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Bree Apperley

3/18/2023

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State(s) of Being  

The fact that women are still underrepresented in the art world of today is  such a disappointment. I wish I could say it is also a surprise. Much like the  civil rights movement of the 60s, after the height of the women’s movement  and the institutional respect and acceptance of feminist art during the  1970s, as a culture we had the hand-wiping attitude of a problem that had  been solved. But not so. As with the BLM movement, the COVID pandemic  revealed that not much had really changed within the gendered  expectations and experiences of our society. Although the workforce  included a greater number of women than in decades past, with most  working full-time, women were still, for the most part, responsible for  household and childcare duties. 

The pandemic removed the illusion of independent, self-sufficient, career driven womanhood by revealing the weight of all the myriad home-life  related chores that had been outsourced to other less-privileged women.  The same old sexist framework was still there all along, hidden beneath a  comfy padding of dollar bills. Outwardly, for a couple of decades, it truly  looked as though things had changed. A career and child both! A family and  a fulfilling job! We can have it all. Look how far we have come. The  unfortunate truth was that the mirage of freedom and equality was only  available because of paid additional support from other women. 

It is this hidden skeleton of disparity that the art world too, is built upon. The  social and political framework of capitalism favours a certain type of worker.  A hustler, a grinder, someone who is willing to go big or go home. The  system is built for making money, and the faster the better. Scale up. In  fact, things truly have been scaling up, even material things like houses,  cars, grocery stores, family vacations, post-secondary education. This is  where unregulated capitalism brings us, and it is unsustainable. 

What does this have to do with the art world? Well, like any other industry,  art is attached to a market, and as we know, the free market  prioritizes economic growth above all else. An artist who is also a mother is  in most cases working the ‘second shift’. That is, as detailed above, they  are most likely to be the ones in charge of the domestic sphere, including  the children. This reality does not jive well with a bombastic studio practice  built around a bohemian, foot-loose lifestyle, which is the antiquated myth  that still persists around the creation of artwork.

​Who are the ones who can more readily embody this ideal? Young men, or older men who have  remained in this role throughout their careers. There are exceptions to this  of course, but I am generalizing to make a point. It is a matter of time and focus, and any artist who is also a mother is in  short supply of these two essential ingredients. Who are the artists making  it to all the evening gallery openings and artist talks? The meeting and  greeting? Who are the artists with studio spaces separate from their homes  and stuffed full of work? Who are the artists with mentors? Someone who  looks like them? Where is the shop talk taking place? The evolving artistic  dialogue is not happening at the family dinner table or in bed before  storytime. Or with the other parents at school drop-off and pick-up. How  can you be in two places at once? It is hard to contort oneself to fit a mold  that is not designed for you. It takes extraordinary measures and a will of  steel to climb a man-made mountain. Mercifully, one of the defining  characteristics of an artist is someone who finds a way to be truly  themselves, bending the world to their inner compass, letting the world in  on how they see things, how things feel in their skin. This caveat to the  chimerical role in society of the capital ‘A’ artist may be the saving grace of  the profession.  

Thank goodness (goddess?) for the progressive thinking of those mothers  and artists who are able to find a way to create and be visible in the art  scene by bending the social strictures, shattering outdated myths, finding  loopholes and forging new paths. It takes exceptional strength of  determination and motivation to keep in the game and succeed. The  women chosen for the exhibition The State(s) of Being at the Lake Country  Art Gallery - Janine Hall, Joice M. Hall, Lindsay Lorraine, Mary Smith  McCulloch, and Rhonda Neufeld - have proven themselves to be artists  and mothers who are supernaturally spirited. They have decided to want  something for themselves and they are not afraid to take it. Culture and  society benefit from these women. We need their voices and their vision.  They are wanted and needed, not only by their children and family but by  their art community at large, and the world beyond. 

Bree Apperley is a Canadian mother, artist, designer and writer based in Syilx territory (Okanagan, B.C.). She holds degrees in both Fine Art and Design Art, from the Alberta College of Art + Design and Concordia University respectively. For more information about the author visit https://breeapperley.com/ and on instagram @fwuitbowl.

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School students respond to the Artworks in Mother(load)

3/17/2023

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Grade 6-7-8 Middle School students visited the exhibition Mother(load) this week - and this is what they had to say about the artworks that they enjoyed or connected to most ...

