This is the season to hang on deeply to the things that hold us.
Or to faithfully explore the life-giving sources and and energy that keep us.
Whether we paint, handletter, or crochet. Whether we write, bake, sing, or play.
Record those gentle, quiet, meaningful moments and honor the heart’s still desire with the fruits of your own spirit, hands, and heart.
Hang passionately onto what holds and keeps us closest to our eternal joy.
In this season, we create as gifted by the Creator.
Our Creator.
In this practice, we give thanks.
Translate our deep feelings of blankness into visible existence.
There can be light, hope, and joy.
Movement, dance, and exuberance.
Hold tightly.
In this season.
]]>So the question was this. How were you successful at finding time to paint and continuing to paint with a newborn baby.
I will say my first time around, I was in absolutely no shape to do anything else post-partum besides sleep, eat and nurse. I had a minor, but unpleasant medical complication, and it took me a while to get in a good groove and to understand new mamahood. No painting took place there.
But my second time around I did some painting. My older son was at school during the day, and I was on maternity leave. I felt better about the juggle so when it felt good, I did a little painting time permitting. I was able to create some new work for a multi-artist in-home show, but I was certainly not interested in putting a lot of pressure on myself. The most important thing for a new mom is to take care of herself.
The thing is for me, painting is stress relief. It puts my mind and body at ease. So I was happy to let off some energy in that way. So when my baby was napping, I escaped upstairs for a few minutes to paint. Nothing major. And when he woke up, I was right back there for him. I was not particularly interested at that point in painting with my baby, i.e., baby wearing or having him play nearby. I was interested in keeping my space to myself, keeping him away from my supplies, and keeping my hands clean! But I can certainly envision others taking a different approach.
With a newborn, you will want to become the naptime artist. It might help to give your brain a break to switch gears and do something creative and relaxing. Even if its for a few minutes. One of my favorite artists, denise gassert, started this whole series where she started a painting in a free time, and considered the piece done as soon as she was interrupted, summoned by her children. its an incredibly powerful body of work. it shows real life. It is literally snippets of pieces she has done in 2 minutes, maybe 15 minutes, etc. She stops the piece when motherhood interrupts her. That's how it is.
So my thoughts here are, put on that monitor and escape for a few minutes during naptime, here or there. Craft your painting time as your alone time or relaxation time, if it is that for you.
Take just a few minutes. Don't start a project bigger than you can finish. You may only have time to do a few sketches. You may need to pick up box of watercolors and work on paper. That's fine. Start small. Start manageable. And listen to your body and environment to see what works best for you.
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It’s in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.
-Nelson Mandela
One thing I’ve not done is share yet words. I’m changing that. Today I write with a nod to a little chronic condition that hangs out with me. As MS Awareness Month comes to a close, I was particularly reflective of this time year when I was coming out of a relapse. This one caught me off guard because for the most part, and from the outside I feel fine and look fine.
But with Multiple Sclerosis you never know what to expect.
]]>-Nelson Mandela
One thing I’ve not done is share yet words. I’m changing that. Today I write with a nod to a little chronic condition that hangs out with me. As MS Awareness Month comes to a close, I was particularly reflective of this time year when I was coming out of a relapse. This one caught me off guard because for the most part, and from the outside I feel fine and look fine.
But with Multiple Sclerosis you never know what to expect.
I’m not a doctor and don’t claim to be but the way I describe it to my kids is that the immune system attacks the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. It’s like little bugs that are bent on eating away the protective coating of a power cord. The thing about it is, it’s hard to know what the bugs have eaten and how much of the wires have been exposed. You don’t know where the damage lies. Every single bodily function stems from the brain.
But it was scary for me to start having pain in my hands. It was primarily triggered by water as far as I could gather. So trying to take a shower or wash my hair became a challenge. I couldn’t stay there for long before being gripped with pain… but of course it wasn’t consistent or predictable. One night I was starting to wash my son’s hair when I felt it return. I couldn’t do it. I ran away and curled up into a ball in the next room clutching my hands. I rocked myself until the pain went away. Until the next time…
And with the passage of time and a high dose of meds, it went away and into remission so to speak. Meaning, I’ve returned to baseline. I don’t know what the bugs have eaten up there but I’m stable. My hands feel better. I can take care of things without the pain or fear thereof. All is well and it always was well.
And while I didn’t enjoy that episode, I needed to appreciate my hands. Because at times we take the basics for granted. These hands that feed, bathe, and clothe my children. These hands that pat my husband’s head. These hands that send a note to a friend. These hands that type these words. These hands that paint my soul so I can replenish and do my part to bring good things into the world.
