very appealing topic. After some thought, I decided to work on a relationship piece using a faded child's kimono that I picked up at a Tokyo flea market in 2019. The top image is an iconic photo of my mom, who couldn't get by without coffee in the morning and afternoon. The lower image is me looking pouty in my favorite cowgirl outfit. My challenge now was what to put in the space between us.
I read my mom's journal last night and was struck by the banality of her observations. The journal was written intermittently over the last 12 years of her life. Up to her 70’s she used to write the most engaging and interesting observations in her weekly planners. In this journal, she recorded her aches and pains, daily chores, and meals taken with my sister and niece. She also pasted many newspaper clippings of recipes, healthy habits, gardening, and cartoons. I was pleased to note that her final entry, made in the summer of 2020, was still coherent even when she had trouble interacting with others. She wrote in Spanish, English and Japanese, which was also interesting, as during my visits with her in 2019 she spoke exclusively Japanese.
I was going to incorporate some of her writing in this piece but abandoned that idea. Last night in my dream I came up with exactly what I want to fill in the space between my mom and me. It will be an embroidery. I had to do a bit of research on Etsy and found the perfect embroidery pattern and on Amazon, a seemingly amazing wash away transfer paper. Have downloaded the pattern but Amazon will take until Wednesday to deliver the transfer paper. Can't wait to go on to the next step.