Leaving home is in the air these days. Last month the aisles of Bed, Bath and Beyond were clogged with mothers and their 18-year-olds shopping for furnishings for college dorm rooms. I have been through this process three times, and it brings up a lot of conflicting emotions (well, for the mother, at least). A recent New York Times article: Increasingly, Retirees Dump Their Possessions and Hit the Road, explored leaving home from the other end of the age spectrum. The retirees who have moved away and on to a nomadic life expressed a range of feelings, but the consensus of these brave souls was expressed as, “Where I am is home.”
Morella Camejo, a close friend and talented painter, is selling the house she and her late husband designed, built and lived in for a decade. Since his death, she has been considering selling their home but also waiting until she felt that it was the right time for her, that leaving home felt right. That time has arrived and here are two drawings in which she visually explores her feelings about what a home means.