Painting just become one way for her to deal with the darkness slowly closing in on her from all around. She become good at it, very good at it. From copying pictures she saw before her until she had nothing but her memory to guide her hands.
My paternal grandmother was a wonder. She was not only filled with a kind of childlike whimsy, she was incredibly intelligent and full of insight. We were all quite positive she was clairvoyant as well. She had the gift of sight on an unearthly level and we were lucky for that.
Before my daughter was born she developed onset macular degeneration and it set in rapidly. Just as my daughter left toddlerhood, my grandmother was “legally blind”.
Painting just become one way for her to deal with the darkness slowly closing in on her from all around. She become good at it, very good at it. From copying pictures she saw before her until she had nothing but her memory to guide her hands. She was turning out dozens of paintings, cards accompanied with poetry and we almost couldn’t keep up with her. She joined the local braille institute, made friends and we too were almost blinded by the trail of dust she left us in, in her wake.
She left us for the long journey last June. I found her library card amongst some of the things my family passed on to me. One of which was this painting she titled “Wayfarer” which was completed in 2008, about 5 or 6 years after she had been declared “legally blind”.
It made me realize… you don’t always need eyes to see.
I dedicate this digital watercolour in memory of Tessa S. Goldman.
“Tessa” in braille.