The Begetting series (2018-2019), consists of mixed media works on paper involving leftover acrylic paint, watercolor, loose pigments, thread, and photographic imagery. The painted backgrounds were made by setting wet paint out to dry out on watercolor paper. The outlines of pregnant human figures (based on my pregnancy in 2017) were later placed and sewn over the dry backgrounds.
The intimate works explore the sensations of expansion and infiltration that many experience during pregnancy and childbirth. They juxtapose unintentional mark-making (flowing paint stains) with the exacting and consistently sized outlines of the human figure posing from various angles. The stains themselves recall organic shapes (flowers, blood/bodily fluids, organs).
Sewing is a craft that is a form of mending or healing. The silhouettes are sewn, rather than drawn, to recall a form of mark-making specifically associated with the home and with the decorative arts. The figures both exist within the abstract landscapes that surround them and give life and meaning to these surroundings.
(Engendrer), 2018-9, peinture acrylique et aquarelle, dessin cousu sur papier Arches, 26 x 36 cm, cadre blanc 30 x 40 cm. (17 dessins). Les autoportraits cousus présentent la silhouette de l’artiste pendant sa grossesse en 2017 sur des fonds produits par des flaques sèches de peinture liquide.