Honouring My Mother

My mother, Emma Beautrice Beausoleil, was born in the month of May. Her favorite flower was the wild rose, so characteristic of her personality. She was an untamed beauty, free spirited, and filled with joy. She was also transparent, you knew what she thought and felt; her blunt responses  would just come out. One of her favorite colours was green. At one point Emma painted our kitchen a bright hue, ran out of paint half way through and thought nothing of carrying on in a different shade. She encouraged my creative spirit by being non judgmental  of my early explorations.
I chose yellow to emanate her sunny disposition but as in all works of collage when you follow intuition, what came forward later was the sense that my mother is still here, waiting on the steps of another realm. The rose, (a  photo transfer from the front cover of  Northword magazine, spring edition 2013) has a broken edge, shifting to butterflies and flower petals. This for me signifies the transitory nature of all things. The layers as well speak to the complexity of life. A time line of her family tree, her birth certificate and sections of her memorial ceremony are all embedded in the background.
Mom, you are still with me.