I cannot. I do not. Take them for granted.
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And suddenly finding we need to make lesson plans and organize fun and creative things to do for our children.... Since the last time I wrote in my unofficial blog, we find ourselves on a quarantine with time away from school. There are certainly blessings about this time and life readjustment, and a world of resources to turn to for help.
One thing I find rewarding from a creative perspective is to do art projects with my children. But I haven’t always enjoyed the process. As an artist and a perfectionist type of sorts, I used to feel a lot more pressure to get involved and try to show or explain how things should be. “Why don’t you try this?” or “*it’s not supposed to look like that!” Suddenly, the process is not so much fun for any one.
On top of that, I have art supplies on hand (albeit many of them too costly to share and some of my paints are just not child friendly). That my friend, is a double-edged sword. I’ve learned its best to buy separate supplies: paints, brushes, and paper!
But then there is the pressure to come up with a picture perfect idea that would be ready for a Pinterest blog! I love Pinterest as much as the next person, but the perfection of some of those projects sometimes discourages us from getting in there and getting creative with our kiddos.
I want to share the secret of taking the pressure off.
Ready?
The secret is... let them take the lead.
Let them choose their own art adventure because let’s face it, children are incredible, and talented artists. They are deeply in midst of a period of exploration so they have the ability to take what is literally trash (or recyclable) and turn it into children’s treasure.
I’ll give you an example. See this rocket below that my son came up with all on his own. Complete with a seatbelt, and rocket boosters, all made out of items found around the house. Including cardboard, lots and lots of cardboard. All he said was, I want to make a rocket. Go forth and prosper kid!!
Sure, it might get messy (choose your location and protective coverings wisely), but it will be fun. And they will learn a lot and be able to take ownership of their work.
So, when its time to do an art lesson, remember, it does not have to be extravagant. And keep in mind, you don’t need a whole lot to do a whole lot.
But what do you need?
Here’s a little unofficial supply list of art supplies and project ideas I’d keep on hand.
1. Construction paper, age-appropriate scissors, and glue. Oh the wonders you can do with these three items. Crafting a sweet paper dinosaur in conjunction with a lesson on dinosaurs, is an easy win! Cut up the paper to make collages! That’s always fun.
2. Modeling clay. Try Sculpey or even an air-dry clay like Crayola. This can be useful for capturing figure and toe prints. PlayDoh is always good too in a pinch.
3. Child-friendly paint and markers. And by that I mean WASHABLE and NON-TOXIC. But the paint surfaces are endless—we’ve painted wooden figures, canvas, paper, or cardboard. Keep all your markers, paints, papers, and other kid-friendly supplies in one central kid-friendly container and location that just screams, “go forth, be creative!”
4. Cardboard. Speaking of cardboard. Paper towel and toilet tissue rolls always take on a life of their own at my house. They make the perfect megaphones or spy glass, but children can always find creative uses for these types of materials.
Often times, children need just a seed planted, just an idea. They can take it from there, and run with it!
My best,
Allison
]]>My name is Allison and I am a wife and mama of two boys. I am a mother who is also an artist. I have other titles and passions. But I consider myself to be an abstract painter and collage artist. I paint feelings in a colorful and non-representational manner.
The first time I attempted blogging was about 6 years ago in anticipation of pregnancy with my first child. I had every attempt to write about my journey with an MS (Multiple Sclerosis) diagnosis and pregnancy and resources I found about pregnancy and MS. The pregnancy part happened sooner than I expected and a blog just never got off the ground.
Fast forward, and I am again thinking about Art Motherhood and Community. More than buzz words. It is a topic I have written about before and today I return. I am fascinated with the intersections and I cannot seem to shake that feeling.
I am fascinated with mothers who are artists in some capacity. Crafting, fine arts, digital arts, makers, builders, poets, photographers, writers, singers... art is so broad and meaningful in this regard.
But what I am fascinated with is exploring what motherhood brings to the creative practice. How you practice, how you manage your art making. The way you think about your art.
And the sheer beauty of the practice of art making along side little ones. Looking at the world through their creative eyes. Helping them see new things.
And I am so intrigued by sharing a journey with other mothers who are artists. Who are actively capturing all of the pieces of their lives and hearts and who, like me, want to commune with others about the unity of these pieces and the joy of the journey.
So I am building plans for this space to talk about these things and to explore this world. It is nothing fancy, I just have things to say.
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