Saturday, February 21, 2009

Why Young Mothers Feel Trapped

I have had such a fun, productive week creating art. This piece is one I have been cogitating on for a while-- waiting for the right time and place. It finally came together this week. I created the back ground by doing an underpainting in midnight blue (a mix of phthalo blue and black) on a piece of canvas cloth that I had coated with gesso.

Then I did a layer of small block prints in white and gray on the blue, and went back over it, hand painting in white, grays and red, highlighting or exaggerating shapes I liked.

I wanted to leave branches showing against the sky, so I used negative painting in a warm blue mixed with titanium white and painted the sky around the branches, freehand.

I had found this great article in a Reader's Digest from around 1960 called Why Young Mothers Feel Trapped. I cut out a portion of the picture and the title in the shape of two little birds. I used some more of the very old catalog pages (see previous posts) from an ad which had in bold Boys and Girls and used it to make a nest. Here is the result. It is in the stage where I am watching and waiting to see whether it is done.



Here is a piece I finished today. It is also mixed media using acrylic paint and collage. I started with torn pieces of a reproduction of one of my acrylic paintings called Lights of Home. I cut small bird shapes from vintage papers and printed on the canvas and the birds with my hand-carved, small, shaped printmaking blocks.

Its title is not all I would wish, but will do for now-- Two Little Birds.


There's lots more to show and tell, but I will save it for later!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, do you believe in synchronicity?
I was looking at the comments on Sandy Mastroni's blog and I noticed your avatar. Thinking it was funny and wanting a closer look I click on it and it brought me to your info page. But I didn't look at your blog, I don't know why. So, I went to my etsy shop and looked to see if I had any knew hearts and there was a fabulous artist that had hearted me so I decided to look at his blog. Loving his work so much, I decided to leave a comment and low and behold when it came to the comment page, there was your avatar. So, I hit your blog and what comes up but the heading "why young mothers feel trapped". So funny because I having feeling kind of uninspired this week and more often than not a little trapped with my two girls. I am not a young mother, but I do have young children.
Anyway, I am so glad that I was led to your blog b/c your work is amazing and really inspiring. I will be back.
I hope you don't think that I am a total loon! I just thought it was so weird.
Maria

Elizabeth said...

What a wonderful piece!! i can't wait to see it up close and personal!!!
hugs!
Elizabeth

inHERdarkroom said...

I am really liking your bird series (if you are thinking that way). But, "old" mothers feel trapped, too! :)

Elizabeth Seaver said...

Thanks for the great comments from you all. Maria, your work is beautiful. I especially like your baby with the red pears and The Pout.

I was never what you would call a young mother either, Shari, and my kids are older now, youngest is nearly 16, but I was a stay at home mom for years, so the words and pictures cried out to me to be used somehow. To all the mamas out there in the trenches--you are not alone!