Mother. "I did this drawing at a time when I had been listening to the song ‘Motherland’ by Natalie Merchant and thinking about the unique quality of feminine nurture. I saw this young mother near my coffee shop and she agreed to let me take her photograph. I was interested in the sling because it's like a marsupial's pouch, an ultimate place of warmth and safety. The hands are in the same shape as the sling, so it's really the double holding of the child that makes the point about the depth of caring. The mother's face became more severe than intended, but hopefully saves the picture from over-sentimentality. The bird flying off the page is to say that these moments are fleeting."