One-of-a-kind mixed media flap book, composed of paper ephemera, acrylic, colored pencil, veneer, and wood, created by Julie Mader-Meersman "Contrary to common perceptions about the physical pain and fear of natural childbirth, 'Oxytocin good' was created to memorialize the labor and delivery experience of the artist and share the view that a natural birth event can be physically and psychologically calm and pleasant. The book specifically celebrates oxytocin, the naturally produced feel-good hormone that spurs labor and human bonding emotions. The book is miniature in format to reference the physically tiny origins of life and includes a container area that opens and closes, suggestive of an opening pelvis. Further, ephemeral materials--such as female clothing patterns, germination diagrams, and rent receipts--as well as painterly imagery are used to focus thoughts and feelings about the alignment of physical, emotional and psychological events leading up to and beyond the birth moment"--Artist's statement from 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, Or., website
