Natasha Martin of Violet Tinder

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"My lifestyle has DEFINITELY changed since having a little one, but I think the greatest change has been the “clarity”. I think I used to feel like I could give my attention to everything, and that if I just buckled down enough, I could make it all work. But we all have a limited amount of time and energy to spend and I want to spend mine wisely. I know I want to be totally present for my daughter in the day, when we play or read. When my husband comes home, I want to be able to give him at least a few minutes of undivided attention, to connect and hear about each other’s day. And maybe most surprisingly (to me), I know I want to make my creative side a priority- it’s not just a hobby, it’s a big piece of my overall well-being!" - Natasha Martin of Violet Tinder

Suze Ford

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"I am hoping that my kids see that they can make a living doing something they love. Being an artist is a legitimate way to build a business and lively hood. In fact I will be as bold to say that successful artists out there making it in the world are some of the hardest working people I know. I want my girls to see that if you work hard and you have a passion you can achieve your dreams. I want them to know the importance of being yourself, and listening to your heart. Don’t let opinions of others or fears get in the way of your vision. To be successful in life you don’t have to go about it in the traditional manner, and down the stereotypical path. Blaze your own trail!" -Suze Ford

Amy Hartelust

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"After my daughter was born, I went that entire first year without making a single piece of art. I think I was overwhelmed with my new role as a mom and wasn’t quite sure how being and artist would fit into my new life. I think that if you are an artist, suppressing your need to create is an incredibly unnatural thing. I spent that entire year walking around as a shell of myself. I was mentally and physically hurting and it was affecting everyone around me, including my daughter." -Amy Hartelust

Lynne Millar

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"I love this question! Being an artist totally makes me a better mother. It gives our family direction: like pretty much every mom, I try to be very mindful about the kind of lives I’m facilitating for my kids. (Mind you, the operative word here is TRY – I have not figured out the application of this to brilliant effect, and my kids still watch plenty of TV.) In theory, I want the paintings I create to reflect the reverence I feel for nature and God; the joy that beauty brings into our lives. But if I’m not making a conscious effort to draw those things into our family life, I can’t reflect them back out in my art (garbage in, garbage out, my dad always said). For that to happen, we try our best to read great books, fill the house with music that makes us happy, get outside as much as we can, and be kind people." -Lynne Millar

Marissa L. Swinghammer

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"My children are four and seven and a lot has changed as the two of them have grown up. I would say initially my inspiration dropped and then plummeted during the toddlerhood of the eldest and pregnancy of my second child. Pregnancy wasn’t easy and a newborn plus a speech delayed preschooler occupied the majority of my life for a season. Once we moved past that challenging parenting stage my creativity started coming back, maybe around three years ago. But things didn’t really take off until a year ago when I started keeping a daily sketchbook and started finding inspiration wherever I went." -Marissa Lee Swinghammer

Kristine Brookshire

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"Art is just a part of our daily life. My daughter knew all of her colors before she could count to 10 or say her ABCs. She roll-plays running an art business more than being a princess or fairy and I love it! She tells me she will sell me her art for “26” or that she needs to take her art to the post office." -Kristine Brookshire

Kaetlyn Able

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"My experience as a parent has been a crash course in going with the flow, slowing down and enjoying the ride. Consequently, my art-making has become more joyful and much more process-focused than it used to be. I was a full time artist with an out-of-home studio space before my first son was born. So when I first started really working to carve out time to make art while caring full time for my kids, I viewed the new constraints on my time and on my work space as negatives. But the reverse has turned out to be true, which has been such a surprise! While I do have significantly less time for art than I used to, it turns out that I’m a lot more focused when I work in smaller chunks of time. And my family and household obligations force me to step away from my work (in a good way), so that I can come back later with fresh eyes. This really saves me from over-thinking and over-working things." -Kaetlyn Able

Christine Joy

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"I’m constantly in awe of my children’s curiosity and imagination. I find great inspiration in watching them explore their surroundings and love seeing the look of amazement in their eyes as they discover something new. This sense of wonder and exploration absolutely influences my creating. I am more excited to try new mediums to see what I can create. I only recently started experimenting with watercolor and am love with it! It may be my new favorite medium." -Christine Joy

Oriana Lewton-Leopold

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"I think being an artist sets a good example for Anouk; I think it’s so important to have something you love, that is all yours; not your parents’, your mate’s, your friend’s…it makes you more independent and fulfilled. I hope she finds that thing she loves someday, whether it’s art or music or science or whatever else she dreams up!" -Oriana Lewton-Leopold

