Sisters: a Catharsis Through Poetry

Sisters is a collaboration of Winnie Larsen's photography and Su Gerheim's poetry. Both women lost their husbands and as a grief catharsis they turned toward different art forms in which each discovered a latent talent. Winnie Larsen discovered her talent for photography after her husband died in 1989. A friend gave Winnie an old analog camera. Going on photo-shoots in the country around her small town, along roadsides, and lakeshores, Winnie developed a keen eye for nature photography, capturing each season's unique beauty. Over the years, she updated and expanded her camera equipment and her pictures increased in finite detail and subtle color changes. Her photography of nature's simplest creations illustrates her emotional loss, depression, growth and return to a changed life. Gaining expertise, Winnie applied her talents to greeting cards. Her creative one-of-a-kind cards are now on demand by many who ask for groups of cards based on seasonal themes like Christmas, Easter, Birthdays and Anniversaries. In 2008, Su Gerheim lost her husband. During her grief, the local Librarian convinced her to join their writing group and Su discovered it helped her release her grief. When Winnie sent her pictures, they inspired Su's poetry. She read the poems at writing sessions and some attendees mentioned that the poems helped them realize different emotions they were also experiencing. Su joined the Florida Writers Association and their critique groups helped her improve both her poetry and prose. After two years of writing poetry to Winnie's pictures, they realized they had a beautiful poetry book that illustrated the deep emotions both women had lived through. The trauma, sadness, loneliness, and the journey from depression back to a life of happiness and enjoyment in life all showed in their poetry and pictures.  Sisters: A Catharsis Through Poetry is the culmination of years of emotional growth that Su and Winnie hope will illustrate how human we all are and perhaps help others to see the positive side of life.