I find immense inspiration in the joys and complexities of motherhood and the transformative journey of the first year and a half of my child's life. This period has evoked a wide range of emotions, experiences, and challenges that have deeply influenced my artistic expression. As my child progresses through toddlerhood and approaches childhood and adolescence, I recognize that motherhood will undoubtedly undergo shifts and changes.
"Nurturing the Night," takes the form of a high-relief wall hanging. Within this composition, I explore the nocturnal realm of motherhood, depicting the sacred connection between a mother and her child during the intimate act of breastfeeding. Bathed in the moon's ethereal glow, a symbol of feminine power, this tender moment between mother and child is portrayed with starry details and textures that evoke a dreamlike and romantic atmosphere, reminiscent of the continuous dream-like state I experienced.
This was my first time creating a high and low relief sculpture with ceramics. Since my background is in two-dimensional methods, with watercolor and collage as my preferred media, I really enjoyed this challenge! Creating the background felt like a collage in a sense, cutting and "pasting" slabs of clay together, adding texture with thick slip and stamps. For the small stars, I created a stamp from my son’s favorite pastina stars. Sculpting the high relief mother and son was out of my comfort zone, but I powered through and I am quite pleased with the results. To get the dimensions correct, I used the water-soluble marker transfer method onto a slab of clay. I used that shape to add features and carve away cavities creating under arms, etc.
