Saturday, May 7, 2011

Mother's Day 2011

Non-working Woman, terra cotta, 14"
In the mid-1960s, we stay-at-home-Moms were sometimes called non-working women.  Ha!  I remember long days without pay and no time off;  I also remember my mother's hard work.   It's a tough job--the payoff comes when the kids are responsible adults and you have time to smell the flowers they send, and being a grandmother is great.

 Happy Mother's Day.
These sculptures are from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.


soapstone


soapstone
 
soapstone


terra cotta

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28 comments:

  1. Celeste BerginMay 7, 2011 at 10:10 PM

    Wow..it is wonderful to see all these sculptures. I am hard pressed to say which is my favorite...they are all so beautiful and capture the mother/child relationship perfectly. :)

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  2. hw (hallie) farberMay 7, 2011 at 11:14 PM

    Thank you, Celeste. I think sculpture was probably a life-saver or sanity-saver. I began with wood and stone; I needed that physical part of working with the chisel and mallet; and painting seemed too quiet at the time. I still love sharp tools (and my kids).

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  3. AnonymousMay 7, 2011 at 11:21 PM

    Such beautiful sculptures Hallie! All of them. So wonderful.
    Happy Mother's Day! I would have loved to have a mother like you.

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  4. hw (hallie) farberMay 7, 2011 at 11:38 PM

    Thanks Pam. I don't think I'd get any prizes for motherhood--I was simply there, and I enjoyed playing with the kids.

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  5. Autumn LeavesMay 8, 2011 at 7:34 AM

    Hallie, these pieces are all simply exquisite! I share your feelings about mommyhood too. I almost laughed aloud at the title "non-working mother." Not in my world and obviously not in that lady's either. Glorious work and thank you for sharing them! Happy Mother's Day to you!

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  6. AnonymousMay 8, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    Hallie- Being there plus enjoying the play is precisely why you deserve a prize. Those two acts alone reflect a mother of the highest regard. You are a wonderful, beautiful person Hallie Farber!

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  7. hw (hallie) farberMay 8, 2011 at 4:04 PM

    Hi AutumnLeaves. Thanks--that lady's world was my world. My two kids were fourteen months apart; I remember taking two to the grocery store, and getting two into snowsuits.


    Hi Pam. Thanks. The only instruction manual available was Dr. Spock. Mine was well-worn, and real kids weren't like the ones in the book. A bit like art; just go with the gut and hope you don't totally screw up.

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  8. lifeartistMay 8, 2011 at 9:15 PM

    …like being on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week isn't work. Thanks Hallie for the wonderful work. Happy Mother's day.

    I remember applying to graduate school and being asked about the papers I had published, research I had done and conferences I had attended since college. I was so irritated I sent back all the job descriptions my job as a mother encompassed and reminded them about the 24 hour a day work cycle. It was very snotty but it felt very good.

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  9. hw (hallie) farberMay 8, 2011 at 11:35 PM

    Happy Mother's Day, Davida. There's no progress without a bit of snottiness, and the world is still a bit lopsided.

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  10. ColleenMay 9, 2011 at 6:48 AM

    Beautiful work! I particularly like the last one!

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  11. RobinMay 9, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    Absolutely amazing for me to see your sculptures, they are wonderful (I am envious that you can do these 3 dimensional art creations). Happy belated mother's day to you too.

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  12. SamArtDogMay 9, 2011 at 3:18 PM

    I usually have an opinion. Just ask my mother. In this case, both terra cotta pieces appeal to me a lot.

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  13. Carole ReidMay 9, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    Your "non-working mom" sculpture made me laugh. I remember those days. One kid in my arm and the others pulling on my pant legs or tugging on my purse. I enjoyed being a stay at home mom but I am really enjoying being an empty nester! Any time is art time now!
    Your soapstones are beautifully crafted.

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  14. hw (hallie) farberMay 9, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    Thank you, Colleen. I can't find a "follower" gadget on your blog.


    Hi Robin. Something about sculpting felt very natural to me; the three soapstones were among my earliest pieces (and one woman bought the three). Maybe I'm a bit backwards--taking away seems easier than adding.

