Grounded is a tribute to my father who died in 2000. It is also about my process of grieving. The title refers to three ideas; that he was a pilot and he no longer flies, the earth and I feel grounded after years of grief. I thought that grief came and went like a train. I found that it is more like a roller coaster without a track, which lasts long after I am tired of the ride. My emotions were as raw edged, and multilayered as this collage.

Trapped in the fabric are feathers, and a button from my father's Army uniform. In the upper lefthand corner is a reproduction of one of his flight maps with his birthplace and his home town. At the funeral there was a huge tree on the top of a steep hill. Nothing symbolizes the concept of "Father" to me more clearly than that impressive tree.

Click here to view a detail image.