It's a story of eternal love.
Betty Kovacic, a CNC instructor and a nationally-acclaimed artist, has written a book.
Reflections With An Indifferent Universe combines the written word and her artwork to explore what some people consider tough topics.
"This book is really about love and having to let go of someone," Kovacic explained. "I believe at the end of the book there is a resolution and a sense of peace. I tried very hard to be very creative with it in the hope of creating a stronger expression."
The book is a full-colour rendering bound in a hard cover.
"The first part is a short story and it's based in reality and it deals with end-of-life experiences expressed through fictitious journal entries," said Kovacic, of the two-year project.
The second part is comprised of poetry and her paintings that either influenced the poetry or were influenced by the poetry, said Kovacic. Often times the words and the images came simultaneously. The paintings depicted in the book were also influenced by operas, like Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, and explore experiences and concepts of metaphysics as well as eternal love.
As a kid, Kovacic used to write a lot and she began writing poetry in the early 80s.
"Sometimes the poetry accompanied the paintings and sometimes the poetry was created just because I had the need," said Kovacic. "As I'm painting, words come into my head, I'd jot them down on a post-it note, and then I would go back to my painting. So it's a very interesting process."
The book is influenced by Kovacic's own experiences when her husband got cancer and passed away in 2006.
"It was the inspiration for this writing," said Kovacic, who was just awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on Aug. 8. "Death is a reality. I think that I want to express the journey for people who have not gone through it (losing a loved one). This is a journey that people don't wish to discuss. It is a very emotional and difficult process and it impacts the people involved as well as surrounding friends and family and I was hoping to express my feelings about the experience so that others could understand and that would encourage people to talk about it in more than just a clinical way."
For more information or to get a copy of the book visit www.bettykovacicart.com or call 250-964-8291.
