2001 September 11
2001 September 11. The September 11 attack. As one of many millions of ordinary, everyday Americans, the effect that September 11, 2001 had for me was profound. I'm sure that anyone alive can relate to that. My only son was a voulenteer fireman in one of the many Maryland suberbs of D.C. There was no way to get a phone call through for several days. My daughter lives in Niagara Falls; I live in Rome, N.Y. I think we called each other at least a dozen times that day. We both KNEW he would be at the Pentagon.
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Of course, all three of my daughters were as distraught as I was until I finally recieved a call from him three days later. He related most of the 911 attack event that he had taken part in; he was sick over the whole thing. He admitted later that he had been able to eat nothing other than chicken noodle soup for over a week. The whole thing left me weak.
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When he came up for a visit the following spring, he brought some books that he had gotten about 2001 September 11. They were extremely graphic about the events of the 911 attack. They were not easy to look at, but he was determined that I was going the paint in reverse, depicting the one photo that haunted him, of a fire truck being lifted out of the rubble at Ground Zero. It may have been his own September 11 tribute. I started the reverse painting on glass for him before he returned to Md., but it took weeks to complete, which isn't uncommon for a reverse painting on glass, but it was the first time I had ever cried every single time I worked on it. I wondered how many men and women were in the truck, where their families were. Who was anywhere near the truck....
To date, I have painted a total of eight reverse glass paintings dealing with the disaster. Every one of them makes me feel the same way as the first, to a degree. Two of the paintings have new homes. The first one I painted was for my son. The second was for the Morningside Vol. Fire Department, in Suitland, Maryland. At this time, I'm working on another.
In this painting, I united a scene from Washington D.C. with another scene from New York City. I don't know yet whether this will be the end of my 911 series, but rather doubt it. You may hear more from me later on the subject.
This last reverse glass painting you are viewing was finished in February of 2007. The outside measurements of the windowsash measure 24" x 32". I'm calling it 'East Meets West', and no, I really don't feel as though I'm finished with the 2001 September 11 attack subject yet.
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