Here is the link to my blog. Click on the "About" tab to read what I'm doing here. It's still a work in progress and more posts will be added as I receive photography consent forms.
The entries that were up when I read were very interesting. There was something in every interview that reflected what we're going through. This seems like something that is very important. My wife seems to think there are people that aren't struggling trying to keep things in balance, as if there is someone who has it all figured out, but of course, no one does everything effortlessly. I think I will share this with her at some point.
I really like that this blog is focused on real discussions dealing with motherhood. Everyone's trials and tribulations on motherhood and how they embraced life with all the changes. What also adds character is the format you choose - a calendar - reinforces how motherhood is a "daily" quest.
Photographs do not lie.The images reveal various aspects in the life of women and motherhood.A relationship is built on cooperation.My wife and I raised 4 boys over our 34 years of marriage .I have been a professor for most of these years,so getting off work wasn't too much of a problem especially as to family crisis /illness and a myriad number of other family situations which arose.It isn't easy for other professions in this competitive work world which pulls us in many directions much to the detriment of our loved ones.I still think women have much more stress than men.Families are responsibilities one cannot shirk.It takes both parents! I think of time spent sitting in the bleachers watching my son play football in middle school through college or riding with the ambulance when my son was bitten by our dog and had to have stitches near his right eye.I think Harry Chapin's song Cat's in the Cradle resonated with me before I had become a parent,i.e.,to not be "that kind of father": The song is told in the first-person by a father who is too busy with work to spend time with his son. Each time the son asks him to join in childhood activities, the father issues vague promises of spending time together in the future. While disappointed, the son accepts his excuses and yearns to "be like you, Dad." The first verse tells of his absence at his son's birth and walking, as "there were planes to catch and bills to pay"; the second verse relates the father buying the son a baseball as a birthday present but likewise declining to play catch.The Golberg's sit com did a skit on this last week.Still a sad but truthful song!
"I joke with friends that I wasn’t a feminist until I became a mother. Truly, I didn’t see limitations until I became a mother and had to choose between career and family, breastfeeding and a paycheck, childcare or trapped staying at home. These were issues my husband didn’t have to face. He didn’t go through the bodily trauma of childbirth, needing months of physical and emotional recovery. Sick child that can’t go to daycare? Unless our baby was in the hospital, my husband couldn’t get off work; it was my responsibility." LOVED this oh my how I can relate in SO many ways.... specially last few months the kid has been sick a few times and I had to go get her from school take her to doc and stay home and work so she could get better but the husband cant get out of work to do this. While being over 30 weeks pregnant OH FUN! I love what you are doing looking into the world of mothers makes me feel like I am not alone making these decisions if you ever find yourself in the fort worth area you are more than welcome to come take a pic of my chaotic like the nursery/office would make a great pic ha ha.
Thank you! I am so glad these stories are touching other mothers. I wish I'd had known you were in the ft. worth area! We were just there for Thanksgiving--first time in 4 years we'd been that way.
This project has a nice balance between your personal experience and then collecting of others' experiences in the same arena for use in developing a body of work.I think it not only validates your experiences and strengthens what you might be communicating, it also gives others voice...or as the first and second generation of feminist artists might claim, the "personal is political."
Philip Lopate says “research becomes an alternative to self cannibalization.” I love this statement because as artist it is easy to get lost inside your own head, so your expansion beyond your own head, your own lived experience, I think strengthens your own voice.
I love that quote! I think my research--from painting my own experiences to researching others'--has helped me keep my head "above water" in some ways.
This is like everyday of my life! Like Candice was saying balancing out the scholar, mom, wife, sister, TA everything is a collage of the different roles that I have in my life. I love how you are drawing from these personal experiences and creating a dialogue. I think that the more we share the more we realize that we aren't alone. We should combine our two blogs!
Hi Courtney, This was great. I loved the photos and the input from these stories. My sister just had her first baby in August, and she has been really open about life with the new addition (baby boy). And yeah, it's not always rainbows and sunshine, but there is a lot of good. Over Thanksgiving, I got to give her a hand by changing diapers, watching him while she ran some errands or took a nap, feed him his bottle, burping him, etc. It was good, and I cherish those moments with him, but I know I have only a tiny tiny glimpse of child raising from these moments. But, I think her having a baby has really helped me understand what it means to become a mother (and may help in the future if I have children). Reading your blog project also helps, because I agree, we have this idea of what motherhood will be like, but the reality is often very different (and that's okay). Great job! :)
But even through the chaos, every mother shares an intimate part of her experience. Many express periods of guilt, of worry, of struggles juggling it all. But all of them overflow with transparency, beauty, and self-sacrifice.
I really enjoyed reading your introduction, as well as the thoughts of the mothers on their unique challenges. I completely agree with your reflection on the balancing between chaos and juggling it all with beauty. Every mother seemed to have the same advice to relax and to remember to take time to enjoy the little moments with your child. I think that, from the outside looking in, that has to be one of the most unique things about parenthood; you have this little person that just wants you to slow down and play with them. You have to stop ‘and smell the roses’ (after cleaning up the thousandth mess they’ve made that day).
I talk about motherhood issues because that is what I feel most qualified to speak on. It is my most present experience, and the first thought when I hear the word “feminism.”
I may not connect my feminism to the concept of motherhood, but I really love this statement. I believe that is one of the pleasant surprises that I have experienced since I began exploring feminism, that at its core, feminism is about expressing myself as woman in the manner that best suits me. Before, I had always pictured a Susan Douglas ‘man-hating, bra-burning’ caricature of feminism. Thank you for so eloquently stating what feminism is at its foundation.
