My grandmother died in the early 1970s. In the last year of her life, at the age of ninety-four, she told me again the stories I had heard during my childhood. They were stories of Shtetl life: The Cossacks, the pogroms, the stoning and the killing of the Jews, her dreams of a different life, of an education, of courtship, her marriage, and finally, of her escape from Russia. These stories and her life have been a source of inspiration for my sculpture. She cared deeply about her family and about education. Though she never had a formal education, philosophy was her passion and she wanted to share her ideas. She wanted people to know who she was and what she cared about. I do too. Her name was Pearl Golokow. (Photo circa 1965.)
Don't miss the Documentary Film of "Her Stories, My Hands" produced and exhibited at Dallas Video and Film Festival August 3-7, 2005 at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Dallas Theater Center.
