{"id":38169,"date":"2017-05-02T21:20:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T03:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=38169"},"modified":"2023-10-31T09:10:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T15:10:07","slug":"its-all-part-of-the-process-laura-erekson-atkinson-pregnancy-and-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/its-all-part-of-the-process-laura-erekson-atkinson-pregnancy-and-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s All Part of the Process: Laura Erekson Atkinson, Pregnancy and Transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cMetamorphosis\u201d by Laura Erekson Atkinson, mixed media, 2017<\/p><\/div>\n

I<\/span>n her latest work, Laura Erekson Atkinson explores a very intimate experience in her life \u2013 pregnancy. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful process, but it can also be hard, painful and difficult,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted to explore all parts of pregnancy from the moment you know you have a baby all the way through postpartum.\u201d In\u00a0Metamorphosis<\/em>, an exhibit that will be at Provo\u2019s Writ & Vision during the month of May, Atkinson explores this process through a varied portfolio of prints, steel paintings, mixed-media pieces, and mobiles featuring pregnant women and children.<\/h4>\n

Some artists limit themselves to one type of medium and explore that extensively, but Atkinson takes a different approach, maneuvering through sculpture, printmaking and painting, and combining all of them to make her work. \u201cWhen I was working on my BFA at BYU my workspace was in the sculpture studio,\u201d she explains, \u201ceven though I was technically under the drawing, printmaking and painting section.\u201d Continuing to use a wide variety of materials, Atkinson muses, allowed her to explore her pregnancy from different angles and forms, and gain autonomy over and appreciation for her body. \u201cWhen you are pregnant, a lot of people comment on your body or even touch it,\u201d she says. \u201cWorking with these forms is a way I have come to accept [my changed body], and really recognize the curves created by the chest and stomach as an incredibly beautiful form.\u201d<\/h4>\n
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Sky Atkinson beneath one of her mother\u2019s mobiles. Photo by Dave Carter.<\/p><\/div>\n

Probably the most simple, but also most striking, of her recent pieces are the paintings on steel, which feature abstracted outlines of women interacting with their children on a clean, steel plate. Some are colored, others are only the outlines. Atkinson uses a corrosive material to create forms in the steel, \u201cpainting with chemicals,\u201d then sometimes adds color. \u201cI always use ink whenever I add color to my images. I guess that comes partially from my printmaking background.\u201d<\/h4>\n
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Also made of steel, her mobiles reflect on the physical shape of the enlarged midsections and chests of pregnant women, creating a lopsided W shape. These moving sculptures work well for Atkinson because they are not as time-consuming as welding and also have the connotation of baby mobiles that hang above a child\u2019s crib. \u201cI think these are definitely something I want to explore more fully in the future,\u201d she says.<\/h4>\n

Atkinson also has a unique method of creating highly textured paintings, covering the canvas with a thick level of gesso and pressing in various tools and objects. \u201cA Mother\u2019s Worries\u201d features the outlines of tools such as knives, pliers, metal files and open safety pins, representing the various dangers from which mothers attempt to protect their children. \u201cI was always around tools,\u201d Atkinson explains. \u201cI would even do handyman-type jobs to earn money in college. It\u2019s an important part of what I do.\u201d The process of pushing the tools into the gesso-covered canvas is also a reminder of the pushing while giving birth, creation of art and life through force that forever leaves a distinguishable mark.<\/h4>\n