Author: saralynnelindsay

Stepping Up, Kool Aid, hibiscus, cotton, hangers. 92″x30″ 2019

I can’t ignore the obvious. She has worked her way through it, risen above and stands tall, fastened to the land that she will rest in.

She, mixed media, 2009

Ring upon ring a tree grows. If you take a cross-section of a tree,  you can see the growth that has taken place. The more winters it has gone through, the more evidence of growth can be observed. It can be surprising to see just how many rings the tree has created over time to become a mighty oak.

I have the potential to grow as a sturdy oak. I am surprised when I look back on my life and see the winters that encompass my experience line upon line.

 

 

The season is over and let go. The vessel, in its fragile existence, is left to be forgotten. As it crumbles, the contents of its treasure is spent, and a new season begins.

 

Endings and Beginnings; Drop        plaster, used clothes, yucca seeds, 2017

 Endings and Beginnings; Drop       plaster, used clothes, yucca seeds, 2017

There is evidence of the mark she has left on society; it has the potential to remain, but she cannot.

Things grow amidst the harsh environment. The wind thrashing about and the lack of water does not make the growth even bat an eye towards failure to keep on growing.

 

There is a lake in Lubbock Texas that is a landmark. In other words, there is no lake there, just the remains. We can look to it and see evidence that it once was. The poor people who see the signs, “Lubbock Lake Landmark”, who bring their ice chests and beach towels, get a surprise when all they see is a vast landscape of the different vegetation that inhabits our flat plains. The up side is Lubbock Lake Landmark is not flat. It is among the most varied rolling plains that Lubbock has to offer, as rolling as a dried up lake can be.

The landscape is very natural. Stink gourds, yucca plants, prairie grass, and wild flowers thrive here. Seeds are blown and scattered for the next generation. The wind might as well be a part of the growth. It’s evidence array itself in the plants as they grow leaning the direction they are blown. The lack of water doesn’t stop the growth, the lake is full of life in the spring and summer then dead or dormant in the fall and winter.

The cycle continues. Things grow amidst the harsh environment, the wind thrashing about and the lack of water does not make the growth even bat an eye towards failure to keep on growing.

There is a beauty there that changes with the seasons

Spring: growth

Summer: abundance

Fall: sacrifice

Winter: evidence

 

It wasn’t long ago, when we had a cold day, and the leaves fell from the tree without even changing color. Dropping like heavy rain, letting go. But not spring leaves. No matter how hard the wind blows, those leaves hold tightly secured on. Grasping with all their might, fighting against all odds, (even though, there may be those who think them to be foolish) waiting for the season their deliverance.

He is not found there. He is in the arms of embrace by another.

 

I am standing in a line. My daughter is to my left. To my right is my mother, then her mother, and her mother and so forth. Though I have never met my great grandmother, we are physically tied together by virtue of an umbilical cord. I come from a long line of women willing to sacrifice their bodies, beauty, time and their life for me. I have the power to continue that strand, or set it aside.