Lux Aeterna
On April 15, 2020, my sister Katy died of complications from Covid-19.
After Katy’s death, I experienced a hiatus in my studio work for several months. On an afternoon in early September, I created a series of handmade brushes using materials found in the garden and woods, including pine branches, sea lavender, echinacea seed pods, rye grass, bamboo and sage leaves, as well as masking tape and waxed linen thread. After a few hours of brush making, I made drawings with the brushes and India ink, continuing for several hours. Later that night, I tacked the drawings to a wall in my studio. Standing across the room to observe my work with some detachment, I understood that these drawings came from a well of grief; yet, within them, I found joy in mark-making and in the act of applying brush to paper.
My sister’s death will not embitter me, because despite all the losses Katy endured, she remained unresentful, tolerant and even joyful until the end of her life. These drawings are a continuation of a lifelong conversation with my sister Katy, who was in childhood, my light in darkness, in possession as she always was, of Lux Aeterna (eternal light).
Adell Donaghue
December, 2020
Lux Aeterna I, II, III
For Kathleen Elizabeth Peloquin
June 30, 1956 – April 15, 2020
Lux Aeterna IV - XII
for Kathleen Elizabeth Peloquin
June 30, 1956 – April 15, 2020