By all accounts, Marina Keegan was an exceptional young woman with a voice for a generation. Just a week after her graduation from Yale she was on her way to Cape Cod when a tragic auto accident stole this precious life away. In a heartbeat, this optimistic and most promising voice of a new generation was silenced. This tragic story was widely covered in the national media including the Times and The New Yorker. For her friends and family this loss is intimate and personal. For all of us the loss of her talent and voice is immeasurable. Her words of hope and optimism are truly inspiring.

I was contacted by a friend and family of Marina. I was asked to create a remembrance plaque for Marina’s mother. I selected a piece of maple and I decided to frame the plaque with a 3dimensional laser carving of maple leaves. I selected this graphic for two reasons. A very old technique that I have always admired is to reflect a reverence for the tree that provided the wood such as maple leaves as drawer pulls on a maple table or oak leaves or acorns on an oak piece. I will talk more about this in a later entry. The other reason is that blowing leaves are a symbol of fate (leaves in the wind, a leaf on the river, the feather in Forest Gump). It is a charming plaque and my great hope that it may ease those broken hearts that view it.

In August, Marina Keegan’s work Independence opened in New York. The loss will never be over come but Marina’s words and thoughts live on. I never had the pleasure of meeting this young woman but I have read her words and I have engraved her thoughts and I feel very privileged to have done so. This is in memory of a fine young writer and playwright gone too soon.

Peace

George

You can learn more about this remarkable life here.