The Icy River

20" x 60" x 1.5"

Acrylic on Canvas

This artwork I’ve created was inspired by the beautiful life and tragic loss of a childhood friend. The contrasting flowing and fractured lines depict the unforgiving icy river and symbolize that odd little laugh of his. The juxtaposed warm and cool color palette was chosen to evoke the feeling of life and loss in a tragic tale of friendship and farewell.

Michael, an eleven-year-old boy, moved with his family to our town one summer. Michael was a sixth grader with me at our elementary school. Although we had only known each other for a few short months, we had become the best of friends.

Sadly, Michael never got to achieve a high school diploma or a college education. He didn’t get to witness the turning of the millennium. And he never experienced the pleasures of a woman – for his spirit lies trapped for eternity in the depths of the icy river.

One Sunday, the 16^th of February, Michael and his family were on their way home from a weekend trip. The roads were snowy and slippery. Coming around one of the curves of the Canyon, four and a half miles west of a nearby town, his dad lost control of the vehicle and their car plunged into the swift flowing River amongst the salmon and trout. Everyone was pulled out safely by the local rescue team, all except Michael; he drowned before they could pull him from the dark, wintery water.

On the 19^th, three days later, I sat in a pew at a Catholic Church with many people I didn’t know – his family and friends, acquaintances, and kids and grownups from our school. Mass, for his Christian burial began at 2:30. I left school early that day to attend, my mom came with me.

While I sat there listening to the Reverend and then the man giving the eulogy, I looked over at the casket bearers waiting in the wings and I thought about Michael. I was never going to see him, ever again. Although we were in separate classrooms, we would never be in school together, ever again – art class, recess, or lunchtime. We would never play basketball or football together, ever again. I would never again hear his annoying laugh as he chuckled at his own jokes that were never very funny – but I sure would like to have heard that odd little laugh just one more time.