Pastel Journal - USA (2019-05)

hadmadefromdiscardedschooltables,shefeltrich.Just

thenthephonerang.It wasa representativefroma wall-

papermanufacturer.“Doyouhavea lotofpastels?”he

asked.“Yes,I do,”Botmananswered.Thewallpapercom-

panysenta photographertophotographthepastelsticks,

andlaterproduceda rollofwallpaper,featuringthepastels,

a littlelargerthanlifesize,withouta singlecolorrepeated.

Making Time

Botman’sfirstchild,a daughter,wasbornshortlyafter

shefinishedstudyingattheArtAcademyinTheHague.

Livinginthecityandhomesickforthecountryside,where

shewasraised,theartisttookherbabytoseekoutnature

inthecitygardens.Shetraveledwitha bagofpastelson

onesideofthebabycarriageanda bagofpaperonthe

other.Whileherdaughterslept,Botmandrewthebirds

thatvisitedthegardens.Whenhersonwasborntwo

yearslater,shediscoveredthatonechildcouldamusethe

other.Eventuallyshecouldgooutsidetodrawbirdsand

LEFT

Botman stands in

front of the wall-

paper inspired by

her own vast collec-

tion of pastel sticks,

partly inherited

from a generous

and aging artist.

RIGHT

Rooney (31 1/2 x 27 1/2)

BELOW

Living in the Woods

(31 1/2 x 39 1/2)

56 Pastel Journal JUNE 2019