The entanglement of painting and motherhood is foundational to the artist’s practice. Claire was taught to paint when she was little by her mother, Gail McGowan.  Gail gave up her painting practice to raise Claire and her sister. 

 The idea that one can not be both an artist and a mother persists.  Art Work Care Work presents a series of paintings of artist/m(others).  This work is a protest against the systemic barriers that exist for artists who are also primary caregivers.  The term "m(others)" encompasses both "mothers" and "others," including gender non-conforming and queer folks, who see themselves engaged in nurturing and sustaining life.

The titles of the paintings in the series feature excerpts of interviews conducted with each subject in which we discuss the struggles of being an artist and a m(other) as well as the forms of systemic support that would make the art world more caring and accessible to artist-parents. Art Work Care Work invites the viewer to reflect on the ways in which the cohabitation of art and care work can create space for a more communal vision of what it means to be an artist, as well as what it means to be human.