All of the artworks...
... have their own message behind them. They [artists] didn't stop doing what they love. The artwork speaks to you.
-grade 8


the Archaeology of Motherhood, mixed media by Devon L. Muhlert.
... is my favourite piece because it is made of pins and quilt pieces, paper, and other mixed media. It is very interesting to look at and I think it is my favourite piece in this art gallery. It makes me feel happy to look at it.          -age 13 

Cradling Hope, mixed media on canvas by Jacqueline Rieger .    
... is my fav art piece. I like that one because the colours are really cool and it's a really pretty painting, and I like how it pops out at you.
-grade 7  

Cradling Hope, mixed media on canvas by Jacqueline Rieger. 
- I really like it because it looks like a lady at night Standing in front of the moon and because there's lots of colour it makes me feel happy.
-grade 6

Cradling Hope, mixed media on canvas by Jacqueline Rieger. 
- Interesting colours makes me feel like I'm in another world. Sparks curiosity. I really liked it.
-grade 6

Cradling Hope, mixed media on canvas by Jacqueline Rieger .
- It’s just vibrant                                                                                                              
-grade 7

Do Your Dream, mixed media by Lynette Stebner.
- I really like this art piece. Feels similar to my life; all the things I have to do. Makes me happy!
-grade 6 

Embrace the Thunder, mixed media by Jill Meredith. 
- I was drawn to the title - since our move from Ontario I feel we've been forced to embrace the noise and vibration of a new home / city / province. I like the word EMBRACE - it gives me permission to feel all the feels. 
-grade unknown


Embrace the Thunder, mixed media by Jill Meredith.  
- I enjoyed how the colours were mixed. The colour choices have a feeling of Happiness and creativity.                           
​-grade 6

Embrace the Thunder, mixed media by Jill Meredith.    
- I like because it looks really beautiful and the colors really pop out
-grade 6

Eve’s Garden, fabric/acrylic oil by Karen Stewart.
... lots to look at and you could never get bored
-grade 6

Family, oil by Denise Patrick.
- I liked this piece of art because I really liked all of the colours that the artist chose and I wonder what the artist was thinking/feeling when they made it.
-grade 7 

Family, acrylic by Denise Patrick.
- Lots of Colors. The planets reminded me of a family.
-grade 6

Family, acrylic by Denise Patrick.
- I felt a Strong Connection with this Art because of the hue, value and the way it looks.. -I really enjoyed the Art. The Art made me feel happy and understood.
-grade: 7

is there TIME for both motherhood and art?, acrylic, pen + ink on textured wood panel by Pamela Cinnamon.
- All the different times using different symbols for showing how the time fits eg. butterfly, flowers, clocks.
-grade unknown 

Mixed and Unmatched, mixed media by Sara Wiens.
…I also thought that the one with the laundry was cool too. 
-grade 8

Mom, oil painting by Denise Patrick.
- The beauty of this piece is indescribable, so natural, so real. Real as you could see the mother-in-law not in the painting but just in reality moving, breathing, laughing, smiling. You don't just see the painting, you see her. You see the flowers, You see life, reality, beauty.
-grade 7

Mother(load), drawings by Roberta Sutherland.
- I love how it just explains the beauty of pregnancy and fertility and how mothers are willing to give up their bodies and even their life for this unique and amazing experiment. It represents "bounce back" culture in a way and how all our bodies are different after childbirth whether they bounce back or not and it should not be expected of us. I think that because there's Stretch marks it looks like, around her body from pregnancy and you cannot get rid of those and it's natural but people still get ridiculed for it.
-grade 7

Mother, Matrix, Maatrikaa, acrylic, fabric + glass on hardboard by Rena Warren + Larkin Dunn Warren.
- The Flower to me was special because it reminded me of my grandma who loved flowers and when her mom passed away her last word was please take care of my flower garden and that is what my grandmother did. All the flowers are still there to this day. The little mirror reminded me of how a little sentence means big work because the flower [form] was smaller to bigger.                                                                             
-grade 6

Mother, Matrix, Maatrikaa, acrylic, fabric + glass on hardboard by Rena Warren + Larkin Dunn Warren.
... another piece that I liked was the big flower because it was pretty, I liked all the detail on it and the mirror in the middle was cool.
-grade 8

Mother Urge, acrylic, ink, collage by Tess Letailleur.
- I liked the bird's nest with the feather because it was pretty and creative. I really liked how the string was placed and how detailed it was. This piece of art was really pretty.
-grade 8 

My Mother and I, fibre art/embroidery by Alice Pallett.
... is my favourite piece. This is my favourite because my great grandma makes stuff like this.
-grade

My Mother and I, fibre art/embroidery by Alice Pallett.
I don't really know why but it was really pretty and you could tell how much time it took to make.
-grade 7

Re Surfacing, acrylic + mixed medium by Kate Brown.
Brush stocks showing movement, showing no matter how you can be tangled you can get up.
-grade unknown 

Through Rose - Coloured Glasses, acrylic on canvas  by Lisa Figueroa.
- I love all the colours and how clean it was, it really stood out from the other art
-grade 7
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