D KNOT # 1

Description:

THE STORY BEHIND THE D KNOTS

When I arrived at the MARBLE/marble symposium in the summer of 2006, my son David was in a drug rehabilitation facility in Florida. I was so anxiety-ridden that my stomach was in knots! I purchased this boulder of Watermelon Marble and immediately got to work.

I created a visual model for myself by tying a ribbon into a knot. I then aggressively attacked the stone with a five-inch diamond blade, thereby releasing some of my anger and frustration back into the stone.

I spent the next six months rough cutting and cleaning up the lines, using diamond blades, core bits, grinders and other powerful tools. This stone was a very hard marble and hand tools would have not been effective in the polishing and finishing. 

Just like my David, this work of art is a study in contradictions: 

A hard stone that appears to be pliable.

Sharp lines in a soft-colored stone.

A heavy stone that appears to be graceful and elegant.

In the same way this rock is balanced on a very small plane,  David’s sobriety was also a balancing act. We never knew how long it would last and if we would get that dreaded phone call. David could be as tough and unyielding as a boulder, but at the same time he was sweet and found pleasure in helping others. He wrote in his journal that he got a similar high from helping others as he did from using drugs. As a matter of fact, he started an organization called “CRY OUT” where he helped hundreds of addicts by assisting them to get themselves admitted to drug rehabilitation facilities. Ultimately, he could not help himself, but he helped many others. 

On October 8, 2010, when David has some years of sobriety behind him, he posted an image of this piece on his Facebook page with the following statement:

“This was made by my mom during my addiction over the years. It represents how addiction affects everyone in the family, not just the addict.” 

David could not know how prescient those words were. In October, 2013, his father and I received that dreaded phone call. 

To this day, this piece of work contains my love for David, along with all the other emotions he stirred up in me. David Antar is survived by his mother, Robin, his father Sam, and his brothers Eddy and Leon. May his memory be for a blessing.