... nearly two years since my daughter's birth and placement. In the spring of 1968, while on vacation in California, Susan took time for a day of beach combing ...and kept one handful of the ocean-washed sand. Soon afterward, she felt compelled to paint her ongoing heartfelt struggle. As the umber-toned monochromatic figure study dried, Susan sprinkled her canvas with the found crystals of sand. Her poem and painting Sands of Time describe the silenced emotional conflict she was facing daily, concerning the adoption placement decision she had agreed to in 1966.

Within the private sands of time
She drifted away
Little by little
Day by day

She combed for answers
On California beaches
Her heart was longing
Seeking peace

Such escape from reality
Left her no reason
She must carry her secret
From season to season

Crystal sand on canvas blend
Could not her fragile heartache mend
Another year passed
More shadows were cast

The sands were imbedded
Her life was still fettered

Credits: Susan Van Sleet