I’ve been trying for many years to express what depression feels like to the people I love, to the people who don’t have it, so they can understand the behaviors that go with it and the impact it can have on the body. But when you’re in the thick of it, nothing seems adequate and you inevitably feel like a fraud and a failure because of this invisible disease. There’s no bruise, there’s no x-ray, no fever or rash. Continue reading
The first time I met Margot was after a performance of “Cabaret” in which Dylan played a Kit Kat Girl. I had never seen it performed live and when it was over I staggered out of the theatre, moved beyond words. When I was introduced to Margot in the lobby I asked her what she thought of the show. She replied, “I was there.”
We are entering new territory.
I had an inquiry recently from a healthcare provider far far away wanting to know if there were any I Am More portraits available for purchase that they could display for their patients to inspire them. Well…there aren’t…yet. All of the portraits from the original series of 16 and the new 20 I Am More: Massachusetts will be given as gifts to the subjects or their families after the displays are over. But to say, “No, sorry I have nothing to offer to inspire your patients,” just seemed wrong. That’s where Cape Ann Giclée comes in.
I met Áine during the planning of an I Am More event and display last year. She expertly guided me through the planning, and was there to answer every question and concern. After the event was over I discovered from her offhand comment, “I do a bit of writing,” that she was an author of BOOKS, and published essays, and I took a deep dive into her writing on WBUR’s Cognoscenti which detailed her perspective as an immigrant in America, and her memories of Ireland. When I asked her to be a part of I Am More: Massachusetts she invited me to her writing cottage, the focal point of which is an Irish wool blanket–a gift from home: Continue reading
April has been a treat because the I Am More original portraits are in displays organized by two of the project’s most enthusiastic supporters. Continue reading
Since we relocated from Acton to Gloucester, MA in 2012, our daughter has made us aware of an alarming number of suicides in our former community shared through social media. The events triggered a major article in the Boston Globe about the families coping with their losses. I had already begun work on I Am More as the news came in waves, and it became important to me to create a reminder that each person who dies by suicide was so much more than that one event. Arielle, a fellow artist, grew up in my current community of Cape Ann, and her mother, Anne, generously shares with us who she was to her family: Continue reading
The first time we met James, or “Jim” we were at a family barbecue of friends, we had just moved to Gloucester, and each member of the group was sharing their two cents about life in Cape Ann. Then Jim began an eye-opening and hilarious, but loving, explanation of this unique place. It turns out that is the default state of his mind, finding the hilarity and beauty of a place or a situation. When he received an unexpected diagnosis last year, his updates on his condition evoked spit-takes rather than grimaces, as you will read below. In a very “Boston” tribute, he reminds us that we are all more, thanks to the nurses:
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Things are rolling along so quickly here with I Am More I needed to get an update out before I lose track of all of the happenings. Continue reading
Believe it or not, the reference photos I took of Joe for his portrait took place outside in front of his house on a bitterly cold day. I was looking for light, and the brown winter grass and bare bushes couldn’t be helped. What captivated me was the ease in which Joe could move over the terrain in any direction. When I got back home and looked at the images, the barren winter landscape became irrelevant. Joe and his wheelchair reminded me of Professor X from the X Men movies. Continue reading
Maleeka is a perfect of example of a person you see walking down the street–beautiful, put-together, warm and open, who makes it impossible to believe the experiences she has been through. After sharing her story with me, we met at the Salem Willows, a park full of happy memories that she continues to create with her own family:
