"The Dream Keepers"
by Kathy Fincher
Following the events of September 11th, I lost my desire to paint. However, I realized my responsibility and decided to fight back with a brush of the American spirit and my palette.
Illustrator Norman Rockwell painted illustrations that became a comfort to weary Americans following WW II. In the same light, I wanted to encourage today's generation during this tragic time and reawaken the American dream .
A blank canvas sat before me for a very long time as I contemplated what the heart of the message would be. Finally I chose... Faith and Freedom.
To illustrate freedom, I drew a rectangle symbolizing the shape of the American flag. Faith was a tough one, so I moved on to engaging children consumed in a project. My memory took me back to a mural in our church where the children created Noah's rainbow with their handprints. Why not handprints to paint a flag?
Now back to faith. The symbol that was obvious to me was a cross, a wonderful symbol for faith. I drew a cross above the flag, intersecting the stars, which created a strong design. How could I make this happen?
Light! Why not use a light source rather than an object? Light is a symbol of faith and it represents hope and truth. I realized the light and shadows from a side window could create the shape of the cross. Isn't this a perfect reflection of September 11, darkness contrasting with light?
I continued to design by sketching seven children, each representing the seven continents that make up our young Americans. I smiled, because Biblically seven is considered the perfect number.
Once the children were sketched, I joined them with my imagination. I painted for the oldest girl, Savannah, a ladder, and decided Sidney and Stephen should paint a banner. My imagination continued to create and paint until I realized it was time to step out and see what I had. You see, more than a month of painting had passed, and like most artists, I simply didn't know when to stop. It's said that it takes two to complete a painting; one to paint and the other to hit them over the head when its done!
My mother, Margaret Andrews, and my aunt, Ann Odum, both artists, helped me with that.
Its done! they both agreed when seeing the painting on the Town Green in Duluth. The painting drew a crowd, and one of the bystanders surprised us all with his insight.
That's a powerful message with the bloodstained handprint, he observed.
Which handprint - there are hundreds!
He outlined it with his finger to show us.
There it was; a large bloodstained right handprint on the floor at the foot of the cross, created by the children's footprints.
The story of this painting continued to develop legs. My publisher, Somerset House, loved it, produced limited-edition lithographs, and asked that I write a story about it. As I was on my way out of town for a scheduled trip, I decided to write at the hotel that evening. Because I fly so often, I didn't check to see where my husband and I were travelling. Imagine my surprise upon discovering that our first night would be in New York City!
