This unique exhibition will bring together the ancient tribal art form of belly masking and its modern interpretation, belly casting. While they express individuality, both mediums exemplify the beautiful journey of pregnancy and celebrate the pregnant body through its many stages.
As a pioneer of belly casting, artist Francine Krause is one of the first artists to work in the field of prenatal fine art sculptures. Krause first discovered this art form in 1986, when she created an original belly casting of her own belly during her pregnancy and has since devoted her career to creating art which personifies the beauty of this nine-month journey.
This exhibition will also feature small sculptures of mother and child by artist Laine Holman. As a mother and an artist, Holman naturally progressed to incorporate in her works the universal experience of motherhood. Her sculptures express the graceful gestures of an expectant woman, the loving gaze of a nursing mother, and the tender and joyful exchange between a mother and her child. She conveys her reverence and love for her role as mother in her art and considers it to be her greatest blessing in life.
The luxurious Edamame Maternity Spa, located within Destination Maternity in New York City, offers belly casting as one of many services for the mom-to-be. Expectant women can now preserve their beautiful pregnant silhouette in this 3D art form that captures her belly in its grandeur.
About Artist Francine Krause:
With a degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and the California College of Arts, Krause has been featured in People Magazine, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and other notable publications. Krause was the first to launch Belly Casting do-it-yourself home kits for expectant mothers and has nurtured her interest in the pregnant figure over the last 20 years.
About Artist Laine Holman:
Laine Holman attended Pasadena Art Center College of Design, and graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Brigham Young University in 1995. A year later, after the difficult cesarean birth of her first child, she and her husband looked for gentler ways of bringing their babies into the world. Holman soon became a childbirth educator and birth "doula." She has had the privilege of being the birth doula for dozens of women as they embark on their journey of motherhood and has helped hundreds more through her support work with women who have endured a traumatic birth.
About Destination Maternity:
Destination Maternity's flagship location on Madison Avenue in New York City is the world's largest maternity store. Three levels and 10,000 square feet of space include fashions from A Pea in the Pod, Mimi Maternity, Motherhood Maternity along with Edamame The Maternity Spa, a "kiddie corral," a learning studio and a dad's relax area with leather chairs and a plasma screen TV. -- Mothers Work, Inc.
