Although I commented on this in class, I thought it would be helpful to include several examples of artwork art to provide more context for my experience. Reflecting back on the art made throughout this semester, it was not a surprise that almost every piece of art I made (with the exception of one piece) resembled a uterus or had a fertility theme. Womb-like forms, ovaries, pregnant women and other symbols that are poignant signs of fertility to me (moons, snakes, oysters shells with pearls) inevitably emerged on the page across the span of this course. Overall, this experience has reinforced the idea that art is a gateway to the unconscious and that what is most alive in each of us, will inevitably find a way to emerge on the page. As I enter my mid-thirties and my desire to have kids grows stronger everyday, I cannot escape feeling that I am under constant pressure to settle down with a partner and conceive. Feeling that my biological clock is constantly ticking is obviously unavoidable in my artwork. Even when I intentionally tried to avoid a fertility theme (and focused on a distinctly different theme) I nonetheless ended up creating something centering on fertility.
Hi Jen, I thought your response on class and here on the blog was very interesting and I felt like I related to the feelings and experience you are undergoing. It's very difficult to be in a position where your desire to have a child is being prolonged by time or the inability to do so. I can definitely see how in each of your art works how fertility is displayed or represented. As far as my art work, I think I can see a subconscious representation in my inkblot piece, where it looks like two beings are holding hands and meeting at various points in the center.
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