Motherhood is an art.
I can honestly say my eyes and mind are now wide open to that concept after attending local artist Sally Deskins‘ art show, “What Will Her Kids Think?”
Momaha teamed up with Sally and her journal, Les Femmes Folles, for a Sunday reading about motherhood at the Star Deli Gallery in Benson.
Sally’s art show featured body prints, drawings and photographs exploring her relationship with motherhood and her art.
The reading featured writers Marilyn Coffey, Cat Dixon, Fran Higgins, Jessica Mogis, Summer Miller Widhalm, Michelle Troxclair, Felicia Webster, Laura Madeline Wiseman, Trilety Wade and momaha blogger Danielle Herzog.
Danielle read an open letter to her breasts, about losing her grandmother and 5 things her children did to embarrass her recently.
Coffey read about “Mother Number One.”
Higgins recited an ode to her uterus after having a hysterectomy.
Troxclair openly spoke about what it’s like to be a mother of an autistic child.
And Dixon shared how her youngest son inspired many of her written pieces.
* * *
A sampling of Dixon’s work:
Bathroom Photo
My 3-year-old sits naked on the potty,
just out of a bath. I drape a faded towel over him –
he’s shivering. Now, covered, he’s a gray monster perched on porcelain.
I ask if he’s done. He won’t respond,
so I grab my camera; snap a photo
to share with his fiance when he brings
her home during winter break and when
I’ve nothing to say, I’ll take her to the frame,
and tell her once Pierce
almost pooped in the tub when he was three,
how I bathed him and he was small
enough for me to carry wrapped up
in a towel to his room
to rub lotion all over his skin.
* * *
This celebration of motherhood was quite remarkable. I left that evening with a deeper appreciation for the women who shared intimate moments with their families, their countless gifts of strength and inspiration and definitions of motherhood.
Les Femmes Folles previewed “LES FEMMES FOLLES: THE WOMEN, 2012″ the book, which will be released in March. The 2011 edition is available for purchase.
Glance at photographs below taken by g thompson higgins that evening:
