Old Woman Giving Medicine to Child

I drew this when I was 15 years old and what I consider extraordinary about it is not its "artistry" (whatever that may mean), but the detail and intensity of the vision that inspired it.

My father asked me about the details shortly after it was drawn: I told him that it was in Poland, and that the Bier Stein by the cast iron stove had been made in Danzig.

Other details followed -- some that I no longer recall -- about the metal basin on the stove that had been mended by a tinker, the "stoker" on the stove and how it was used, a clock that was behind the woman's head (now barely visible after years of wear).

An old broom stands behind a device that today only reminds me of a mailbox -- although I'm sure I understood more of its nature and function when I drew it. The clearest recollection that I have was that I was trying very assiduously to replicate something that had burst into my consciousness without explanation or invitation so that I could tell others what I had experienced.

Maybe that's why I've finally come to consider it art . . .

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