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I was searching for something fresh to represent the book’s main idea.
Russian and Ukrainian avant-garde was my inspiration (including Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Alexander Rodchenko, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin). The main theme of the cover is Mother and child.
Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Eastern Orthodox traditional Icons have all created similar images.
In the art of all cultures, if you look at the image of a mother and child, you will find the same pose.
The child sits on the mother’s lap while Mother gazes adoringly at her child. I like the imagery of teddy bears in that pose, because they don’t walk the streets or go to work. They are part of a child’s world.
The background pattern is a patchwork quilt. I used some national toys as Nevalyashka
as part of a pattern.
"Motherhood, Russian-style" offers an intimate look at modern Russian mothers
and how they are raising their children today. Despite their many individual approaches, there are some unifying elements of Russian motherhood, placing modern Russian mothers quite comfortably somewhere
in between Asian tiger mums and the more laid-back parenting styles popular in America and Europe.
Writer, Tanja Maier is American, speaks Russian fluently.
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