"I also need to say that my answers to these questions are all true. However, I have hours, days, and even weeks where I forget what I truly believe. Where I forget what I have told myself over and over again. Days where I feel immense mother /parent guilt for not being the “perfect parent,” which does not exist. Hours where I mentally put myself in a fetal position and have a pity party, with my self doubt as the honored guest. (FYI this pity party happens about once per month.) And I can’t tell you how many times I have yelled at my husband that I think I should just give up on art. So, with that said, I advise you that no matter what answer you are looking for, or from where these answers are coming from, above all have compassion for yourself and your craft. Listen to the answers and know that they are not an end, but a constant practice." - Megan Gray
"There is this stigma that moms have to be perfect and the earth and moon have to revolve around their children. My world definitely shifted when I had my son and I think the pressure to be the best mom even paralyzed me. I feel like I failed myself and my family, early on, by denying myself time away to be an artist. I know now that it is a good thing to be selfish sometimes. It shows your family that you care about yourself. After almost five years of pressuring myself I finally set aside time to create." - Krista Rothwell
"Both being an artist and a teacher has influenced my parenting. In both making art and teaching it, you need to have a lot of patience. Being around so much art enriches Anna and hopefully makes her a more well rounded person. She draws and paints all the time and is interested in art. We take her to museums and gallery openings frequently and she is around us when we are discussing painting with friends and family. It is such a part of my life that I have to think her interest in it is connected to that. When she would cry at night as a baby and it was my “shift” to walk around with her, I would take her around the house and tell her about different paintings to calm her down - it usually worked." - Chris Feiro
"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
"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
"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
"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
