For years I have struggled with the thought of honoring my colleagues from United Airlines where I worked in Boston as a flight attendant. How could I best honor them??? With the 20th anniversary approaching I decided it was time ……
In my practice as a visual/multimedia artist, I have documented stages of grief over the past 20 years, post 9/11. Studies have shown that expressing oneself through art can help people with anxiety, illness and/or loss. It is more about the process of creating and not the product that helps artists cope with emotional struggles. Art becomes a form of meditation, it has been reported that the repetitive actions of art actually bring on a response similar to the physiological “relaxation response”.
This project began three years after the attacks when United offered a company wide leave of absence. At that time, I entered a BFA program at Massachusetts College of Art and unknowingly began documenting my responses to grief and trauma.
One of my first handpulled prints-Carborundum, drypoint monoprint. I was new to printmaking, I decided that I wanted to make a print for each of my United Airline colleagues who died on 9/11. The series was never completed but today with the 20th anniversary approaching I have started this blog to document my process for the project I am working on-honoring all the victims of 9/11.