Holly Romano (she/her)

The mental load: Good try, now please return, March 2021

Acrylic and mixed media

24" x 36"

These paintings are my response and feelings about the past year of the CoVid pandemic in relation to motherhood.

The mental load that I have carried felt heavy, and at times completely overwhelming. I never quite felt balanced or like I was doing any of it right. It was hard trying to hold onto the life and routines and boundaries I already had established in my life and mothering, and then, also begin to carry the new responsibilities and rules that the pandemic brought on. The burden always seemed heavy and disorganized. My patience was worn down like a smoothed river rock, carrying it all in a way that never felt balanced or level, knowing at any moment it could crash down and need to be reorganized. Again. And again. No matter the load, I was always doing my best to hold it all together — to keep an orderly pile.

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@hollyromanoartist