Mummy Tummies
By NICOLE NATION
Thirty-one-year-old Michela Lee Lusan is working to preserve memories. Her art revolves around this idea, and she has been doing this with mums-to-be.
“The idea for Mummy Tummies came about when my neighbour at the time became pregnant and I was so intrigued by how radiant she was and how big and beautiful her belly was,” Lee Lusan said.
And so she set out on a journey to preserve her neighbour’s pregnancy, taking photos and doing a mould of her belly.
“I remembered using plaster from my art school days and thought that it would be the perfect medium for the job, and it was,” she said.
In 2004, Lee Lusan started her business while working full-time as a special projects supervisor.
“The artwork that I do revolves around the idea of holding on to memories,” she explained. “A belly cast can be thought of as a time capsule for expectant mothers, something tangible which they can use to remember a very important event in their lives.”
A belly cast can also be an excellent addition to the baby’s nursery. Interestingly, it can be transformed into a belly bowl used to cradle your little one to sleep.
Lee Lusan had pursued her passion for the visual arts by attending the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, where she studied textiles and fibre art.
“I could tell I always wanted to be an artist, especially into my teenage years. In some strange way I felt as if we artists are like square pegs trying to fit in a round hole,” she explained.
After graduating from Edna Manley, she was granted a full scholarship to Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art in France.
Now her clients span both Jamaica and the United States.
“I started Mummy Tummies so women could feel beautiful and sexy by being photographed in a creative way and also to preserve the memory of their pregnancy in a three- dimensional form,” said the mother of two.
“I’m working on adding other services for pregnant women because it’s an exciting time in a woman’s life and we deserve to have fun, experience new things and celebrate all the true joys of pregnancy, and not just the nerve- wracking and uncomfortable elements of bringing new life into this world.”
Casting as an art is not only limited to the tummy of the pregnant woman. Her entire family can get in on the act by having hand casts done.
“Sometimes a mummy can have hands on her tummy when she is having the cast done. The hands can be either those of her children who came before or the father of the unborn baby, or the mum’s.”
She added: “I like to think of the hand casts as an offbeat family portrait. It’s a really beautiful and unique way to freeze time, capture your children’s growth and create a beautiful piece of art with everyone in the family. It most definitely is also a great bonding experience for the family.”
Mummy Tummies also offers belly cast repairs as well, a challenge which Lee Lusan loves to take on.
“When mummies have their casts, they want to keep them forever. Over time the cast may break and despite their best attempts to fix it, many women call us in to repair their casts,” she said.
A multifaceted businesswoman, Lee Lusan also offers handmade high quality headbands and crochet bows which are made to fit the heads of her youngest clients under the Baby Love Strings brand.
