The meaning behind the stacks
My kids are back in school after a few months of summer fun and family time. Near the end of July, I was having trouble keeping up with my normal routines for work and creativity in the studio. In many ways, I just decided to let things go and enjoy the summer instead of trying to keep up with everything.
The one thing I wouldn’t let go of was my early morning creative hour. And slowly, I found myself working on a new series of mixed-media collage stacks.
I had created ~20 stacks on paper during my #100dayprojectofrocks this spring. While the focus of that endeavor was rocks, I started incorporating other shapes and ideas. Some were related beach-themed imagery, such as fish or boats, but other abstract elements started to emerge as well.
With this new series, I’ve shifted to working on panels, both wood and canvas, but I’ve also embraced the mixture of “things”, because truthfully, my stacks aren’t just about my love of rocks or the beach, they are really about motherhood.
Let me explain….
First, I love making lists, specifically on lined, yellow, legal pads. There are usually several floating around in my studio with steps that need to be completed for various projects.
Funny enough, I don’t care as much about crossing off the items. Which doesn’t mean I don’t care about completing the tasks, mind you. I just love freeing my mind from the mental challenge of trying to remember all the tasks. It feels like weights falling off when I can take the To-Dos out of my head and put them on paper.
As a mother, there are many thoughts in my day where I’m tracking items that I don’t necessarily want to write down on paper. This is especially true when kids are young.
Just tracking everything you need to get out the door could be a full list. If it’s just me, I would only need my purse with wallet and phone, but with my youngest….
“Do we have a snack? Will she eat that snack?” (She’s a picky one.)
“Do I have water if she gets thirsty?”
“Her hair is a mess. Should I brush it? When was the last time it was washed? We won’t see my mother, so we’ll skip the hair right now.”
“Has she used the bathroom? When was the last time? How many times has she even gone today?” (Side bar - One thing that I could not have imagined before having children is the amount of time I would spend thinking about another person’s bathroom habits.)
“She’s only wearing a t-shirt and says, ‘She’s fine’. But if she gets cold, we’ll need a jacket or sweater or something.”
“Maybe I should have a change of clothes just in case, and shoes.”
Anyway, the point of sharing this internal dialogue is that the mental load that parents, usually mothers, keep track of can be a lot.
Imagine if these “thoughts” were always physical objects that you had to carry around? That’s what I imagine when I create my stacks. They’re usually teetering in a way that makes you wonder, “Why isn’t that falling over?” “What’s holding it all up?”
Yes, the imagery and colors in my work are often inspired by the beautiful area I call home, but my stacked compositions come from the mental load of motherhood.
