I originally wrote and illustrated "Papa" in my junior year of college. The project was a response to an illustration class assignment: to write and illustrate a short story. As an artist I have always responded to these types of assignments from an emotional and spiritual viewpoint. The most important thoughts to me at that time in my life – what came up foremost as a topic – was my father's death when I was four years old, and my grandfather's death around the time of this assignment. These major events in my life impacted me very deeply. I became "in search of" my father at that very early age, and then other loved ones later on in life. I struggled to answer questions for myself like "Where did they go?" "Why did they go?" This became a major influence for me to seek out spiritual answers for myself growing up. And so the culmination of my artwork, from about age five to my Junior year of college and to present, has been a body of work that responds to my inner emotions and ever-changing spiritual tides of life. These events basically forced me to look inwardly to find my own answers and then express them outwardly through my art – simply because I was in deep pain and anxiety from grief. So this book became an actual tool for my own use to help me through my personal grieving process.
In the last ten years I've revamped the pages with new illustrations and put together what is now a 32 page book. Generally I've always been a mixed media painter, working mostly in aqueous media, incorporating various mediums and surfaces into my paintings and projects. However this book is purely an illustration project – originally created in pen & ink with prismacolor pencil on smooth Bristol paper.
I firmly believe that the Universe nudges one to follow something through if it is meant to be of assistance to others in this life. I've always had a strong nudge to publish my book since the time that I had originally created it. But through the years life happened and that nudge was put on hold until after my son, Matthew, was about 5 years old. I was then able to address that nudge again, as it resurfaced very strongly. And so I've been determined to follow this project through to completion. My book reaches out to all ages, yet is child-friendly. It is simply meant to ease the grieving process that many people experience from loss of any kind. It is not meant to be a standpoint on any religious belief, nor does it profess to be an expert opinion as to the mysterious workings of life and death. It simply seeks to be what it can for anyone who can relate to it – and encourages one to look inwardly to seek their own answers to questions they may have regarding the loss of a loved one…Here are a few sample pages from my book for you to peruse...
I want to thank the many special people in my life – Family & Friends – who have helped me and guided me through this process of getting my book self-published. I could not have accomplished this goal without all your love and support. Words cannot express my gratitude for each and every one of you...
The book is available on
Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.
You can also order through this link:
Thank you all so much for visiting my blog. I wish you a beautiful holiday season and a new year with all your wishes fulfilled.
Love & Light,
Donna Rossi
