To Heal The World

An international online artistic reflection on mending the brokenness of our global family

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Janet McKenzie

Blessed are the Children, 2019

Oil on canvas

122x91.4cm

The women in my orignal family were warriors, each vastly different from one another but warriors just the same. My maternal grandmother emigrated from Sweden to the New York City when she was 14 years old and crossing the Atlantic ocean in steerage was hard, very hard. My paternal grandmother worked in New York City in the 1930's and was held at gunpoint and robbed many times, surviving each time. My mother was brilliant but born too soon and lost her life to cancer dying far too young. Each of the women in my life stood up for me - physically, emotionally and now spiritually - just as the women in this painting surround, love and protect this girl. Children the world over are the hope for the future of life on earth. Only by experiencing love, protection and unconditional care, can they grow to be agents of change and contribute to healing our world.