The Irreverent Widow Project premiere : Silver Crayon Studios, 2007
“I don’t even get this whole EXHIBIT thing. I mean, who would even want this? Why don’t you just write?”
Source of quote: Old boyfriend.
Again, this doesn’t really require too much in the way of explanation.
Suffice it to say, he suffers from the same unfortunate disease as my 12-year-old son. Cloaking a dig within a compliment. Only…I think he forgot the actual compliment part. Nevertheless…I know he loved my writing, and therefore thought my words were enough to tell my stories.
NO NO NO. The words aren’t enough!
I’m a visual artist, trained in illustration…and tell my stories through the visual as well as the written. The Irreverent Widow Project was conceptualized from the very start as something that would turn into a touring exhibit…providing as many people as possible the opportunity to experience my stories…via the visual and the written.
I love to make my words really BIG. It’s my way of shouting at people, without actually raising my blood pressure: Hey you…yes, you! Wake up! Don’t you know you could be dead tomorrow? I’ve seen it happen. Learn from my loss. Live your life. Have fun. Follow your heart. Trust your instincts. Dance and sing and stop worrying about what the rest of the world thinks of you. Guess what? They’re all gong to be dead one day, too. Follow your bliss!
This exhibit is a way of exploring public vs. private grief. My goal is to make you feel, think and question. The way we grieve or express emotion becomes something different in a public setting. When my words are on the pages of a book…they whisper. When they are towering above you on 8 foot tall panels they do something more. This exhibit is not about whispering. It’s about something much deeper. Filling that gaping void in our society. Saying it’s okay to shed a tear in front of a stranger… to laugh and cry and express emotion in a public setting. Drew’s death has ultimately given me something I don’t think I ever truly had before: permission to be REAL. I want to give others permission, as well.
We all want to hide in our beds under the duvet and curl up with our little book and cry ourselves to sleep sometimes. Where no one can hear us. That’s okay. That’s part of the grieving process. Part of human nature. But the way we help one another is when we show our humanity and allow ourselves to connect with others. To share ourselves and our personal experiences…. to help one another to heal.
My exhibit was created to help me heal from my own loss and to help facilitate that healing within others. Through art and words…laughter and tears.
To find out more about:
How your organization can host the TOURING EXHIBIT
My availability for SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS and WORKSHOPS
My ongoing collaboration with THE CENTER FOR GRIEVING CHILDREN
Please WRITE TO ME (Sandi Amorello), or call me directly at 617.851.2257. I may not answer if I am off doing something fascinating and/or irreverent (or if I’m being held hostage by my children)…but I promise to return your call as soon as I possibly can.