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Clare Putnam

Clare Putnam
Coordinator of Student Programs
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs

Watercolor painting of a boy in Gaza, looking up at the sky at a kite. A poem by Rafaat Alareer is hand written as part of the painting, reaching from the top of the sky down to the feet of the boy. The poem reads: If I must die / you must live / to tell my story / to sell my things / to buy a piece of cloth / and some strings, / (make it white with a long tail) / so that a child, somewhere in Gaza / while looking heaven in the eye / awaiting his dad who left in a blaze— / and bid no one farewell / not even to his flesh / not even to himself— / sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above / and thinks for a moment an angel is there / bringing back love / If I must die / let it bring hope / let it be a tale.

Free Palestine!

Ink and watercolor

This painting was inspired by a poem by Palestinian writer, poet, and professor, Rafaat Alareer, who was killed in 2023 by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza along with his family.

Artist Statement

I always loved drawing and painting since I was a young child. As an adult, I took courses in watercolor painting, and I fell in love with the luminosity and magical and often unexpected ways that watercolors mingle and flow on the paper.

School / Unit

Faculty of Arts and Sciences