A Soft Place to Fall

A Soft Place to Fall

Enee Abelman

for Helen and Alois

Hope

Broken

“I must discover

what lives deep within me.”

Trust

Bear witness and listen,

these gifts she was given.

Promise

Empathy

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A soft place to fall.

The impetuse for this portfolio came from an interchange I had with my mother during her final days. She had sent her career devoted to people suffering from chronic and destructive addictions. Even after her retirement, she continued her dedication to people whose lives seemed hopeless. I asked her, “Ma, why did you endlessly listen to those who may never change? You were always so emphathetic.”

Our eyes locked in a near final gaze: “Cause everyone need a softplace to fall.”

Two years after my mother died, I travelled to the Blue Ridge Mountain to immerse at the Penland School of Crafts, intending to create a piece that reflected the remarkable conversation I had with her.

As an artist, I rarely consider drawing. Having avoided that option since childhood, I have found other ways to articulate my art. After several frustrating starts and stops at Penland, I sait down on the floor to think. All around me on the concrete were the detritus of other artists: dried paint and hardened clay, all walked into mystical patterns, awaiting inter-pretation. From this canvas of unwanted and abandoned materials, the gift of Mom’s story of hope and empathy arose. A Soft Place to Fall is an unearthing of my drawing voise.

Written and Illustrated by Enee Abelman

Designed by Stephanie Clark