36, Crystal Ann Brown
Bristol, gouache, colored pencil, pen, fabric and thread, 80” X 40”, 2020

This project explores shifting identities caused by mothering and aging. The project was created a few weeks before my 36th birthday in 2020 and consists of 36 self-portraits drawn by using the blind contour technique. My kids were invited to color and paint on top of the portraits along with me. As I have aged, I have changed many times and, in many ways, but nothing like the change I experienced as a mother. My whole identity has been altered by my relationship with my children. The way I see myself has changed. The way others see me and especially how my kids see me as I age along with them.