08/09/2026
Three family members have passed since the end of May. Some days it feels like grief is dragging me by the ankles. Other days I sit with the bittersweet truth, that this great sadness is the price we pay for loving our people with our whole chest.
This installation, The Crossing, is a reflection of how we stay connected to our loved ones after they’ve left this realm.
Is it talking to an empty passenger seat on a late night drive home? Is it marking their name in ink on our body? Is it wearing their old jewelry like talisman? Is it cooking their hand-scribbled recipe, and adding an extra place setting at the table? Is it visiting this one particular park bench, and you can’t quite put your finger on it, but when you’re near the bench, you feel… something?
Perhaps these small acts of devotion are a bridge to another world, whether we see it with our mere mortal eyes or not. When we reach out to our loved ones, I’d like to think they’re reaching back to us.
The Crossing is a piece that says, “I love you, and I wish I could stay. But I’ll see you again soon.”
The last slide is a poem by Wendell Berry that I keep coming back to.
