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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2015)
OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015 Motherhood as a work of art, creating a legacy of love A painting is just tinted paste arranged on a blank surface. If the artist is inspired, this ounce or two of gunk slathered on a rough piece of canvas can blast a jag- ged shard of knowing into our gib- bering lit- tle monkey minds, or make tangi- ble the hid- den wishes Matt and visions Winters invisibly im- printed within the fabric of our dreams. Show me a person’s favorite paintings and you’ve re- vealed their depths, if they have any. When we met, my wife, Donna Marie Magnuson, told me of her love for the lush beau- ty and brushwork and accessi- bility of impressionism — one RI KHU ¿UVW VLJQL¿FDQW WULSV DV an adult was to an impression- ist exhibit in Washington, D.C. Encountering post-impression- ist wallpaper like Van Gogh’s 6XQÀRZHUV in her home might have doomed our romance — art snobbery and male-pattern baldness run pretty strong on my mom’s side of the family. Instead, a mother and daugh- ter reading together in summer garden surrounded by sun-il- luminated leaves: A pretty as- piration made visible. It isn’t great art, but it is a window into a great heart, a humble imagin- ing of that most immeasurably world-shaking of all relation- ships, between mother and child. $ WHUUL¿FDOO\ EULJKW KDQGVRPH and funny son she already had, but no little girl to teach and read and talk with while wearing cool linen dresses on a comfortable piazza patrolled by kindly bum- blebees. Modern people suffer from debilitating misconceptions about power — what to tru- ly value and what to pass by. From the 20th century, a con- ventional image that comes to mind is of FDR, Stalin and Churchill laughingly divvy- ing up post-war Europe at the Yalta Conference. Earlier cen- turies had a far better concept. 7KRXJKWKHGLI¿FXOWUHDOLWLHVRI life could horribly diverge from ideal, the most cherished “pow- er relationship” during most of Western Civilization has been that between the Madonna and child. Setting aside religious dogma, innumerable images of mother and baby are for some the most enduring attraction of Christianity — echoing founda- tional human themes traceable back beyond the last ice age. Deep within, we understand the love we get from Mom sup- plies the fortitude, virtue and grace that propel us along the perplexing path from cradle to grave. Laughter and compassion exist because they were woven MATT WINTERS — For The Daily Astorian A painting captures an idyllic interaction between mother and child. Deep within, we understand the love we get from Mom supplies the fortitude, virtue and grace that propel us along the perplexing path from cradle to grave. MATT WINTERS — For The Daily Astorian Elizabeth Winters examines her surroundings for potential adven- tures while mama Donna Magnuson keeps watch. into us by generations of moth- Elizabeth’s life might have been a string that slipped through our ers. ¿QJHUVLIKHUPRPKDGEHHQDQ\ o when we got the call that less artful in crafting a world our newborn niece needed a around her. A superstitious terror mom and dad, there never was grips me at the very imagining any doubt we would say yes. of her innocent little spirit be- The answer had already been ing borne away from us into the painted. storm-torn sky of unbeing. Donna held her, babbled back But she stayed, and this week at her, found her the funniest pic- turned a lovely 18. ture books, coaxed our tiny girl In the beginning, I often wrote into swallowing hypoallergen- of Elizabeth Saria Winters, how ic formula drop by tortuously fascinated and unafraid she was. recorded drop. Light as a kite, I’ve only ever had the one, so S claim little expertise, but I pic- ture babies turned inward and most comfortable when shielded from the oncoming experiential H[SORVLRQV RI ¿UVWWLPH VLJKWV and sensations. However, from the start Elizabeth made it clear she wanted to face the world. Enfolded in my arms, she watch- ful as a huntress, we strode to- gether through enchanted days when miracles were freshly created just for us — mud pud- dles made for sitting in, river- side roads to practice toddling, red-bellied newts to rescue from the rain, roly-poly caterpillars to tickle daddy and bug mama. The times she scared us to death are outweighed a thousand to one by all the ways in which she brought us to life. Even newspaper editors have a little sense and so these stories mostly went unreported. But I am grate- ful for all the ways in which she lured me into true existence. C onsciously and deliberately setting about creating a safe place for this child and husband to each grow up is an act of in- calculable generosity. The romanticized fantasy of creating a bond with a daugh- WHU LV QR LGOH ¿FWLRQ EXW WKHUH aspects to it that strike me as almost unimaginably scary and hard. The mother that lives un- der my roof is, by far, her own harshest critic, determined to alter the course of destiny by do- ing everything right that her own sad, beautiful, sometimes cruel and addled mom got wrong. Donna is an artist working with living beings precious to her. There is no scraping the paint off the canvas and start- ing from scratch. This is her one chance to live up to her own ex- pectations. And to do so with ever-wors- ening health must feel like trying to keep your loved ones on a life raft while you yourself silently sink ever deeper into bottom- less icy water. What astounding courage. Donna wonders, as perhaps all good mothers do, what her lega- cy will be. ,I,GLHQRZZLOOP\ NLGVEHDOOULJKW",I,VOLSDZD\ ZLOOWKH\VWD\DÀRDWDQG¿QGWKHLU ZD\WRDVDIHDQGVXQQ\VKRUH" Yes. Please stay with us, but you’ve achieved what you set out to do. Good job. Your moth- ers back to the dawn of humanity applaud you. Your daughter will be a great mother. She will tell her granddaughters of you and your sweet tooth and sweeter soul. There is no higher legacy. Happy Mother’s Day. —M.S.W. 0DWW:LQWHUVLVHGLWRURIWKH &KLQRRN 2EVHUYHU DQG &RDVW 5LYHU%XVLQHVV-RXUQDO+HOLYHV LQ ,OZDFR :DVK ZLWK KLV ZLIH DQGGDXJKWHU Open forum CCC values art I appreciate Rhonda Grudenic’s letter concerning the role of art in our lives, and her criticism of Clatsop Community College’s art offerings and staff changes (“Art changes lives,” 7KH 'DLO\ $VWRUL- DQ May 1). Except for the drop in offer- ings between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 years occasioned by the fiscal cliff the college was facing — and which affected most other offerings at the college — our art offerings have generally remained constant or slightly increased. Before state funding was cut by 70 percent, CCC had more than one full-time art faculty member. Unfortunately, as is true in the vast majority of disciplines at the college, we have had to reduce sections and even eliminate, or not fill, positions that have become vacant. Nevertheless, CCC maintains a strong and vital Art Department, and we remain an important player in the North Coast art community with our gallery showings, excel- lent full- and part-time faculty, and the myriad of art credit and noncredit courses. At the most recent art auction put on by the CCC Foundation that she mentioned in her letter, 20 artists will receive commissions that total $4,064.50. Should state and other funding permit CCC to reinvest in core programs and offerings, includ- ing art, that would be fantastic. Until that time, we will continue to work diligently to identify al- ternative revenues to support the Art Department and the arts in our service area/district. LARRY GALIZIO President, Clatsop Community College STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher • LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager • CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager • DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager Founded in 1873
