On Friday, I played in a round robin tennis game with my dad. Midway through, I
had to use a restroom, and one of the men watching offered his nearby
bungalow. His mom was inside. She's a sweet, tiny woman -- probably
barely 5 feet tall, who visits every summer. As we exchanged
pleasantries about how lovely it is here at Pine Lake Park, I noticed
the numbers tattooed on the inside of her forearm. I had had no idea.
It turns out that Regina and Victor Lewis, my neighbor's parents, survived the Holocaust in an amazing story that intersects with Schindler's list. You can read about it
here. What struck me was that I have known her for many years, and had no idea of the horrors she endured and the miracle that she survived. It made me think about the people we encounter every day -- we have no idea of their back stories. We think they are ordinary when they are probably extraordinary.
Reading the Lewis's story, I wondered whether Regina looked at the starry skies over Auschwitz and wondered if she would see Victor again. The unlikelihood of ever seeing him again must have been overwhelming. Even if she had known of his daring escape from the cattle car bringing his family to death, to believe that she would survive and that they would reunite would have surely been too much to bear.
Immediately after reading their story, I created this collage with a rough sketch of an angel in the stars:
I painted in the background using paint chips (more fexible than a plastic card) to drag various colors across the textured background:
And then more collage, more paint, some stamping and stencilling, and the words "I think of you in starry skies" from the song "Sound of Winter." The next part of that lyric is "I keep you so alive." Regina and her beloved Victor found each other after the war. Perhaps it was their love that kept them alive. I hope you'll read their story.
"Sound of Winter" is one of the songs in
Scrapping the Music's current challenge. It's a really cool challenge -- 5 songs with great lyrics. Any art medium is allowed, so check it out! Also, linking up to
Paint Party Friday,
Creative Every Day,
Inspire Me Monday and
Artists in Blogland -- great blogs for sharing your art!
Thank you for visiting! If you are so moved, please leave a comment. Hearing from you means the world to me.
