Study for "Gibson Bayou Anthology"

Many people cannot help but be fascinated by death. For a young Cloar, who was too sickly to engage in sports, walking through the Gibson Bayou Cemetery outside his church was a popular pastime. For some, walking through a cemetery brings fear and anxiety. For others, it brings peace, the silence of endless tombstones telling the stories of all who came before. Cloar knew many of those who resided in this cemetery, each tombstone bringing with it a memory: little Odor Hayes who gave him small pox, the devout Sister Ida Funkhouser who looked forward to achieving beauty in heaven. Gabe Smith, though Cloar never met him, is front and center, the bullet hole in his forehead showcasing Cloar’s fascination with the young man who died so violently. This drawing lets us walk through the cemetery and see those who died as more than a name on a tombstone, but as a life of stories.