Laid, Hatched, Grown, Flown (Quadriptych)
24 in. x 27 in., 4 panels, acrylic on traditional-depth canvas
$1200 unframed
This is a quadriptych (two 12" x 16" panels and two 7" x 14" panels) that hand as an interlocking set of four pieces, telling the progressive narrative of the human feminine and specifically the maternal "nest" experience. It was painted in response to a call for art for the NEST show at Twiggs Gallery in Boscawen, NH. This theme intrigued me and immediately stimulated a creative flow of ideas in my mind. See below for details on each panel.
Laid
12 in. x 16 in., Panel 1 of 4, acrylic on traditional-depth canvas
A trompe l'oeil of an incubating nest serves as the concept and the metaphor with its vaguely uterine form, the nail holding the suspending string is right where the navel would be. When one is first told they are pregnant, there is an funny unreality to it. One asks, "Is this real?" like they do when viewing a trompe l'oeil painting. The wall is flesh-colored, and the concept of my own body being the nest is offered as the point of connection with the painting; for the rest of my life, anything outside of myself that I build for the ones I am growing within is an extension of the next inside my body. I am the nest.
Hatched
7 in. x 14 in., Panel 2 of 4, acrylic on traditional-depth canvas
This is the raw and visceral portrait of surgical delivery, the narrative of breaking from inside to outside. A necessary part of bringing forth life in the nest is brokenness as a result of growth. The harsh reality of some ways that breaking is accomplished is displayed here, for all its uncomfortable awkwardness that not many see. Sacrifice for the sake of another deserves a moment's contemplation.
Grown
7 in. x 14 in., Panel 3 of 4, acrylic on traditional-depth canvas
The still life of real life, this is the concrete and incarnational; the one who came out is becoming, as illustrated by these mundane and common emblems of maturity. There is feeling of being on the edge of maternal protectiveness and the tentative progression toward letting go, as symbolized by the youthful sneakers and the precious first car key; the little bird is becoming mobile and trying out his wings. I am both proud and terrified; I don't want him to fall too far, too hard.
Flown
12 in. x 16 in., Panel 4 of 4, acrylic on traditional-depth canvas
The realized, the attained; the purpose of the nest is consummated and fulfilled. Nests are made to be emptied, I remind myself; he has left me some loose change and dents in the carpet where his furniture was. The interior has been vacated and the remaining empty space is a transcendent monument to both the achieved and the grieved, and full of pathos. It has been a few years now since this moment, and the space is now art studio space... but I cried when I painted this.
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