Meltyface

Meltyface, Acrylic, Frances Mackowycz, 1986

"My mom is full of surprises. She's always got something cooking in that mind of hers. She got pregnant in high school, and had to drop out. She sacrificed a lot of her own interests and ambitions to stay home with me and my sister. And she never complained about it. Ever.

One day my mom announced she was going to start painting again. I didn't have any idea that she could paint. She was so busy with us kids, she didn't really have any hobbies - and of course, we were so self-absorbed, we wouldn't have noticed anyway. So I said, "Okay, Mom - do your thing." Then, a few weeks later I came home from school and this self-portrait was hanging in our foyer. I thought, "Oh boy...it's gonna be a long year." I call this painting "Meltyface." For a long time, it intimidated me. I'd walk by it in the hall and shudder. It's hard to look at an expression of your mom's innermost thoughts. Especially when they are melting her face. But now, looking back, I'm glad she painted it, because it was something she needed to do.

Now, 22 years later, my mom has gone back to school. She just won a prestigious scholarship in Religious Studies at the University of Toronto. She had the highest grades of any third year student. I completely believe that self-portrait represents a big step in her life.
She maintains this painting is funny. Which is totally her sense of humour."
- As told to The MOMMA by Bob Mackowycz Jr., Toronto