Caitlin Connelly: SHE BECAME HERSELF WITH TEARS

THE STORY: This painting shows a woman with wild hair, one tear sliding down her cheek, to join a gown made of tears. Her hands are cupped, and light emits from them. It is entitled She Became Herself with Tears.

ANALYSIS: The swirling composition starting at this woman's elbow, going to her hands and the rays of the sun and her hair and her face and her shoulder, suggest movement and motion. The windblown hair and the stylized sun/halo suggest that this woman has been tempest-tossed, now stands in the sun, and is still empty handed.

The tear that lingers on her cheek is large--meant to be symbolic, not representational--and its shape and color is repeated throughout the woman's bodice and skirt. She is clothed in her tears.

And yet, the woman's posture--standing into the wind, holding out her hands to be filled rather than wiping her tear--suggest that she has not buckled under her sorrows. She is a quiet woman awaiting joy. She has become herself with tears.

PERSONAL IMPACT: What a title! Both meanings give me a lot to think about. She is the same woman she was without tears, before tragedy--this is an image of herself with tears. But also, she has become herself via her tears--her tears have made her who she is. To me, this is a painting about growth, acceptance, tragedy, and the truth that sorrows and mourning are an integral part of life.

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