Strumming My Pain

All parts made by Amanda Brezzell

Strumming My Pain: For Singing The Same Tune 2,000 Miles Away (Heartstrings I)

Collage done on acrylic painted background. Made with photo, metallic, and recycled paper. Cast in Resin on canvas. 16in x 20in.

Strumming My Pain: For Singing The Same Tune 2,000 Miles Away (Heartstrings I):

This piece is for my sweetest thing. Here, I focus on depicting the feelings I have regarding the new journey of sharing my heart with someone I can’t be next to every day, and the true yearning that comes along with it. To feel seen, heard, and respected is a beautiful thing. I recognize the gift of having met someone who I felt an instant connection with, who read my soul like her favorite book, and who accepts me unconditionally. It’s been a pleasure to reciprocate. I modeled this piece after Lauryn Hill and Roberta Flack’s  renditions of “Killing Me Softly”. They sing: "Strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his words. Killing me softly with his song”. The lyrics in the song tell the story of a woman enamored with a man playing music that speaks directly to her heart. She sings about a connection she has to this man and the unrequited love she feels for him. It is a beautiful song about yearning that I have loved for a long time and finally have a reference point for. In this piece, you’ll notice a rising and setting sun resting on top of golden heartstrings. This represents the burning in my chest that I feel when this woman strums my heartstrings. The two hands represent two different people, both reaching from opposite sides of the country to engage with one another in this heart space.