Mothering As An Art
Mothering As An Art
Did you know that you are an artist? You are! Mothering is certainly an art form by definition; an outer expression of an inner feeling. Mothering Arts supports each mother on her unique path of mothering by nurturing connections to herself, to her baby and to her community. As parents there are countless things that we have in common with our lives. We all wake up, prepare and consume meals, we all bathe, play, care for our homes and go to sleep. But within those daily tasks we have a wonderful opportunity to create our family culture, by HOW we do those things. It is how that our children will remember. What do you remember about how you ate meals in your family? How did you get tucked in at night? How did you celebrate holidays, seasons, birthdays? What kinds of feelings arise when you remember?
When my mother would put me to sleep as a child, she would puff up the blanket
three times over my body before tucking me in. It was such a simple ritual, it felt soft and fresh on my body and my heart was full before drifting off to sleep. Now, my son receives the same special treatment…and he loves it. Some things we can carry on, and some rituals we can create anew. Simple gestures of love leave lasting impressions, feeding the souls of parents and children alike. How do you come to the table? How do you clean the floor? How do you tend to the garden? Can you create magic in the simplicity of life? Can you parent as an artist of life?
It’s also necessary to make time for the ways you feed your soul and express yourself. Your child(ren) want to see you shine, they want to know what lights you up, they want to see you be creative.
What are the everyday tasks you create with loving intention?
Fear not mama if your sewing machine is collecting dust, if your paints are dried up or your guitar is missing a few strings. You are an artist, just by being you. Mothering is an art…perhaps the art that leaves the biggest impression of all.
Feel stuck with inspiration? Our Mothering Arts Collective online leaning community offers practical support for mamas who want to bring more magic into every day life. For only $30 per month, you’ll have plenty of guidance and inspiration for you to embrace your art of mothering. Click here to learn more.
FLASH SALE! Use code spring18 to receive $5 off your first month in the Mothering Arts Collective. Coupon expires at midnight on April 1st.
Inspiration from Creative Mamas
There’s so much truth to this quote. Being creative is rejuvenating and restorative; two qualities that parents really need! Think of how you feel after getting lost in the movement of watercolors on a canvas, or harmonizing with dozens of others in song, how does it feel to transform strong emotions into a poem, how does it feel to move your body as an expression of your feelings? Great, right? So many of us carry around an untruth, a story that we cannot sing, or dance, or paint or draw or make music that decades go by without picking up a paintbrush or an instrument.
As parents, we have a chance to rekindle the creative spark in our hearts. We have a chance to model for our child that the creating is what counts, not the product. A chance to release fears about “doing it right” and instead, just doing it, just being in the creation. Creating art will feed your soul and give you energy…and we all can use more energy!
Ursala Hudson is a mama of two lovely daughters and is committed to living a life rooted in creativity. She says YES to art from music making to sculpting to painting and print making. Ursala writes about the life giving goodness of being creative in her article, Creativity For Emotional Well-Being. It’s a great read an includes a list of fun ideas to wake up your inner artist.
Jessica Latham is a mama and a gifted writer, another woman artfully living her truth. She beautifully transforms moments of everyday life into poetry, essays and other written pieces of art. Her writing feels like a deep dive into raw emotions of humanness, and salve to the soul of mothering. Enjoy her beautiful poem, Waxing and Waning, along with many others on her website Rowdy Prisoners.
Reena Burton has found great inspiration for Motherhood as an artist. She captures the essence that so many of us feel when we are initiated into the role of mother. She wrote about her experience at a Mothering Arts circle, you can read it here.