"All Mothers" By Meclina Gomes Priestley

India Ink & Watercolor Micrography

Artist Statement

“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.” – Maya Angelou

“[My mother] had handed down respect for the possibilities—and the will to grasp them.” – Alice Walker

As a mother when I hear the cry of a child, I am reminded of my own babies' cries and the physical reaction my body had to those calls. As infants it was for nourishment and sustenance, to be soothed and comforted. Our breasts fill, our uterus contracts, our nervous system is on high alert. Those calls can not be ignored our bodies are alarmed and our brain can only think of responding. A chemical reaction releases dopamine and oxytocin, we are intertwined both emotionally and physiologically with our babies.

When George Floyd cried out to his Mom….”Mama”

I felt that deep in my soul, I still feel it in my soul, I will forever feel it in my soul