Loss

Hi Everyone. I have something I would like to share about this piece. It is a piece about loss and more specifically a piece about my personal loss. I had a miscarriage this month. (I am physically doing just fine, no physical damage or lasting effects.) I drew this piece a few hours after the doctors appointment where we found out there was no longer a heart beat and that the pregnancy would shortly end in miscarriage. I painted it during my recovery from the D&C surgery I needed because my body hadn’t naturally miscarried. I have debated sharing the reason behind this piece, mostly for fear of the misinterpretation of motives. I am not looking to garner sympathy or do any kind of preaching. But I felt like sharing this piece and its meaning might bring comfort to others. One, because I found out early miscarriage is fairly common and there just isn’t much dialogue about it. And as someone who gained a lot of comfort from dialogue about the experience I wanted to put my money where my mouth was and talk about it the best way I know how-through art. And secondly, as an artist people are always asking where my inspiration comes from and I want to be truthful about my answers. I always say I find inspiration everywhere. And I mean it. I don’t just find inspiration in happy moments. In my artist statement I say that I believe art’s power is in its ability to make others see. So I make a choice to address issues in a way that offers comfort not just replicates the problem in another form. I love this little mouse. It makes me sad, it makes me hopeful, it makes me say goodbye, it makes me smile- all at the same time. So if I can offer someone else going through this loss a moment where they can smile through the tears then I want to do that. I am keeping this painting for myself, but I will be having prints made because I want to share this little mouse as much as it needs to be. I will be donating a percentage of the proceeds of any print sales to to St Jude.