Artist: Michelle Watkins
Title: I Don’t Always Enjoy Playtime
Medium: Original Original i-Type Polaroid Transparency with Gold Leaf
Size: 7.5 x 8 in.
Artist Statement: 
My Messy Madonna Series reimagines the traditional Madonna and Child motif by portraying contemporary mothers and children in everyday, messy, scenes. The Madonna and Child (the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus) is one of the most enduring subjects in western art dating back nearly 1700 years. I studied the Madonna and Child extensively in my college art history class and felt inspired to create my own interpretation of this classic mother-child art subject. I loved exploring the idea that while we physically sit on the floor and play with our kids, our minds are often elsewhere, thinking of our own dreams and aspirations. I wanted the mother in this image to feel regal, refined, and out of place amidst the toys and chaos. Who is this woman? Who is this mother, on the floor, playing with blocks and wooden animals? What does she want for her kids? What does she want for herself? What does she think about? She is irreplaceable, like the Madonna of old. Made of rainbows and dreams, and paper crowns.