SANCTUARY 9
unfortunately.
Stories and images of refugees reveal
grief, anger, courage and faith that
form the heart of “Sanctuary”.
This first of 3 new panels was inspired
by a photo from UNICEF where
an aid worker pleads for children in a crowd.
My drawing doesn’t look like the ad except for
one gesture.
Can’t you help these little ones?
to reach beyond the drawing.
a man reaches beyond the ropes
in angry desperation for his own child.
(seen in the first rough sketch)
asking not for anger but compassion.
marks the weight of coffee beans
as if these children are judged as commodities
of little value.
———————————————————————————————————————
(A photo can’t capture her stature.)
The volume that crowns her head
and the burlap billowing her arm
combine with the cloth holding her baby
to create a richness.
The subject is similar but the baby’s basket is flat
and the woman seems impersonal in her dignity.
Comparing these two works 9 months apart
shows me how much this series has evolved.
and bound for New Jersey.
That’s part of this series’ perspective:
The whole world must be the sanctuary.
————————————————————————————————–
wires that once reinforced concrete
litter the ground where she must escape.
as barriers to the man carrying his child.
scraps of burlap from others going through.
(Here they are placed before being painted.)
