WW5: Ah, Motherland!

Artist Statement: As a daughter of a single parent immigrant, I see the struggles in my mother eyes that others may or may not have to deal with. With most immigrant mothers of first generation children, there are language and culture barriers that arise. These particular mothers may not have all assimilated into American culture or earned college degrees nor even learn fluent English but upon having children they all have vowed to provide their children with the best opportunities they could. Whether the child is raised with the mother’s cultural fist or not, the decision to provide in order to raise genuine successful children still stands. This body of work illustrates the jobs the mothers have taken to provide for their children through wood burning illustrations.

Lizette Louis

Gisele

Wood Burning on Birch

17 x 11

2010

Hi ladys! so here are a couple of the pix from the reshoot i did of Claudette, the accountant. I have also attached the better of the first batch. I think the 2nd one works best but i would love your feedback.

How does your work transcend cultural / physical boarders? How you identify self.

For as long as I could remember, I’ve always tried to draw my subjects as mixed individuals. I never wanted to draw one particular culture over the other. I remember entering poster contest as a kid and drawing my characters as anything but Haitian. I wanted the viewer to relate to the drawings as someone they could see themselves as. When we were assigned projects that focused on our own cultures were the only time I did a Haitian drawing. It wasn’t shame or anything that drove me to do this but just that since art was my outlet, art helped me understand things well maybe if i drew other cultures, I would understand them and myself.

The problem with that came when I wanted to draw people of African Decent, it became hard for me to do. Almost discouraging but it was something i did to myself that i had to now change. I remember my High school history teacher called me out on it. He said that i’m drawing other cultures but they all still look European. “They are all light skinned” so he told me to look through all my sketchbooks and to see how many of them actually resembled me.

I say all that to say this, I am more aware now of what I’m doing and why i do it. so i try to have my work pull from who I am as a Haitian -American. I try to show that i love diversity, unity, and a sense of tradition and respect for others. I try to keep my subjects relate able to a viewer weather its my culture or not. I NEED for them to feel like they can be part of my culture as well/ as their own and visa versa!

My project some what relates to the immigrant experience. This project focuses on mothers working hard to raise successful children and the jobs they take to see that through. One of the mothers in my project assimilated or adjusted pretty well to see this through. She learned English and earned a college degree to set that example for her children. I hope that answers the question.

As a daughter of a single parent immigrant, I see the struggles in my mother eyes that others may or may not have to deal with. My mother has been here for 27 years and still struggles to speak English but has provided for my siblings and I. I would like to tell her story and others like her through Woodburining Illustrations.

I would like to have a series of 3 Woodburnings in no bigger than 8 x 10s that illustrate the struggles and success of single immigrant mothers who provide for their families. The illustrations are intended to show their odd jobs, the way they get around without being able to read English and of course, their fight for a better life for their families.