The Art of Aging: Mothers of Invention

“I saw how people felt burdened by their parents, and I thought, I don’t want to go there,” she remembers. “I told myself, ‘It’s not going to be forever, and besides, look at what they gave me.’” She reverted to the same caretaking model she’d used with her kids—include them in her art and enjoy them, rather than exclude them and resent them.

In addition to giving her parents real jobs, which, especially in her dad’s woodworking, gave them a sense of validation, she divided her day accordingly. “When they were around, I might not tackle an entire painting, but I could cut paper, make sketches, or clean the studio.” As she had with her kids, she also became thankful for any amount of time for her own work, learning to paint or sculpt in short bursts. “I always laugh at artists who tell me they just need to find a chunk of time!” she chuckles at the thought of such an enigmatic gift.

Last summer, Josephine was diagnosed with lung cancer. At first, Jo felt unprepared for the news and the prospect of starting hospice care in the nursing home where her mom had lived since suffering a stroke. But her mother had a great attitude, accepting that her time was at its end and determined to die gracefully. Buoyed by such positivism, Jo decided to do everything possible to help her. She brought painting supplies to her mother’s room and worked there every day, so that they could talk when Josephine had the energy. Jo read aloud the biographical sketches her mother had written over the years. It quickly became apparent that Josephine wanted to paint, as well.

“I’d put paper across her belly and wet it so that when she placed her brush down, there would be instant color,” Jo says. Sometimes Josephine would paint something based on the stories the two had been reading together. Other times, Jo would ask a simple question as a prompt; “What are you afraid of?”

Toward the end, Josephine put gold in most of her paintings and included a portal in each scene. These openings struck Jo as very symbolic, and she began including them in her own work. Mother and daughter showed their work at the local hospital, an event that filled Josephine with pride. “She needed a voice, a way to be valued,” says Jo.