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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 12 May 2018

'Shouting into the void': Miscarriages color mom-to-be's art

By WILLIAM J. KOLE claim. Not these paintings.
MILFORD, Mass. (AP) — Art- Galleries don't know what
ist Ashley MacLure's world to do with a likeness of her
is filled with fairies, young husband holding her as
girls riding giant moths — blood flows beneath them,
and anguished, bleeding or a plate depicting her
women. naked and curled in a fetal
A grimacing young wom- position with a bright red
an rendered in black and blotch on her belly.
white is curled in a fetal "They don't want to make
position, splashes of crim- audiences uncomfortable,"
son staining her bottom. she says. "People want to
Here she is again, leaning see flowers and sailboats
against a bloodied wall, and landscapes and pretty
her abdomen nothing but things. I'm all about making
a large oval hole. There's people uncomfortable."
a self-portrait in charcoal Even so, MacLure is gain-
pencil — a close-up of a ing a following. Women
face pinched by sorrow. she's never met who have
In her artist's mind, this is experienced the pain of
what miscarriage looks miscarriage have been
like. And while MacLure's connecting with her, post-
story seems destined for a In this Thursday, April 26, 2018, photo, artist Ashley MacLure sits for a photo with one of her paint- ing comments and sharing
happy ending — she and ings at her home in Milford, Mass. their own stories of loss and
her husband are expect- healing.
ing their first child this sum- ing an eight-year span. miscarriages, says other MacLure, who teaches at Among them is Lauren
mer — the high school vi- Now a mother of three, she women's stories can make Blackstone Valley Techni- Lowen, a fellow illustrator
sual arts teacher hopes her told ABC's "Good Morning her feel like an impostor. cal Regional Vocational who miscarried. Like Ma-
provocative works will help America" the losses were But her grief and pain — High School in Upton, Mas- cLure, she's now expecting
take away the enduring rough on her marriage. both physical and psycho- sachusetts, sought solace her firstborn this summer.
stigma of pregnancy loss. "We don't talk about it as logical — are no less real. in her paints and brushes. "I saw her art flash up on my
"It's my way of shouting into fluidly as we should," says That's captured in her art, She began somewhat jar- feed, and I found it poetic
the void," she says. Dr. Jessica Zucker, a Los which is honest and edgy ringly by painting diseased and beautiful," says Lowen,
As many as one in four Angeles psychologist and — some might say brutally ovaries and uteruses — a of Nashville, Tennessee.
pregnancies ends pre- mother of two who lost a so. cathartic escape as she "Her work really moved
maturely in miscarriage, baby and launched a so- "One moment, you're elat- battled feelings of failure me. Miscarriage is a unique
the American Society for cial media campaign — ed. And then it's just over," and fears that she might form of heartbreak."
Reproductive Medicine #IHadAMiscarriage — to says MacLure, who grew never be a mother. Men, too, have sought
says. With miscarriage so get people talking openly. up in North Providence, She's since done a series of out MacLure. Cambridge
commonplace, women in- "The unfortunate conse- Rhode Island, and moved paintings on clear glass din- entrepreneur Chris Tolles
creasingly are pressing for quences are that a major- to Milford, Massachusetts, ner plates — a fragile do- reached out after his wife
society to stop treating it as ity of women are report- after earning a degree in il- mestic item that seemed twice miscarried. The cou-
taboo. ing shame, self-blame and lustration from Rhode Island like the perfect medium ple now has a 2-year-old
Among them is figure skat- guilt," she says. "Loss is dev- School of Design. for capturing maternal an- daughter, but Tolles still
er Nancy Kerrigan, who astating, but the women "It's very surreal. You're men- guish. feels a "profound connec-
revealed last year dur- who live these losses are tally in a different space, MacLure's more whimsical tion" to her art.
ing an episode of "Danc- strong. What they have to starting to think about the work has been showcased "Suffering is a real thing,
ing with the Stars" that she share is deeply important." future. And then, suddenly, in juried exhibitions, and and it's best shared," he
had six miscarriages dur- MacLure, 30, who's had two you're not." some has won critical ac- says. q

Levine's recordings withdrawn from Met Opera radio channel

Associated Press He conducted 2,552 perfor- ate time."
NEW YORK (AP) — Perfor- mances from 1971 through More than 175 of Levine's
mances by former Metro- Dec. 2, the day accounts performances from 1972-
politan Opera music di- first appeared in the New 2017 remain available for
rector James Levine were York Post and The New York streaming on Met Opera
withdrawn from the com- Times of sexual misconduct on Demand.
pany's Sirius XM satellite dating to the 1960s. He was The withdrawal of Levine's
and online radio channel, suspended by the compa- recordings was first report-
a large percentage of the ny the following day pend- ed by Slippedisc.com.
company's history. ing the Met's investigation. Levine has sued the Met,
Levine, the company's The Met said the last Levine claiming defamation and
leading force as music or broadcast was a perfor- breach of contract, which
artistic director from 1976- mance of John Harbison's the company denies. A
2016, was fired as music "The Great Gatsby" on conference with Justice
director emeritus on March Dec. 10. The company said Andrea Masley in New York
12 after an investigation Levine's performances "will Supreme Court in Man- In this July 7, 2006 file photo, Boston Symphony Orchestra music
found evidence of sexual be reintroduced to the pro- hattan is scheduled for director James Levine conducts the symphony on its opening
night performance at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.
abuse and harassment. gramming at an appropri- Tuesday.q