A gift across generations

I met Judith about thirty years ago. She was a film student at NYU.  I was working at a social services agency in the Village. The mother of one of Judith's friends was the receptionist at the agency so Judith would stop by to visit. I always enjoyed hanging out with Judith.

 

We weren’t exactly friends but our paths kept crossing as so often happens on the Upper West Side. We had lots of friends in common. We often had delightfully intense conversations on Broadway. We

When Judith made this film A Healthy Baby Girl I made sure to see it.  More recently, Judith asked me to help with with some issues relating to the deaths first of a dear friend and then of her mother.

For the past many months Judith has had the unhappy job of clearing out her mother’s apartment. you might have seen her video that appeared on the New York Times site on  Mother’s Day Love and Stuff.

Passover, Judith was able to adopt a baby girl.  I am just telling the barest outline of the story, because it is a story that is Judith’s to tell. The baby will be named in synagogue early in June.

Judith wanted me to make something to wrap the baby for the occasion. I went to Judith’s apartment yesterday. We went through boxes and suitcases of things that had belonged to Florence.  we both decided that it seemed fitting to wrap the new baby in Florence’s scarves.

 

Judith wanted the object to be deeply Jewish. I thought that it would be nice to write prayers on the object to wrap the baby.

 

Most of the scarves that we selected are bright jewel tones. One though, is more autumnal but for Judith is filled with memories of her mother. I chose that one for the texts.

 

Judith has wanted to be a mother for ages. The fact that Florence will not be able to see Judith as a mother is just heartbreaking.

Looking at the scarf with the texts, I was reminded of being a very sleepy little girl and having my mother sing to me as I drifted in and out of sleep. In some lights you really can’t see the prayers at all. At other angles the words are easy to read.

 

I really see this piece as a gift from Florence.

 

We had discussed lining this piece, but I think that the point is to have it as ethereal as possible, a close to a breath as I can make it.

 

I still have more text to add. Playing with the placement of the scarves will be a blast.