Interview with Oona MClure
By Rebecca Montgomery, BFA
Vancouver, BC

Born in Lions Bay, BC, Rebecca currently works as a freelance artist while studying psychology and neuroscience at the University of British Columbia. Though she is particularly drawn to drawing and painting, her artwork ranges from printmaking blind contour drawings, molding little clay bodies, and letting light leak into the analogue camera. For Rebecca, visual art provides a way to communicate and connect, to learn and process information, and to show her thoughts and feelings. 

Oona McClure is an artist and art therapist based in Victoria, BC. Her work has been featured in CATA Envisage (Fall 2018) before, and I have had the pleasure of working with her myself. Currently COVID-19 has changed our lives in ways we have never experienced before. I was curious to hear what Oona has been working on since her last featured article with CATA, and also what has shifted in her practice, work, and life since quarantine.

Rebecca’s questions in Italic.

Rebecca: Hello Oona! I’d ask “how are you”, but I have recently read that in these social-distancing times asking more specific questions helps us feel more connected while communicating over technology. So instead I’ll ask… What did you do this week that you loved?

Oona: Hello Rebecca! Well this week has been a good week and I’ve done a couple of things that I love and bring me happiness. Firstly I started a new art project and then have had 2 very beautiful hiking adventures plus car picnics with my son and partner.

And, in one word, how are you doing right now?

Tired.

As an art therapist, what does a day's work look like for you (before social distancing)?

Before social distancing, I was working very part-time as an art therapist (privately and for an organization, Victoria Immigration and Refugee Centre) and an arts programmer (and facilitator for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria). My work is always very dynamic and constantly shifting, so a day’s work is not a standard thing but it is normally some combination of being with my son and finding moments to answer emails and prepare activities, plus see clients on my ‘office days’. Honestly, my day-to-day work schedule before COVID is something I wanted to change as it was really tough to juggle all the little things and do it well without getting burnt out. I hope that in the future it will be a lot less stressful and that my ability to work will be smoother.

Your artwork “The Journey” (see Envisage Fall 2018 issue) features beautiful recordings of two integral moments of motherhood, pregnancy and labour. Creatively, which steps have followed since then?

I have endeavored to keep on making art but it is really hard to find the time (and energy) when caring for a small human. Over the past year I have been more interested in maternal mental wellness and as such challenging isolationism and loneliness via participatory art-making. The series Making Known is a growing collection of ‘embroidery conversations’ involving myself and a guest having a spontaneous dialogue while actively sewing. The series questions how we relate and connect to others (and ourselves) by making meaning through a shared experience. These shared experiences become a lived memory through textile mark-making and signify the spoken and unspoken moments of a conversation. Due to the pandemic I have re-imagined this project and now working on another participatory piece that once again challenges isolationism but through the lens of social distancing and online communication. This new project sees me and a guest simultaneously drawing blind contour portraits of each other which are then embroidered onto an antique table cloth. The intention is to have a table cloth full of portraits which celebrate a moment of intimacy despite the detachment and division that can arise when having virtual conversations.

Often with artwork I make, there is one in particular that I’m drawn back to, or perhaps one I’ve displayed in a special place at home. Do you have a piece like this currently?

Hmmmm, that’s a tough one! I suppose the 4 pieces from the series Wails of Becoming (lovingly referred to as my contraction drawings) that are hung up in my living room. They feel particularly special as they will always remind me of a really hard and painful experience that I endured and how my curious art brain expresses itself. 

Now, I know you are organizing your first solo art show for June 2020 at the 50/50 gallery, congratulations! Would you share the title and describe the essence of the show?

Why, thank you! And yes, the exhibit is called I am. Artist. Mother. Me. It is ultimately an exhibit featuring new and existing works that offer an intimate view of an unfolding relationship to motherhood. Through the process of textile mark-making, ideas around the multiplicity of self and the act of memorializing and remembrance are explored. The artworks include Marked Moments (2017-2018), Wails of Becoming (2018), My Time (2018-2019), and Making Known (2019 – ongoing). These collections ultimately strive to present a mother’s lived experience as complex and compelling.

With all the changes in place during COVID-19, how have the initial plans for your show developed?

Unfortunately the exhibit is no longer happening as an ‘in-person’ gallery experience show. However, the artwork will be available for viewing online via my website (oonamcclure.weebly.com) and the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective (thefiftyfifty.net). I’m a little disappointed that the artwork will not be installed and presented in the way I had originally envisioned, but the online format does allow folks from other places (not based in Victoria) to take a look. I’ll also be doing an Instagram takeover on the Fifty Fifty (@thefiftyfiftyartscollective) and will be sharing some thoughts on my process, etc.

What is something that has helped you adapt to the changes?

As the primary caregiver for my toddler, the main things have been to adapt our typical routine to reflect the things we can and can’t do. BUT the key things are adaptation and routine. So by keeping a routine we have been able to adapt. For example in the mornings we no longer go to the library so instead we read lots of books before heading out for an adventure in the garden or around the neighbourhood. I also drink more tea than before!

Is there anything from these changes, such as communicating remotely or a shift in perspective / habits, that you think will be beneficial to carry into the future?

I think this whole period of time has made me reflect more on our ‘interconnectedness’ and our ability to feel ‘connected’. It has also made you consider what being kind to yourself looks like, especially regarding expectations we have towards how things should be. This period has certainly challenged my personal expectations of how I parent, work and coexist with my partner. It has reminded me to be gentle with myself and offer myself the same loving kindness I would to my clients. It’s certainly a work in progress but one worth continuing.

Is there a quote that inspires you which you’d like to share?

Louise Bourgeois is an artist that constantly inspires me and this is one of my favourite Louise quotes “the act of sewing is a process of emotional repair”.

Thank you, Oona, I love the work that you are doing and I can’t wait to see what your next steps are in your journey. Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers before we finish?

Here’s some pics of my recent blind contour portrait work!

Images below courtesy of Oona McClure, from her project page, I See You, on the participatory project mentioned in the interview, involving connecting with others via online sessions and sewing their portraits onto tablecloths.