Deb Putnoi

"We Are Mothers"

Mixed media: ink and gouache drawings, dry point etchings and watercolor 1/1

I am not a soldier. But when I entered into Flohr’s writing and his journals I felt drawn into his keen observations of his journey as a soldier. As I read his entries I was immersed in his world and his discoveries and felt through his descriptions like I was there by his side. As a mother I too am on a journey with the path around the corner mostly hidden. Over the 2 decades of mothering I have kept journals both visual and written about being a mother. I have tried like Flohr to document the small moments, the difficult times and the rocky experiences that test you to your core and then you get to the other side to beauty and connection and deeper understanding. I took notes while I was reading his journal and certain passages mirrored my own journey as a mother. While on the ship Flohr writes, “post nubila phoebus”, after clouds the sun, this line spoke to me as I just am sending my daughter off to her first year of college. There have been challenges and “cloudy days” but there is always sun on the other side. As an artist I gather. I gather different materials through drawing and printing and painting and then I like to juxtapose the random media with text and images that work side by side. My goal with this piece was to use the snippets of my observations of mothering over two decades. This project allowed me to bring together these myriad observations into a book structure. Like Flohr I was able to document a journey with image and text and share that experience with the viewer/reader.

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Deborah Putnoi 2016