Melinda Schawel

 

 

Motherhood encompasses so much more than I ever imagined. My fellow co-exhibitor and friend Ashley Waldvogel sums it up beautifully – in short, it is the vain attempt at being all things to all people. We are the givers of life, the nurturers, the cleaners, the cooks, chauffeurs, teachers, volunteers, organisers and gift-givers. The million and one things we accomplish in a day will most likely go unnoticed and by the time we claw back a little part of ourselves, we’ll feel nostalgic for the times the children cried out for us in the middle of the night and squealed with joy when we entered a room.

 

It’s not long, however, before the attempt at being all things to all people starts to feel more like an expectation, oftentimes self imposed. The works for 4 Squared are a reminder of the struggle to be the perfect mother, and my own private rebellion against these internal and external expectations. They are about the reality of what it actually takes to perform countless selfless acts while retaining some sense of creative self. They refer to motherhood not as a quest for perfection but rather a recognition and acceptance of our imperfections.  

 

My source materials are old greeting cards filled with standardized sentimentality, printed on multi-coloured, floral papers and garnished with foil, ribbons and lace. Bits of paper and material are preserved, other bits are dirtied or scraped away through a process of collage, painting and sanding. The results are unpredictable and far from perfect, not dissimilar to the challenging roles that women have always filled as mother, wife/partner, and individual.

 

 

Born in Illinois, Melinda Schawel received a BA in Fine Art and Communication from the University of California Santa Barbara in 1993 and a Postgraduate Degree in Printmaking from RMIT in 1996. She has exhibited regularly since 1995 and has been selected for a number of prestigious commissions including Sydney’s Westin Hotel and the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne. Her work has been published by Murtra Edicions in Barcelona, Port Jackson Press in Melbourne and is represented in numerous collections including the National Gallery of Australia and the Royal Museum of Fine Art, Antwerp. She is represented by Flinders Lane Gallery in Melbourne and Anna Layard in Singapore.

 

She currently resides in Savannah, Georgia with her husband and two children.

www.melindaschawel.com