Exquisite Corpse 11 - Her Bounteous Self-Love

Exquisite Corpse 11 - Her Bounteous Self-Love
© Natalie Schorr 2023

Exquisite Corpse 11 - Her bounteous self-love woefully quashed her amorous prospects

I have a young friend who would just love to be in a relationship if only she could find someone who would love her the way she deserves to be loved.

If only.

I’m not sure where compromise went. My dear friend, no one will love you exactly the way you want them to, and besides, are you going to be able to reciprocate? Or is this a one way street?

I can feel that I’m getting weary of cheering and making a fuss over every little thing someone I know does. Yes, that’s great when you’re two and learning to do stuff that really matters like actually get the Cheerio into your mouth on your own, but as an adult, you should be able to adjust to the ups and downs of life without a mental health day, a grande mocha latte and five hours of aroma therapy each week.

Just sayin.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for a good dose of wellbeing and healthy self esteem. Just please don’t make me have to jump up and down and cheer endlessly for you. I’ve got my own stuff to do.

Exquisite Corpse 10 - Her Approaching Parturition

Exquisite Corpse 10 - Her approaching parturition only amplified her uninhibited attitude.

Exquisite Corpse 10 - Her Approaching Parturition
© Natalie Schorr 2023

Pregnancy is far back in my rear view mirror, although there are aspects I remember quite clearly. Like nausea. I was nauseated for the entire 9 months or my pregnancy. I dry heaved all day most days. Just one part of so many things that made me tie my tubes a mere 6 weeks after my daughter’s birth.

I was always in awe of the women who stated that they never felt better or more vital than when they were pregnant. They ate what they wanted, they slept well at night, their husbands were loving and supportive and everyone was happy.

Totally not my experience.

Still, it’s great to know that that experience is still out there, and I want to celebrate the women that love being pregnant. Good on you!

Exquisite Corpse 9 - The Frightful Concussion

Exquisite Corpse 9 - The Frightful Concussion
© Natalie Schorr 2023

Exquisite Corpse 9 - The frightful concussion nevertheless buoyed her dodgeball fantasy.

I work at a small private university. It’s a vastly different world from the college experience I endured. When I went to college, you simply put on your big girl panties and did the work or you went and got a job at the mall. Simple as that. Today’s students are coddled and cajoled to the point that a student actually called and asked me if she really had to take her finals since she didn’t really feel like it.

Uh… yes.

She concluded I was a moron that had no idea what I was talking about. Maybe so, but at some point isn’t it appropriate to expect a student to do the work required? But I digress.

One thing I have noticed that’s on a steeply upward trajectory is the number of concussions these students seem to have. At first I assumed that they were still learning to walk and text at the same time, which is part of it, but I think it’s become a thing for doctors to say that the slightest head boo-boo is a concussion in these cover-your-ass times.

I can’t blame the doctors, but it really messes with the students who then assume they should not have to attend class for the next month and usually end up taking a medical withdrawal for the semester because, once again, no work got done.

So I made this chaotic collage around the notion that a concussion can be a bit disorienting, which was my experience. Points for you if you see the dodgeball humor.

Exquisite Corpse 8 - Her Recalcitrant Attitude

Exquisite Corpse 8 - Her Recalcitrant Attitude
© Natalie Schorr 2023

Exquisite Corpse 8 - Her recalcitrant attitude inevitably beget an unloved station.

That’s an awful lot of red eye shadow, don’t you think? I personally rarely wear makeup. It seems like a lot of effort without a lot of reward, and besides, I lack the visual acuity to actually apply it correctly, which is another great hinderance.

On the rare occasion that I so wear makeup, it’s usually limited to mascara and lip gloss with some vague tint to it. I apply the mascara, put on my glasses, try to clean up all the spots I got all over my face then I was trying to put it on, and in the end usually edit most of it away.

Too much stress for me.

I think the red eye shadow is part of her recalcitrant charm. I would likely have been so labeled in my childhood if anyone had known the word recalcitrant, although it wasn’t entirely true. I wasn’t uncooperative, but I did add an annoyingly artistic flair to whatever I did that drove my family crazy.

Life is so much more fun now.

Exquisite Corpse 7 - The Manly Attire

Exquisite Corpse 7 - The manly attire eventually transfigured her sense of power.

Exquisite Corpse 7 - The Manly Attire
© Natalie Schorr 2023

I don’t exactly remember when I started wearing pants more than dresses. When I started school way back in the 1960s, little girls usually wore dresses, even the ones with the built in crinolines, but I’m guessing somewhere around 7th grade I got my first jeans and never looked back. They rode low and had the classic bell bottom flair that made me feel almost like I fit in. Only for fleeting moments, but it was better than most of my childhood up to that point so I went with it.

