A Visual Birthday Tribute To My Mom!

mom-erika.jpg

I'm in purple. Mom's in black.
Here, we're standing in front of The Art Institute,
on our way to check out a Gallery Talk about a resourceful artist, James Castle.

He was an outsider.

Outsider. That's the term used for people who have not received "formal" training, but the Spirit of Art is so wildly alive within them, that it bursts forth anyway.

For them, art is not a hobby, but a necessary function.

In the case of Castle, not only did he lack training;
he also lacked drawing tablets and sketching pads.

So, he opened the boxes of toothpaste, and the packages of panty-hoses, and used their white insides as his canvas.

He didn't have fancy oils, pastels, or watercolors.

So he used his spit. And soot from a wood-burning stove.

He would not be stopped.

He reminds me of us.

mom-and-erika.jpg


2,288 miles, and 517 days

have kept us physically apart.

And if we're honest,
the typical mother-daughter complexities
play their part in our emotional distance.

This is neither tragic, nor unusual!

What's much more remarkable to me is that
in spite of our imperfections and differences,
we still miss each other dearly,
we'd like to make more enjoyable memories together,
and we genuinely want to see each other happy, and successful in life.

This means, WE ARE WINNING.
Happy Birthday, Mom!!

I miss and love you, very much!!

Erika


One year on my Mom's birthday, we were both seeking transformation in our lives, and the ability to see and act beyond illusion.

Dragonflies represent this.

They became a cheerful reminder of our aspirations...

...so I got her this balloon.

drago.jpg

She really took a liking to him, and even named him... Drago!

mom-and-drago.jpg

Time progressed and, despite her fondness,

Drago lost all his air.

But my Mom created a way

for us to remember him...

drago-mosaic.jpg


There's more creativity, where Drago came from.

Look below. The image on the left is a photographed object,
and the object on the right, is her hand-drawing of that photographed object.

I took these pictures with a 2007 LG flip phone.

The first iPhone hadn't been released yet, and I was just glad this thing even HAD a camera on it! Hence, the poor visual quality, and color distortions.

soapstone-mom.jpg

Precious, and on-topic. Mother and child.


mom-ornament.jpg

An ornament.


mom-bamboo.jpg

Bamboo.


mom-chair.jpg

Recliner.


livingroom-mom.jpg

Couch.


Thanks for letting me share some of my Mom's work, and birthday, with you all!

She might be available for commissioned work :-)

If that interests you, please leave word in the comments,
or send me a message on steemit.chat.


Check Out My Mom's Unique, Anonymous Form of Cannabis Activism!
A Post Inspired By Marijuana Mother Plants
My Name Is Erika, And I Am A Biophiliac

⇧ You might enjoy the related posts above. ⇧

Follow me: @erikaharris

H2
H3
H4
3 columns
2 columns
1 column
13 Comments