Dana Barbieri

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"My advice: If your kids are babies then use nap time to work on something. If they are older and curious create with them. That time will soon pass and they will be onto their own interests. Give them large sheets of paper to paint on. Don’t worry about the mess. It’s all a part of the process. Buy them their own supplies. Take them to the art or craft store and let them pick a sketchbook and paints/pencils, etc. Have fun." -Dana Barbieri

Michelle Armas

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"I really hate the idea of having a schedule, of doing the same thing at the same time every day, its death to me. But having a schedule has helped us, also keeping the house German level organized and clean and always doing dishes or laundry right away has really helped us keep our sanity at home. I have given up sleeping in, but she wakes up at 7am, that’s not too bad really. Also my husband and I divide tasks, we always know what we are supposed to do. When its his time to take care of her I let him do whatever he does. If I disagree when what he is feeding her, or how she spends her time I don’t say anything because I need time off, and also if I tell him what to do all the time he won’t learn for himself and I will just be constantly doing it all. That is for sure not going to happen, so I don’t micro manage, or I try not to." -Michelle Armas

Brooklyn Lamb

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother

"I’ve found that it’s pointless to only work when I feel “inspired”. I plan my schedule, and I stick to it. Honestly, I’ve been able to create better work by just being consistent. Most of my cleaning gets done when my daughter is awake. She loves helping and I think it’s important to teach her these life skills in a fun way. But when I can’t “do everything”, I’m OK with the laundry waiting for me, and etc. My husband is a huge help with cleaning so that is a huge bonus. I really don’t watch much TV, or read as much as like I would like to, but I don’t really feel like I’ve had to give anything up because I’m doing everything that I need to do for my well being." -Brooklyn Lamb

Maria Kamara

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother, Painter

"It's important to me to show our children that I'm are being brave and truthful with my life. I want my children to know they can pursue their dreams and face fears they may have while pursuing their goals and they need to see me doing that as well. Hopefully my kids will remember seeing me being passionate about my art and will see how it fed me and that it was glorifying to God." - Maria Kamara

Jenny Kersting

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother, Painter

"I’m not great at being super organized, but I realized that if I wanted to find the time to myself to be creative, I HAD to make myself a schedule and get help with childcare AND that it was crucial for me to have an area separate from my kids to work in. I got lucky last year and had a friend offer me a room in her studio to use at my convenience. That was really a turning point for me in realizing how important my art is to my well-being and how worthwhile it is to spend my energy carving out time and resources to continue making it a priority. My advice to anyone else in my situation would definitely be to sit down and look at your schedule really closely and see where you could fit in a few hours here and there. Honestly, I probably only have 5 hours a week or so to paint, but that’s five hours I didn’t have last year, so I’ll take it and hopefully grow with it!" -Jenny Kersting

Jaime Derringer

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother, Painter

"I pinpoint the moment my daughter was born as one of the most inspirational moments of my life. They say that emotionally draining, difficult or overwhelming moments can spark creativity in a person, and I think that’s exactly what happened to me. I’ve always been creative, secretly, and self-critically. However, when Amelia was born I decided to just roll with it… to own it. I became pretty prolific, mostly because I had little time to create, but also because I never went to art school or anything so I felt like I needed to teach myself so many mediums, techniques, and to learn so much in such a short period of time. I wanted to get into a groove right away." - Jaime Derringer

Sonia Brittain

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother, Painter

"I think having children has definitely made me more inspired! Since being at home with the children I have painted and drawn more than I ever did when working full time in my previous career (I was a psychiatrist). I also feel I'm much more open to new ideas, and able to appreciate the small things, as drawing makes me look more closely at the world around me." -Sonia Brittain

Beth Allen

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother, Painter

"It makes me a better mother because it allows me to do what I love, which makes me happy, which benefits everyone. If I’m not happy, I notice it carries over to the rest of the family. Plus, my kids see me working hard to try to earn money for the family and I feel like that is good for them. Especially my daughters, I want them to know that they can do anything."-Beth Allen

Carving Out Time for Art Interview Series

January 13, 2016 in Artist Mother, Painter

"I created the hashtag #carveouttimeforart in hopes that people may use it when they are able to find some time for themselves to create. We all have the same 24 hours, but this is dedicated to the hustlers, the dreamers, and the people that get things done. Sometimes 5 minutes at a time. I'm rooting for you." -Marissa Huber

COTFA

Featured posts:

Natasha Martin of Violet Tinder

Suze Ford

Amy Hartelust

Lynne Millar

Marissa L. Swinghammer

Kristine Brookshire

Kaetlyn Able

Christine Joy

Oriana Lewton-Leopold

Dana Barbieri

Michelle Armas

Brooklyn Lamb

Maria Kamara

Jenny Kersting

Jaime Derringer

Sonia Brittain

Beth Allen

Carving Out Time for Art Interview Series