访谈录 2008-09-12&09-13 肚腩艺术

I just was always one of those people who wished that I had something from my great, great grandmother, whether it be a brooch or just a note, just something from her. So I wanted to create something that my kids would be able to have from me and something very personal.

No bellies¹ are, are the same, first of all to work on a three-dimensional canvas as opposed to a two-dimensional flat canvas or wood. This makes it much more interesting, gives you a challenge as well as the interest of working with different media.

The responses have been positive, um, remarkably² positive. Women over the past few years have been taking pride in being pregnant, um, you see it everywhere.  Four years ago, women were, they were wearing tent dresses, and hiding and you know they were ashamed or just… It wasn’t a pleasant experience for them, and that was the society had dictated³ at that time. But we are living in a different age, in a different time, and women are just proud to show the world that they are pregnant.

It’s very different, you don’t usually see people, usually to have photographs but now you actually get a visual, a 3D image of your actual belly⁴. This is an expression of you, yet, it’s memorable⁵, it’s something, it’s a keepsake item.

I have lots and lots of memories, memoirs⁶, and stuff like, the kids, that I am constantly showing them now. So something like this for a lifetime to share with my daughter right now would be something so unique.

My all-time favor is the pineapple, this one particular customer of ours, she created pineapple through  whole pregnancy⁷ and she wanted her belly to like a pineapple.

It was just a matter of time to figure out how to make it look like the actual pineapple, which was for me pretty easy because of the rounded shape of the belly, which is , it's, you know, kind of a round shape of the fruit.

Ultimately, it’s a blank canvas, and so the possibilities are endless. We have some bellies that look like bathing suits, we have some bellies that have morphed into other things like butterflies, and ladybugs, and you know fairies, and ballerinas. We got angels. The possibilities are endless.

For me, it’s art, art is art, so no matter what I am doing, whether it’s print making or photography or painting, it’s still my artistic⁸ experience that I can have, that I’ve built up over these past, over 30 years. So you’re still getting an original piece of artwork whether it’s on the belly or on the canvas.

1 bellies   

n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的

参考例句：

• They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童

2 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

3 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

5 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

6 memoirs   

n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数)

参考例句：

• Her memoirs were ghostwritten. 她的回忆录是由别人代写的。
• I watched a trailer for the screenplay of his memoirs. 我看过以他的回忆录改编成电影的预告片。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

8 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。