The entries that were up when I read were very interesting. There was something in every interview that reflected what we're going through. This seems like something that is very important. My wife seems to think there are people that aren't struggling trying to keep things in balance, as if there is someone who has it all figured out, but of course, no one does everything effortlessly. I think I will share this with her at some point.
ReplyDeleteI really like that this blog is focused on real discussions dealing with motherhood. Everyone's trials and tribulations on motherhood and how they embraced life with all the changes. What also adds character is the format you choose - a calendar - reinforces how motherhood is a "daily" quest.
ReplyDeletePhotographs do not lie.The images reveal various aspects in the life of women and motherhood.A relationship is built on cooperation.My wife and I raised 4 boys over our 34 years of marriage .I have been a professor for most of these years,so getting off work wasn't too much of a problem especially as to family crisis /illness and a myriad number of other family situations which arose.It isn't easy for other professions in this competitive work world which pulls us in many directions much to the detriment of our loved ones.I still think women have much more stress than men.Families are responsibilities one cannot shirk.It takes both parents! I think of time spent sitting in the bleachers watching my son play football in middle school through college or riding with the ambulance when my son was bitten by our dog and had to have stitches near his right eye.I think Harry Chapin's song Cat's in the Cradle resonated with me before I had become a parent,i.e.,to not be "that kind of father": The song is told in the first-person by a father who is too busy with work to spend time with his son. Each time the son asks him to join in childhood activities, the father issues vague promises of spending time together in the future. While disappointed, the son accepts his excuses and yearns to "be like you, Dad." The first verse tells of his absence at his son's birth and walking, as "there were planes to catch and bills to pay"; the second verse relates the father buying the son a baseball as a birthday present but likewise declining to play catch.The Golberg's sit com did a skit on this last week.Still a sad but truthful song!
ReplyDelete"I joke with friends that I wasn’t a feminist until I became a mother. Truly, I didn’t see limitations until I became a mother and had to choose between career and family, breastfeeding and a paycheck, childcare or trapped staying at home. These were issues my husband didn’t have to face. He didn’t go through the bodily trauma of childbirth, needing months of physical and emotional recovery. Sick child that can’t go to daycare? Unless our baby was in the hospital, my husband couldn’t get off work; it was my responsibility."
ReplyDeleteLOVED this oh my how I can relate in SO many ways.... specially last few months the kid has been sick a few times and I had to go get her from school take her to doc and stay home and work so she could get better but the husband cant get out of work to do this. While being over 30 weeks pregnant OH FUN! I love what you are doing looking into the world of mothers makes me feel like I am not alone making these decisions if you ever find yourself in the fort worth area you are more than welcome to come take a pic of my chaotic like the nursery/office would make a great pic ha ha.
Thank you! I am so glad these stories are touching other mothers. I wish I'd had known you were in the ft. worth area! We were just there for Thanksgiving--first time in 4 years we'd been that way.
DeleteThis project has a nice balance between your personal experience and then collecting of others' experiences in the same arena for use in developing a body of work.I think it not only validates your experiences and strengthens what you might be communicating, it also gives others voice...or as the first and second generation of feminist artists might claim, the "personal is political."
ReplyDeletePhilip Lopate says “research becomes an alternative to self cannibalization.” I love this statement because as artist it is easy to get lost inside your own head, so your expansion beyond your own head, your own lived experience, I think strengthens your own voice.
ReplyDeleteI love that quote! I think my research--from painting my own experiences to researching others'--has helped me keep my head "above water" in some ways.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is like everyday of my life! Like Candice was saying balancing out the scholar, mom, wife, sister, TA everything is a collage of the different roles that I have in my life. I love how you are drawing from these personal experiences and creating a dialogue. I think that the more we share the more we realize that we aren't alone. We should combine our two blogs!
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteThis was great. I loved the photos and the input from these stories. My sister just had her first baby in August, and she has been really open about life with the new addition (baby boy). And yeah, it's not always rainbows and sunshine, but there is a lot of good. Over Thanksgiving, I got to give her a hand by changing diapers, watching him while she ran some errands or took a nap, feed him his bottle, burping him, etc. It was good, and I cherish those moments with him, but I know I have only a tiny tiny glimpse of child raising from these moments. But, I think her having a baby has really helped me understand what it means to become a mother (and may help in the future if I have children). Reading your blog project also helps, because I agree, we have this idea of what motherhood will be like, but the reality is often very different (and that's okay). Great job! :)
Great job, Courtney! I, too, enjoyed connecting with other real mothers through your work! This is wonderful portraiture. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteBut even through the chaos, every mother shares an intimate part of her experience. Many express periods of guilt, of worry, of struggles juggling it all. But all of them overflow with transparency, beauty, and self-sacrifice.
I really enjoyed reading your introduction, as well as the thoughts of the mothers on their unique challenges. I completely agree with your reflection on the balancing between chaos and juggling it all with beauty. Every mother seemed to have the same advice to relax and to remember to take time to enjoy the little moments with your child. I think that, from the outside looking in, that has to be one of the most unique things about parenthood; you have this little person that just wants you to slow down and play with them. You have to stop ‘and smell the roses’ (after cleaning up the thousandth mess they’ve made that day).
I talk about motherhood issues because that is what I feel most qualified to speak on. It is my most present experience, and the first thought when I hear the word “feminism.”
I may not connect my feminism to the concept of motherhood, but I really love this statement. I believe that is one of the pleasant surprises that I have experienced since I began exploring feminism, that at its core, feminism is about expressing myself as woman in the manner that best suits me. Before, I had always pictured a Susan Douglas ‘man-hating, bra-burning’ caricature of feminism. Thank you for so eloquently stating what feminism is at its foundation.