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  15. hw (hallie) farberMay 9, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    Hi SamArtDog. Ah, you like the "statement" pieces. The bottom one, "Size 8 Is Not for Everyone," was inspired by my husband's idiotic comment when my daughter (then a freshman in college) and I were each eating a pint of Hagen Daz. I'm still ticked--neither of us were overweight. Inspiration comes from strange places.


    Hi Carole. Yes, one of my kids seemed to be permanently attached to my leg for several years. I'm thinking about the song, "I Love a Rainy Day"--maybe it should be "I love an Empty Nest." Freedom to work (or play) anytime is wonderful.

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  16. -DonMay 10, 2011 at 4:52 AM

    Happy belated Mother's Day, Hallie. These sculptures are wonderful! I'm so glad you shared them with us. "Non-Working Woman" is both beautiful and powerful in its message. I love a piece of art that both makes me smile and makes me ache all at the same time. As for my favorite of the lot, I would have to say it's the top of the soapstone pieces. I recall laying that very way with each of my three children on more than one occasion and enjoying the sight of my wife doing the same. You've captured that intimacy so gracefully and lovingly. I wish it were in my collection...

    -Don

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  17. JaneMay 10, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    Hallie your sculptures are absolutely wonderful!...and I don't know why...but touching.

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  18. hw (hallie) farberMay 10, 2011 at 2:42 PM

    Don, thank you. I have to say that I regret selling my sculptures. That was long before I learned to use "NFS." I'm sure you were the kind of father who would have enjoyed being close to his children.


    Hi Jane. Thank you; I think we all want to have the memory of being the child or the parent in these pieces.

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  19. Donna Iona DrozdaMay 11, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    Hi Hallie
    It's such a treat to be able to visit your archives to catch a glimpse of a 'former life' as sculptor...wonderfully rich intimate pieces...I love the soapstone...particularly the powerful stance of the third one.

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  20. hw (hallie) farberMay 11, 2011 at 8:24 PM

    Hi Donna. Thanks; maybe once a sculptor, always a sculptor. (Sculptors are a bit stranger than painters.) Re the third piece; my crossed-arms, intimidating look never once fooled my kids.

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  21. EvaMay 15, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    What a wonderful tribute to Mothers. Of all the work I've ever done being a housewife and mother was the hardest.The only thing I miss about it is when my boys were babies and tots. The payoff has been having one of my sons with me now to help me.

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  22. hw (hallie) farberMay 15, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    Thanks Eva. I think kids pay off eventually; housework, however, just goes on and on and on. Maybe I have to keep doing it until I get it right--which will be never.

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  23. jbkrostMay 16, 2011 at 7:50 PM

    Hallie..
    these are amazing!!
    my fav is the top soap stone the two reclining lovers (I think)
    really nice work

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  24. hw (hallie) farberMay 16, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    Thanks, JB. Actually, it's a mother and child, and was my first piece with soapstone. I've never tackled lovers (the Picasso exhibit had some interesting ones).

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  25. William CookMay 23, 2011 at 12:03 PM

    Hi Hallie--I completely missed this post. These pieces are wonderful! Thanks for showing them--I've been curious all along to see some more of your sculpture. I was really enjoying the risqué qualities of the first b&w piece, and squinted to read the caption, "acupuncture", and thought, yep that's Hallie alright. Then I put my glasses on and read, "soapstone". You've become larger than life. Seriously, these are splendid sensitive pieces--I love them all. In particular that last one looks like she's so tired of having all the fun, that she can't even lift the cone. What a beautiful statement. Happy belated mothers day to you.

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  26. William CookMay 23, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    Hallie--Now I'm embarrassed. I too thought the first b&w piece was reclining lovers. I'll reach for the glasses a bit more often. As a mother and child it's even more splendid. Beautiful work!

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  27. hw (hallie) farberMay 23, 2011 at 5:10 PM

    Hi William. Thanks. Ha--there was a time when I pretended to be normal (probably for my kids' sake) and created some mothers with children, described as "lyrical" figures. That was long ago; as I got older my sculptures got stranger and I finally had to move back to painting. I thank my large-living sculptor friends and instructors for teaching me that life was more than suburbia.

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  28. BrandNewStudioJune 7, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    ExcellentWork
    GoodCreations
    skizo

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