Recent Question

I was recently asked this question:

“How has having your child changed or enhanced the way you look at making art?”

I have been reflecting a lot on how I have changed since being a mom, especially as an artist. I was so grateful for the opportunity to really reflect and give a thoughtful answer.

Here is what I wrote:

“Having my son enhanced and changed the way I view making art by releasing my ego, fearful thoughts, self doubt and my desire for validation as an artist. I feel connected to the joyful feeling of creating and painting again as I did when I was a little child.

When I transitioned from practicing law to only doing art, I felt like I needed to legitimize myself as an artist, and to justify my career change by being able to replace my income with the sales of my artwork. This was a pressure I placed upon myself. I also desired to be loved and valued as an artist by others. Having my son, in a weird way, over night, removed that from me.

There is an interesting priority shift that happened when I had my son, where I automatically, know what is most important, and also what isn’t. The most important thing is the people I love—friends, family, extended family, with my husband and son at the top of the list, and their health, happiness and well-being. Within this context, the drive to be “great” or “the best” does not make sense to me anymore. Now when I paint, or thinking about art, I feel connected to my original essence of why I wanted to be a creative in the first place. I don’t feel the self-induced fear to prove myself. I paint because I love it. I enjoy it. It makes me happy. And I want my son to see that, and create that for himself as he grows up.” —AVM