Who Would She Be?

Who Would She Be?

 

When Sister Corita contemplated a step away, she had to completely re-imagine her identity, who she was and who she would be.

She had been a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for 32 years, since 1936 when she decided after high school to go into the order. Her devotion was such that she had to give her all. During her time at Immaculate Heart College she thrust her whole self into teaching. Many of her former students could testify as to the amount of work she piled on them as if her class was the only one they were taking. Her assignments ranged from visiting gas stations and grocery stores to observe signage to helping create installations for the New York World’s Fair and a walk-thru exhibit at the World Council of Churches Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden. And, of course, there was the Mary’s Day Parade where the class printed banners, programs, etc for the ceremony.

This last move would be a great leap.

For so long she had been a teacher-nun, a sister-nun, artist-nun—who would she be if she left all that behind?

It is a bit like an astronaut rocketing into the unknown, something also happening during the 1960s, leaving planet Earth for the moon—or in this case an alternative solar system.

At age 50 this was a lot to contemplate, but being an artist who is constantly exercising her imagination, she would have to re-imagine herself.

She would have to:

Change how she dressed, remove the veil, habit, overflowing robe
Change her name, her original name 32 years before had been Frances, what would they call her now?
Change her address, where would she live, would she have a studio?
Would she continue to teach?

It was as if every element of her physical and interior make-up would need a make-over.

From the age of 50 she lived alone in an apartment in the Back Bay area of Boston. Her work took on a quieter, more airy tone, away from the exuberance and flashy pop colors she once employed. She began to work in watercolors, creating swishes on paper, on cleaner backgrounds. In 1974 she was diagnosed with cancer, and again three years later. While in community and teaching she’d always been an insomniac, driving herself despite a lack of sleep. Exposure to chemicals and poor ventilation also brought on poor health—it was all catching up to her. A piece done in 1977 speaks of her struggle: “Out of the darkness/of one moment/grows the light/of another moment/perhaps in some distant time/if not in the next moment/love the darkness.”

 

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