Modern Symbolist catalogue

Julie Baroh
USA
Little Grandma
Many years back, I came across a photograph taken in the early
1930s of a tiny woman in her nineties carefully making her way
down the path of a grand old mansion. Widowed, she wore
traditional black. Deeply Catholic, she was making her weekly
pilgrimage to morning mass.
This woman was my Great, great, great grandmother Elizabeth,
nicknamed by her grandchildren “Little Grandma”.
I have been absolutely enchanted by this little figure with the Mona
Lisa smile, and have drawn, etched and painted her many times. In
this particular painting, I spent literally years building up the image,
then scraping it back down with the palette knife, over and over,
unsatisfied, until she finally came alive, sparkling, magical, reaching
out to imbue me with her lifetime of wisdom if only I would stop
and listen.
I take the concept of Symbolism to the very core of my existence.
It’s a story with a million narratives, a song with a million
melodies. When I paint my grandmother, its not just mine, it’s THE
Grandmother, the Crone, the Fairy Godmother. She’s the keeper of
the family lore, the diviner of wisdom, the storyteller, the comforter.