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In Conversation with Artist Mary Victoria Taylor on Motherhood and Grief

Mary Victoria Taylor

In this interview, artist Mary Victoria Taylor opens up about the personal journey that inspired her art series, “communion.” The series is based on her memories of breastfeeding her son, capturing the emotions and deep bond of early motherhood. Mary talks about how her first memory is of nursing in her own mother’s arms, how a difficult pregnancy changed her life, and the choice she made not to have more children. She also shares how the beautiful, ancient landscape of West Texas, especially the nearby Carlsbad Caverns, influences her work. Through her art, Mary explores love, loss, and the fleeting nature of time, creating something powerful from these emotional experiences.

Mary Victoria Taylor is a featured artist in our book “The Creative Process.” You can explore her journey and the stories of other artists by purchasing the book here: https://shop.artstoheartsproject.com/products/the-creative-process-book

Mary Victoria Taylor is a multimedia artist based in West Texas. She earned a BA in English Literature from Baylor University, after which she studied at SCAD and completed a summer residency at the New York Academy of Art. She is inspired by the physical and emotional intensities of motherhood and the geography of the American Southwest. In her current work, she uses acrylic paint, soft pastels, and sand mediums on canvas to meditate on maternity, memory, and mortality.

1. Your series “communion” captures such a personal experience. What inspired you to turn your memories of breastfeeding into a monumental art project?  

My work is inspired by the luckiest form of grief – the intensity of my love for my son, the ecstatic, tactile delight I take in nurturing him. The heartbreak I feel knowing that our bodies are finite, our relationship at each stage of his little life is finite, and that I’ll never breastfeed another baby.

Mary Victoria Taylor Self Portrait at Thirty, 2024, 8×10, Acrylic.

2.   You mentioned your first memory is tied to nursing in your mother’s arms. How does that early experience influence your current work and perspective on motherhood?  

Maternal love is the thread through my life; my best work before I became a mother was about nurture.

Milk Bath 2, 2024, 24×30, Acrylic.

3.    Hyperemesis gravidarum sounds incredibly challenging. How did this experience shape your approach to creating art about motherhood and memory? 

HG was debilitating and dangerous enough that I chose to prevent myself from ever being able to carry another pregnancy. I grieve that daily. I am lucky, though, because grief enables me to cherish and dig into the problematic, confounding, and sometimes dull moments that permeate motherhood.

Mary Victoria Taylor Oxytocin Let Down, 2024, 24×30, Acrylic.

4.  Living near Carlsbad Caverns seems to have a substantial impact on your work. Can you elaborate on how the environment influences your artistic vision and themes?  


I live in West Texas, about two hours from Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. The Caverns are a spiritual experience. They lead visitors into the earth’s deep, pink, and brown belly. The stalactite and stalagmites were formed through tiny, perpetual drips over an inconceivably vast expanse of time. I can’t help but see the female form in them. I wanted to record my slippery memories of breastfeeding my son, and transmuting our soft and finite bodies into solid, rocklike forms was therapeutic..

Mary Victoria Taylor Solid Latch, 2024, 24×30, Acrylic and pastel.
Mary Victoria Taylor

5. You work from photos taken during breastfeeding moments. How does the act of zooming in on these images help you convey the emotional connection between mother and child?  

Working from my own photos allows me to paint my and my baby’s bodies as I perceive and experience them. So many images we see of motherhood and breastfeeding are taken from an external vantage or are images of how we, as mothers, want to be perceived. I zoom in to magnify the mother-child relationship and blurred edges. Zooming in and painting with a limited primary color palette also conveys the tunnel vision and limitations of early motherhood.

Mary Victoria Taylor Rose Quartz, 2024, 8×10, Acrylic.

Mary Victoria Taylor’s art offers a moving glimpse into the emotional world of motherhood. Her series “communion” captures the joy, fear, and sadness of raising a child, turning these intimate experiences into lasting works of art. To learn more about Mary, click the following links to visit her profile.

Arts to Hearts Project is a global media, publishing, and education company for
Artists & Creatives.
where an international audience will see your work of art patrons, collectors, gallerists, and fellow artists. Access exclusive publishing opportunities and over 1,000 resources to grow your career and connect with like-minded creatives worldwide. Click here to learn about our open calls.

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