COTFA

In May 2015 to May 2016, we posted an interview with one artist mother per week to see how having children has impacted their art making and creativity. What followed was inspiration, candidness, generosity, and practical advice.

In 2016, we are looking to all types of artists to see how they find time to create art - some may be parents, others could be retirees, dayjob creatives, late bloomers, etc.

2017-2020 had us focusing on a book project featuring Creativity and Motherhood. “The Motherhood of Art” is now available for purchase here!

Hannah Betzel

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"My tip is just this. Find the time. Make opportunities for yourself. If the only time you have is at night, hand over the kids and get into your happy place and create. Even if it's for 15 minutes. In those 15 minutes, you can find yourself and get motivated to find the next 15 minutes. Hopefully you have supportive people in your life who can allow you focus time on your art. I like to live by this quote: "Every morning you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase them." Not sure who wrote that one, but it's good!" - Hannah Betzel

"I’ve been painting consistently for a few years before having my first daughter. After she was born, I felt a surge of inspiration and creativity. I became much more purposeful with my time and the direction of my art. I knew that raising the girls was going to be my primary focus, so I needed to find a way to fit my passion and career into that. One of the biggest changes since having children has been the limited hours to create. I’ll be in the middle of a piece, inspired and in the zone, and I’ll have to walk away to focus on family life. I think that as mothers, we are always adjusting to the changing daily demands and needs of our children. Understanding this fluidity has helped me both in my studio practice and in creating art." - Karina Bania