I have been looking at different genres of writing and at authors who have used a more contemporary style of writing both about both mothering and the theories and histories around motherhood. Mother by Sarah Knott very much follows the Narrative of the authors journey to and through motherhood. This sits alongside her historical research and the anecdotal narrative of women throughout history. I have also been reading The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson which follows a similar pattern of writing though is investigating identity, sex and sexuality, child rearing, childbirth and so much more.
Having taken the idea of a bricolage from the essay by R. Handforth and C. Taylor, doing academic writing differently, Feminist Bricolage, Gender and Education, I need to fully form what this style looks like for me. I have five different aspects or genres, that I am referring to as a tapestry of styles, that I am including in my project report; my narrative, the narrative of the subjects that I have drawn, my art practice, the critical context and the story of other women artists. Increasingly as I have written the essay it has helped me to write these sections separately and even colour code them. I have an original essay plan done on paper which looks somewhat like a mind map. Today I have re-written it and colour coded it to help me see that I have woven the different styles into each section. It has help me hugely to give each section a title. section 1. Beginning, 2. Discovering, 3. showing, 4. birth, 5. unexpected outcomes, 6, mothering. This means I have some rearranging to do within in the essay but it seems to make more sense now....