Mom&Dad
TheHealingProcess
History     Media    Theme
 

To Life: Celebrating Jewish Life Cycle Events
A juried exhibition sponsored by the Columbia Jewish Congregation and the Columbia Art Center.

     Date:   October 19  to  November 19
     Place:  Columbia Art Center, Columbia , MD
                 6100 Foreland Garth, Columbia MD, 21045.
     Hours:  Mon. - Thru. 9 am - 9:30 pm, Fri. - Sat. 9 am - 5 pm, Sun. 12 - 5 pm
     Theme:  Death & Mourning  •  The Healing Process
     Press Release: Baltimore Jewish Times

     Ms. Blinchikoff's sculpture series on death and mourning uses brightly-painted corrugated cardboard to illustrate the bonding of the patient and caretaker, dealing with a debilitating illness and coping after the loved one has died.  Each sculpture consists of a stem, center, and spirals.
     The stems are long twisted pieces of cardboard bound tightly together to show the closeness of the patient and caretaker.  Each sculpture's center represents a different stage of the caretaker's "healing process."  The spirals portray both the deceased and the living, through two color schemes ending with yellow at the tips to symbolize freedom.  The patient's spiral color-palette is red to orange to yellow while the caretaker's moves from blue to green to yellow.
     For Nannette, this series brought solace, a better understanding of the healing process after losing those dear to her, and the realization that her parents can still inspire her and her art.

Healing:  Step One
     Healing begins when the patient dies.  In the first phase the patient's soul is set free, represented by one orange to yellow spiral floating upward.  The caretaker, like the interior's circles and spirals, is in an embryonic state of mourning trying to find a way out of the sadness.
 

Healing:  Step Two
     The middle phase finds the caretaker beginning to put to rest the turmoil of the illness, symbolized by the sculpture's partially open interior and limited cascading spirals.  Because there is no more pain for the patient, the caretaker can take solace in knowing "all was done, that could be done."

Not on exhibit is Step Three, where the center completely opens and the spirals (patient and caretaker) are free to explore.

Mom & Dad:  Together Again  (click image)
     This sculpture represents Terri & Abe (the artist's parents), their endless love story, and the merging of two previous cardboard series to create a third.
    The first series uses geometric shapes to represent Abe's stabilizing influence on the family and their marriage of 58+ years. The second utilizes spiraling tendrils to embody Terri's outgoing and vivacious personality.  Abe died five years before Terri, in 1997 and in 2002, when Terri passed away, they were finally "Together Again."
     In this third series, Nannette weaves her Mom's open spirals amidst her Dad's closed geometric shapes and incorporates herself into the piece by tightly winding yellow cardboard strips around linear elements (illustrating a never-ending interaction with her parents).

 

Last update 10/27/2006