Ink Weavings 2021

An Artist Statement by Michelle Joy Wecksler

Fingernails into flesh

My forearms

My thighs

Unable to process the weight of my grief;

Grieving a friend, a year, relationships, body transitions

Needing release

Marking my grief by marking my body

Red hot marks on skin

A Sharpie marker in my hand

Drawing

More marks with this kinder tool

Snake-like tendrils

On my skin; arms, thighs, ankles

And then moving to paper with pen

As I wondered about marking time:

A prisoner marking time on a wall

My soul marking moments

A meditative rhythm

I kept going

Following the marks

As they began to move

In concert

Weaving themselves together

At a time when I was unraveling

Reweaving myself

Grief + Weaving = Greaving

A healing blanket

One row at a time

One stratum at a time

The timeline of my life

The worn parts

The parts that need repair

The parts we leave unraveled