walking with lily by melanie harris

Walking With Lily by Melanie Harris

Walking with Lily, a photo 9/3/07: In the Artist's Own Words

I must admit, the photo was my idea, but visiting Lily on Robbie's 8th

birthday was his. Sometimes it's odd for me to think that my children,

all three of them, feel comfortable in a cemetery, playing and reading

the stones aloud to each other, wondering about the children there. I

think they feel at peace there, close to Lily, like I do. It wasn't

always that way...I didn't visit Lily's stone until close to a year

after she died. Now, her stone is very special to Robbie, Jake and

Brady...and to me. It was a beautiful hot day and we didn't have any

flowers that day so I felt sort of sad and the picture popped into my

head. So here we are, our feet all there, with Lily's stone. All my

children together brings me a deep, rooted sense of peace.

About the Artist

Melanie Taylor Harris mothers four beautiful children, Robbie, Jake,

and Brady here on earth and Lily in death. Pursuing peace is Melanie's

constant journey, whether through art, supporting others, supporting

herself, or just simply playing in the cemetery....when Lily died 4

and a half years ago, Melanie thought she would die. Sometimes, she

still does...but peace comes in waves and often it comes when she is

with her boys and their beautiful, and dirty feet.

Curator note: Being a bereaved mom myself, I know what it is like to

lose all tangible signs of your family as a whole. This contribution

to our project means a lot to me because this photo captures a

tangible sign of the "whole", the new normal, the re-definition of

family portrait that comes after grief has stormed into our lives and

we've re-build our identities. It is only after we re-create identity

that a sense of peace returns. Thanks, Mel!