Madonna and Eggs

I love this photo because it sweetly echoes and subverts the classical Renaissance paintings of Madonna and Child: he has the demure, downcast look and gentle smile of Mary, while she has the slightly anxious yet compassionate look often shown on the face of the Child.


My maternal grandmother used to commemorate our lives in Easter eggs.
Middle: this egg was modeled on a newspaper photograph of me holding a clay bowl I made while on an archeological dig (Kampsville, Illinois). 6th grade.
Left side: the ski sweaters and rake are from a leaf raking picture (Lasne, Belgium). 7th or 8th grade.
Right side: I was Queen Victoria in the school's production of Sweeney Todd (some said I was typecast), while my brother was (in real life) a Cub Scout (Waterloo, Belgium). 9th grade.