"Mother and Child" (Gennie Pfannenstiel). A Self-Portrait by Mom, shortly after I was born.
I'm very fortunate to have a creative, artistically-driven, mother. She's constantly working on a handful of projects in various stages of completion, moving from couch to table and back, clipping articles of inspiration, writing, gluing shards of glass to newspaper to discarded wood, making sense of the world by gathering/touching/redesigning her way through it... all the while making it more beautiful as she goes.
I can only hope to be more like her, while probably already embodying more of her qualities than I'll ever realize. Occasionally I'll catch a glimpse of our likeness: Our same gummy smiles, our reserved but rapt body language in a crowded room, or a shared attention to a transitory, life-affirming moment in time.
For some reason, it took me a while to notice the similiarity between these two observations on new parenthood. My mom's version (left) has been hanging in our living room my whole life, so it must have been deep in my awareness somewhere as I shot my own interpretation decades later of my good friend, Eric (below). Both, I like to think, illustrating a cross between inexplicable bewilderment and pride.
A picture I made of new dad Eric a few days after his son's birth.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Thanks for being a continual source of inspiration. (And don't worry Dad, Father's Day is coming soon!)
Love, Elise