I can’t say that I ever felt more powerful when I wore pants, possibly because I have never felt powerful, but I can imagine some women did have that sense, especially women of my mother’s and grandmothers’ ages.

This collage features some moments from old paintings, vintage wallpapers, print made elements, an old yearbook, modern ephemera, colored pencil, paint pens, and assorted memories.

Exquisite Corpse 6 - The Voracious Omnivore

Exquisite Corpse 6 - The Voracious Omnivore
© Natalie Schorr 2023

I am an omnivore, although I tend to go for the veggies and fish. Nowadays, however, I get kind of worried about what’s on that buffet line. I know it’s not organic. I know it’s a lot of leftover stuff that’s being recycled into some other thing, so I tend to pass.

I take my mother to church on Sundays because I need a good dose of criticism and regret from which I can recover for the remainder of the week. The pandemic has pretty much put an end to the church pot luck, that and the fact that most people don’t know how to cook anymore, but I do miss especially the congealed salads.

The 1950s, 60s, and 70s were all about the congealed salads, and everyone had a salad that was their signature. My mother’s signature salad consisted of lime Jello with cabbage and Colby cheese in it.

Criticism and regret incarnate.

Mother 6 - My Little Family

Mother 6
© Natalie Schorr 2023

My son walked in the door, looked at this piece, and immediately said “That’s me and my sister!”

He’s a genius.

This is our little family. It wasn’t always like this, all happy and neck deep in laundry, but it does follow our black/white/Jewish/Christian existence.

I enjoy being a mother. Not every day, because it’s hard work even though they are both in their 20s and pretty much cooked, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

This piece employs a lot of ephemera, and is actually one of the few pieces I’ve done that doesn’t contain any linocut. The items were gathered from old McCall’s magazines, Playboy magazine, a book about aprons and another about flowers, and a book about child photography. Add some markers, colored pencil, graphite, and paint pens.

And memories.

Mother 5 - With Peas

Mother 5
© Natalie Schorr 2023

I’m trying to push this series a bit now, so as you see things are a little more disjointed. But in a good way, right? And with peas. What’s not to like?

I was kind of thinking about how being a mother, particularly a single mother or one that gets little to no help from their spouse, is not always a joyful experience. It’s hard. Like uncooked peas.

Eyes open and ears attuned to make sure everyone survives into adulthood. And that they eat their peas.

Children always demanding your time and attention, and the challenge of finding the energy when you feel like you have nothing left to give. Should have eaten your peas.

Been there - done that - got the t-shirt. The one covered in pea purée.

Fortunately, that’s only part of the big picture of parenting small kids. Sooner or later they grow up, and you find yourself wishing for a few more family dinners where no one wants to eat their peas.

Mother 4 - Big Burger Breasts

Mother 4
© Natalie Schorr 2023

I recently had a friend take me to task over this one. What was I saying? What was I implying? They were concerned I was making some sort of political statement about a woman’s right to choose.

Not even. That had not even entered my mind when I created this piece. What had entered my mind was that sometimes your kids drive you crazy.

And sometimes your spouse sees big juicy burgers where your breasts would normally be. My ex never gave them even so much as a second glance, but I don’t really care. They get the proper amount of attention now.

When it comes to choice, my feeling is pretty simple. If you don’t want a woman to have an abortion, you need to make her an offer she can’t refuse. Are you willing to support her without judgement? Help her pay the bills? Take her beautiful child that might look nothing like you and raise that child as your own? Hmmm?

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Mother 3 - A Spoonful of Sugar

Mother 3
© Natalie Schorr 2023

I’m finding this series on mothers and motherhood to be a lot of fun to do. Not only is it intriguing to explore the experiences of both having and being a mother, it’s also challenging to push that a bit more with each piece.

A fellow Instagramer declared it “creepy and good.” I love that sort of comment! My neighbor said it was triggering, but not in a good way. Also an interesting take.

This piece features a background of Christian commentary from the late 1700s written in German (why not, right?), an apron from a book on aprons, a couple of anthuriums from a book on flowers, and lots of bits from old McCalls Magazines from the 1950s and 1960s.

I noticed that there were a whole lot of ads for flatware in these old magazines. Odd. Since I know they weren’t throwing knives and forks away in take out pizza boxes since there was no take out pizza back then, I can only surmise this was a seasonal purchase or something very hotly marketed to women with little else going on in their lives than to mull over the current trends in cutlery. Either way, it’s fascinating to consider.