A Pocketful of Posies

Why I’m working on a new series, and responding to questions of the day

The simple gesture of a small arrangement of flowers in an antique vase placed on a delicate crocheted doiley, is a recurring subject matter in a lot of my works. But the “For the…” series has a more personal message.

These flowers are lovingly grown, picked, and assembled by your Nana, your great Aunt, your elderly neighbour and possibly accompanied by other home made items. The posie for the breakfast bar has a side dish of home made jam drops. The posie in the guest room has an adorable stack of face washers with the edges crocheted.

It’s this memory I’m chasing for the next couple of months. I want something that is comfortable, something nostalgic, somewhere I can look when I want to hide from war, flood, pestilence, fire …. 
We’ve seen it all these last few years.

Which brings me to a question …

I have been asked if my work should be more reflective of current issues, if perhaps I’m hiding or ignoring the disasters that are happening? I believe there are a lot of very VERY good artists and creatives who have that skill to distill their anger and rage into one single vision. I am not called to do that.

I am called to put my energies into raising a son who is 19 this year, who at 2 was diagnosed with a regressive disorder. He is largely non-verbal and requires constant supervision and care. I am called to be a high school teacher and consider the differences in every student and why their parents are looking for something different in their child’s education, they couldn’t get in mainstream. I am called to be a wife, mother, aunty, godmother, cousin, daughter, niece and to do all of that imperfectly with precision, love, and intelligence.

This is not a middle-finger response. It’s put plainly, just as the question was. The art I make was always somewhere for me to hide and not be “that-disability-Mum” and with years of encouragement I began sharing my vision of the world with others. I want to bring joy and happiness and comfort to people. That is my superpower and I love wearing it!