Week 1 // “What Is Left?”

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The first image for my year-long project of weekly self portraits, which I introduced in this post. As I journaled about this image… this was what I wrote:

At the days end, when I retreat into a very private world with my grief, I am left with two things. When I remove my armor, lay down my shield, and slide the strength off my back… it is my ring and guardian angel necklace that remain. Where the strong hands of a man once touched, with a warmth of love, now only my own exist. Where the succulence of soulful embraces were once relished, now only these two tiny relics remain. Although they are but minimalist reminders of such an expansive thing, they continue to give me strength. I face this question each day – sitting down with it, listening to it, walking with it, making art from it, knowing it, asking it to myself again and again… “What is left?”