Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Pencil on Watercolor Paper
9”x12”
2020
Working artist mothers have always needed to negotiate space and time to create their work with the needs of their families, this idea is not new, and while I do not think it is unique to parents - don’t all people need to balance the needs of their work with the needs of others in their lives?- it is certainly took on a new urgency as my family navigated remote learning together after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. We negotiated who gets the computers for meetings and when, who got to use the kitchen table and who must attend meetings from their bedrooms. We navigated this tricky space of creating an illusion of privacy for each other, especially my young teenager who both wanted to be a part of what everyone else is doing, yet couldn’t stand when people are paying too much attention to him.
All this activity and space and not space coexists with my longstanding questions surrounding my ambivalence towards motherhood. I both desire and don’t desire this role in my life. Through drawing these moments of intimacy, chaos, and mundanity, I am able to connect when I want to push away. Despite the gentle and sentimental approach to these works, this drawing series emerged not from an idyllic love of motherhood, but rather a resigned recognition that this is my life right now, and I’d better pay attention to what that means for me.
Pencil on Watercolor Paper
9”x12”
2020
Working artist mothers have always needed to negotiate space and time to create their work with the needs of their families, this idea is not new, and while I do not think it is unique to parents - don’t all people need to balance the needs of their work with the needs of others in their lives?- it is certainly took on a new urgency as my family navigated remote learning together after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. We negotiated who gets the computers for meetings and when, who got to use the kitchen table and who must attend meetings from their bedrooms. We navigated this tricky space of creating an illusion of privacy for each other, especially my young teenager who both wanted to be a part of what everyone else is doing, yet couldn’t stand when people are paying too much attention to him.
All this activity and space and not space coexists with my longstanding questions surrounding my ambivalence towards motherhood. I both desire and don’t desire this role in my life. Through drawing these moments of intimacy, chaos, and mundanity, I am able to connect when I want to push away. Despite the gentle and sentimental approach to these works, this drawing series emerged not from an idyllic love of motherhood, but rather a resigned recognition that this is my life right now, and I’d better pay attention to what that means for me.