Moon Dance; Portrait of My Mother

This print is a reproduction of the Artist’s original 17” x 21” pastel piece. This portrait is an attempt to convey Artist’s knowledge of and respect for her mother. Artist has made an unconventional choice in depicting her mother. For, too often, the identities of older women represented in portraiture are subsumed by societal stereotypes, leaving their essence unseen. Here, with ribbons, threads, textures and symbols, Artist has created a direct pathway to her mother, with each element evoking memories of their life together. One of her mother’s favorite earrings, made with little crossword cutouts, dangles on a strand of purple terry cloth from her favorite robe, which she wore on many cold mornings. A gold tassel representative of her many academic accomplishments runs straight through the center; and, to the right, shapes common to Alexander Calder, a horse pin and leather strap recall her love of art and animals. The ribbon swirling playfully in the center, around the golden cord of academia, references a dish hanging in her mother’s bedroom. The dish depicts a woman with long curly black hair lounging confidently amongst pillows and boldly patterned bedding that, to Artist, recalls some of the best ways in which Artist’s mother has viewed herself. Together, these cords dance and sway, bathed in moonlight, summoning a song that Artist heard many times as her mother sang along. The entirety of the piece is meant to elicit the love and pride that Artist feels for her mother, as the individual she is, and in appreciation of the life lived with and before her…

“It’s a marvelous night for a moon dance, with the stars up above in your eyes…” ( Moondance, Van Morrison)

This print comes with matboard backing and protected in an individual archival sleeve.