So my mom is an artist. I don’t think I ever realized that until recently. I always saw her as a mom who just happened to paint. She is soft spoken, kind, hard working and not prone to wild mood swings and diva outbursts that I associate with most artistic people I know. There seems to be this stigma with artists that they must be emotionally unbalanced because that’s where “good art” comes from. But as I look at all the art my mom has been quietly producing in her life, I am amazed at it’s beauty.
We have been collecting her work for a gallery show that starts on Feb 14 at Everybody’s Coffee in Chicago. Her paintings and prints are being temporarily stored in an office while pieces are framed or catalogued. I’ve never seen all her work in one place before and it’s overwhelming. I had no idea there was so much an so much that’s “good”. Growing up I would watch my mom painting and just assumed that she was an average painter because she made it look easy. I imagined great art being painted by tortured artists who are madly flinging paint on canvases. I now have a little more perspective about what art is and what it means to be an artist. My mother taught me that art is about pouring out a bit of yourself through paint or ink or music or words that opens up a new perspective on the human experience. I hope that her art show inspires you in the same way.
Nathan Cameron's Big Adventure 