Dreams and Memories (title page)
I spent an evening with my family in Chicago at a stage production of the musical Gypsy. My Protestant minister father registers an ambivalent reaction to the performance. I stand to the left holding and protecting my figure drawings in my arms. (This was the last print executed.)
Awakening
An androgynous child stands alone in my studio becoming aware of its own sexual/artistic awakening. Two birds, perched on the edge of the bed, are fighting or making love. (This was the first print executed).
Sunday Morning Newspapers
Biblical themes from my religious upbringing appear frequently in my work. Here in reference to the Nativity scene my husband and I assume the roles of Joseph and Mary. We had no children of our own. A coffee cup stands in for the baby Jesus. Discarded newspapers are on the floor below, as we sit at the table, discussing our dreams from the night before. A donkey and cow, alter egos, observe from the window. A bare light bulb stands in for the star over Bethlehem. (The following prints are in the order they were executed.)
Pool of Blind Swimmers
The artist, Max Ernest, once said, “An artist is a blind swimmer.". In a dream I had, there was a man on my back and I knew some day he would come down.
Scene from Childhood
As a child, I would at times observe my parents quarrel, my father’s abusive words and my mother’s indirect psychological games. They never fought physically as they do in my print. I sit on a ladder, my hands tied, unable to move up or down the ladder.
Scared in the Night
All three people, my two parents and me in the center, are scared, sitting on the front steps of our house. The numbers above the door, “121” represent the street address, 121 North Jasmine Street, where we lived in Texas when I was a small child. They also signify the split caused in me as my parents, in fear, pulled me apart. I become two people. The moon, female symbol, appears above my mother. The starry night is reflected in the window glass or is a reversal of the outside, which becomes inside of the house.
The Dance
My father, being a very busy man, whom I never saw much of while I was growing up, would sit in the living room chair and read the evening newspaper. All I could see was the top of his bald head above the newspapers and his legs below. His favorite sport, croquet, appears to be set upon the floor and I dance on one of the hoops, trying to get his attention. I hold a portrait of a pretty little girl in a ruffled dress in front of me, to hide my tomboy persona. In portraits of them, my mother and sister, are observing the situation, stretching to gain my father’s attention as well.
School Nurse
The two most formidable figures for me as a child were my gym teacher and the school nurse. As children we would line up regularly for the nurse to give us our shots. This large woman with a big watch and elephantine arms and legs posed a real threat. I purposely placed possible avenues of escape in my work, such as an outlet and cord into the next room.
Hair
One of my most pleasurable memories as a child was to sit on the floor with my back to my grand mother as she would comb my hair for hours. At the end I would never have to ask for more. In later years when my mother and my aunt visited their mother in a home, they watched a nurse comb her long white hair. She sat still, her mind long gone.
Growth
Regularly I would cut my husband’s hair, here portrayed as Samson and Delilah.
Street Scene
I am both the jogger/traveler to Kansas City on professional trips and the nourishing, stay-at-home figure. My husband enjoyed both women. The dog represents fidelity.
Family Dinner
My father cooks and cuts a carrot. My mother holds a loaf of Rainbow bread, which was very popular in the 1950’s. My brother held in her arms, struggles to free himself. I mediate the family situation. A crucifix hangs on the right wall, observing. My sister, shown as a monkey, plays with the curtain. A bare light bulb above the room represents reality.
Bath
In close familiar intimacy I shave my legs, I cut myself. My husband observes himself in a mirror placed on the toilet stool while shaving his face.
Disnaturing
The gym teacher’s authority, symbolized by her whistle around her neck, gave her permission to blow it on us at any time. Her winged feet gave her speed to prey, to grab her victims with her long claws. Portraying the loss of innocence, the archangel banishes Adam and Eve from the garden.
Garden
I am the gardener musing over the original garden of Adam, Eve and the snake.
Snake Eyes
An androgynous figures stands like the letter “I” in a self-confronting pose. A ladder represents opportunity. A bare light bulb signifies the rational. Three dice stand for the irrational.