Artwork > Translations > connected art reflecting empathy (c.a.r.e.)
Being Where I’m Needed Most
Link 1: "Being where I am needed most" submitted by Masha Roth
Link 2: I’m right here, Watercolor/crayon (resist) and gel pen, submitted by Susannah Horwitz
Artist Reflection: My whole life, the phrase “Being where I’m needed most” has meant being there for others always before being there for myself. Recently (and especially during this pandemic) I've been reminded often about how important it is for me to be there for myself first, attend to/care for myself in order to sustain even a natural desire to be there for others. So the words in the piece are reminders that no matter what happens, I am always right here and have always been right here within myself and I am the only person who will be with me every single moment of my entire life. So being where I'm needed the most starts right here where I am in this moment.
Link 3: I am here, vocal recording submitted by Caryl Beth Thomas
Artist Reflection: As soon as I saw the "I'm right here" image, this little chant started in my head, and became this simple mantra chant. I love adding layers of sounds to chants and typically would take a simple chant like this, share it with others and add the layers of sound with their voices. Which would be particularly wonderful with this chant! But I haven't been able to sing with other people in real time for over a year now, which has been very difficult since it’s what I love to do more than pretty much anything in my life. So I've been creating more recordings this past year and sharing them with others, so that we can still sing together.
Link 4: Always Been Here, digital art submitted by Kit Collins
Artist Reflection: I found the lyrics from the previous offering stuck in my head after listening to it: "I have always been right here." This made me think of natural cycles of elements enduring, decomposing, and becoming different things over years, generations, and epochs – dirt becoming gemstones, trace metals in our bodies, organic matter feeding vegetation. I guess I have found it helpful to remind myself of the meta-interconnectedness of our planetary relationships, when the direness and urgency of our current human situation becomes paralyzing.
Link 5: Always Will Be, assemblage submitted by Emily Ruck
Artist Reflection: I took the title of the previous piece and went in that direction - from “Always Been Here” to “Always Will Be.” I separated my piece into the same 4 quadrants and the yellows and blues of the previous piece, and chose to work with things that will “always be here” because they take so long to break down and degrade; plastics, ceramics, and natural minerals and gemstones. I hope humans will also always be there for each other.
Link 6: “Completion” submitted by Shira Strosberg
Artist Reflection: Completion- bringing together disparate parts that are seemingly at odds, but which make a coherent whole. This is about repairing society, caring for the other.
Note: This chain was started with a submitted community response to the prompt: How have you cared for others or how others have cared for you during these challenging times? The artists did NOT see the reflections written by the previous artist, only the image of the work and the title. The reflections were revealed only when the chain was complete. The six links in the chain are intended to offer a creative way to connect and offset the six feet of physical distance we need to keep from each other in order to care for each other.
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