April 2013-March 2014

Birthingway College of Midwifery is celebrating 20 years of educating and inspiring birth professionals! We are one of the top midwifery programs in the country and we want to celebrate our passion for birth with the Portland community.

Beginning in April 2013, Birthingway will start a year-long art show to demonstrate how birth art can serve as a beacon of hope toward a better way for birthing women and thus a better world for all.

Artists featured in this show include Birthingway College students, graduates and members of the community who would like to share their interpretation of our anniversary theme Celebrate Birth/Celebrate Birthingway through their belly casts.

The local businesses listed below will exhibit our show. If you are in the area, please stop by grab a bite and view the art!

Thank you!

April 2013 Warehouse Cafe 3434 SE Milwaukie Ave. Portland, OR 97202 (503) 206-5766	May 2013 Muddy’s Cafe 3560 N Mississippi Ave. Portland, OR 97227 (503) 445-6690	June 2013 Alma Education Center 1233 SE Stark Portland, OR 97214 (503)867-3920
July 2013 In Other Words Feminist Community Center 14 NE Killingsworth St. Portland, OR 97211 (503) 232-6003	September/October 2013 Pastry Girl 7919 SE Stark St. Portland, OR 97215 (503) 254-5433	March 2014 Caffe Destino 1339 NE Fremont St. Portland, OR 97212 (503) 284-9455

We are looking for exhibitors for the show and would be happy to discuss logistics with you and your staff.

 

Belly Cast by Nicole Bendotoff & Ethan Smith Birthingway Midwifery Student and PartnerNicole and Ethan were married in September 2012 and were expecting their first baby when this cast was made.The cast was made using fabric plaster strips and was then painted with a plaster hydrocal to smooth the surface. It was then painted with gesso to seal the plaster and prevent chipping. Lastly it was painted with colorful acrylics. The painting resembles a botanical rendering of the reproductive parts of a flower; the fetus is essentially the ovary, which when fertilized will grow into the fruit. Nicole has worked with plants for many years, and loves watching them grow as much as pregnant bellies!Nicole is a soon-to-be midwife and graduate of Birthingway College of Midwifery. She has been fascinated with pregnancy and birth from a very young age and has always admired the beauty of the pregnant belly. To her, pregnancy artwork is a wonderful way to celebrate birth and shed a positive light on women’s bodies and the process of transformation that occurs during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum.Ethan enjoyed and admired Nicole’s growing belly more than he ever knew he would! He was excited to help with the belly cast as a way to remember the beauty of the pregnant belly, even after the birth occurred. He particularly enjoyed using plaster to smooth the surface of the cast.

 

Portal by Dane Eisenbart 34”x72”, oil on canvas, 2012Portal is a macro study of a California Mussel (Mytilus Californianus), a marine bivalve mollusk native to the pacific coast of North America. Reminiscent of the female form, this composition in large format speaks to the innate feminine power to create new life.Dane Eisenbart is a Portland based oil painter. His work is characterized by anthropomorphic depictions of nature, dueling archetypes of light and dark and an aesthetic of motion. While harnessing imagery from the natural world, Eisenbart weaves together visual elements so that a story begins to emerge from the paint. These stories resemble dream like scenarios where nature’s laws are bent and new mythologies are born.See more of his work at www.danesart.com

Bearing Witness like a Woman Bears a Child by Erin Please Watercolor painting created for and gifted to a Birthingway studentThe writing is a segment of a poem by Ani Difranco.

 

Pregnant Woman Lying Down by Cassandra Hodge Watercolor and Ink Birthingway Midwifery StudentThis was a painting I did of a friend, she allowed me to paint her during her last month of pregnancy. For me it represents the transition into motherhood.

 

Water Color by Cassandra Hodge Birthingway Midwifery StudentI painted this during one of my first weeks at Birthingway in 2009. The assignment was to create something that represents what pregnancy feels like. I wanted to capture the heaviness of responsibility and caring for another being along with the light of meeting a new little person.

 

Celestial Sky with Pregnant Figure by Sarah Ehrlich Birthingway Midwifery Student

 

Circle of Women in Sacred Space by Erica McCauley Erica McCauley Photography”Circle of Women” is a picture by Erica McCauley Birth Photography in Minot, North Dakota. The laboring mother is the photographer and business owner. This photograph was taken by a doula and friend that attended the birth. She is surrounded by her sister (Birthingway student, Erin Yocom), her mother, and her midwife, Paulette. This was her third child and first home birth.

 

Mama, what does it feel like to be pregnant? Watercolor on paper by Catherine Bailey Birthingway Midwifery StudentThis piece is a personal one for me – a depiction of my mother pregnant with me, painted from a photograph. The exaggeratedly huge belly plays on the abundance, the weight, and importance of this time in a woman’s life.

 

Mother Blossoms one of a series by Joy Jech Silver Birthingway Midwifery GraduateMy body paintings were born out of a desire to show the world what pregnancy and birth looks like through my eyes. Pregnant women are as full of life potential as new buds which blossom naturally in the spring. I am also a local midwife specializing in mindful ecstatic birth. My practice is called Blossom Midwifery. I love to adorn my clients with this beautiful artistic vision. Get in touch if you are looking for a midwife or body painting and photography services!

 

The Moon Cycle Acrylic paint on glass by Catherine Bailey Birthingway Midwifery StudentA depiction of the menstrual cycle, this piece shows what is happening inside the uterus, in the ovaries, what hormones are involved, and the moon’s influence on it all. It is a reminder to all women that we are connected both to nature and to each other.