Mysterious Face -Paint Party Friday

When I was in Fifth Grade, our teacher, Mrs. Young, gave each student a piece of black paper and some chalk for an art project.  I still remember the feeling I had as I smoothed the chalk into places of light and shadow.  It was as though I knew exactly what to do.  I still remember the pure joy of creating that face.  My teacher was astounded.

Looking at the drawing--I see I used a fan of pencil lines drawn up from the center of the bottom of the page.  I drew across those lines, to place chin, mouth, nose and eyes.

Mumsie loved it so well, she framed it and hung it in the stairwell.  There it hung years.  Then, almost 15 years ago, Mumsie gave the drawing to me.

When I took it out of its frame to scan it into the computer, I noticed what looked like tears trickling down from his eyes...if you enlarge the drawing, you can see where they seeped through the chalk.  I have no explanation how that would have happened.  None.  The back of the frame was taped into place...

Some have suggested the tears might be a chemical reaction between the construction paper and chalk.  However, if that were the case, the entire drawing would have been affected.  According to my research, colored construction paper and chalk do not chemically react to one another, even with age.

So, as unlikely as it may seem, this person I drew as a little girl, might have shed tears inside the frame during the time it hung in Mum's stairwell...that would be sometime between 1969 and 2003... I love the fact that miracles do still happen!

Blessings and peace to all of you dear ones.  Thank you for dropping by--your visits are such a joy to me.  Happy Paint Party Friday!

Tender Tears

Because this blog augments my art web page, I will occasionally be re-submitting some of my earlier art stories. This morning I decided to re-visit Tender Tears, and the mystery which surrounds this chalk drawing.

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I was 11 years old when my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Young, gave the class a page of black construction paper and a thick stick of chalk. I vividly remember drawing a fan of lines from the bottom of the page, with horizontal lines crossing where I thought the eyes, nose and mouth should be. Time seemed to slow as I gently smudged chalk into the darkness of the paper. Slowly a face emerged. I did not know who it was, but I loved the tender expression of his eyes.

My Mother liked it so well, she framed my drawing and hung it in the stairwell of our home.

Over 30 years later, I slid the picture out of its frame to scan it into my computer.

Here is the mystery.

Imagine my astonishment when I noticed tear stains soaking through the chalk, trickling from those wonderful eyes, seeping down the plane of one cheek. If you look closely you can actually see the tear stains pushing through the chalk lines. How on earth did they get there? My drawing had been sealed in its frame for more than 30 years.

Today the picture, which I've entitled Tender Tears, hangs in our upstairs hallway gallery. Every now and then I stop to look, and to ponder how those tear stains got there.

Sissy thinks the picture looks a little like my husband. I am not sure. Either way, it's a wonderful mystery.