Take me home
24 x 30 inches, acrylic on canvas
SOLD
THE MEANING BEHIND THE PAINTING
“This piece features jars of pickles lined up on shelves, and it reflects on the misconceptions around grief, the process of healing, and the comfort of traditions.
In a study shared in my grief support group, the average person believed that grief lasts between 72 hours and a week. This misconception is often reflected in how society responds to grief and death but it is far from the truth. Grief is not something that can be bottled up and shelved, only to be forgotten. It is a lifelong presence, a companion we become familiar with. Grief is patient. It waits quietly until we are ready to feel it and, over time, we grow around it.”
“The metaphor of pickling mirrors this process. Pickling, often done in a vinegar brine, preserves and transforms food over time. The longer the pickles sit in the brine, the more time they are given to process and preserve, the deeper the flavor becomes. Similarly, grief requires this same patience to be felt. Healing takes time—much longer than most of us want to acknowledge—and each person’s process is unique and must be honoured.
In the early stages of grief, I felt like I was floating in a fog. Nothing made sense, and I struggled to ground myself. What brought me comfort during this time was accepting help and being surrounded by others and returning to the routines and traditions I grew up with. These moments helped me begin to find myself again.”
“This painting holds an ode to one such tradition: every year to this day, my dad cans dill pickles using my great-grandma’s recipe . It was a cherished part of my childhood, and I’ve painted her name, Delce, on one of the jars in this painting. When you experience death, in grief you have to choose life or death as a way through it and, the familiar rhythms of traditions and routines can be a reminder to bring us back to the living. ”
