IMAGE OF THE WEEK
© Durga Yael Bernhard
Pregnant Sleep is a small gouache painting that I did in one sitting. I was nine months pregnant with my third child at the time. Like my first two children, Sage was born with a lot of hair. She was so active in my womb, we nicknamed her “Selkie” – the mythic creatures of Irish folklore that are half woman, half seal. My daughter’s movements became so familiar, that her father and I already felt there was a third person in bed with us at night. And an active sleeper she was. I could almost see her sometimes, as if my belly were transparent.
The week after I painted this image, Sage was born. And now she’s nearly sixteen! When did my chubby-cheeked toddler sprout into a young woman?
I shall have to do another painting about the passage of time from a parent’s perspective.
Pregnant Sleep has been licensed and used more than any other painting of mine. The original sold pretty quickly, to a childbirth educator in San Diego. It’s also available as posters and greeting cards.
Cheers to all!
D Yael Bernhard