Easter themes of rebirth
Happy Easter Monday! I had no idea this was a thing, but my Apple calendar insists it is so. I hope you all had a lovely weekend spent reconnecting with family and friends. We spent the weekend engaged in holiday activities including not one, not two, but THREE egg hunts! One at the Children’s Museum, one at our house Easter morning, and one at a friend’s house. Ansel loved each and every one and insisted this morning that he’d rather stay home and look for more “candy eggs” instead of going to school, as if this was a possibility. I don’t blame him for thinking that this could be a regular life occurrence.
The hard winter has officially thawed, despite the whispered threats of snow on the horizon. We all know these weather episodes are just the final efforts of our coldest season as it sputters out, so I don’t worry as they won’t last long. We have a few final house projects underway that will be completed before the baby arrives such as new exterior house paint, a new swing set for Ansel, landscaping for our front garden, and repaving the driveway. We will have a fresh look for the summer while we nurture our growing little family inside. I catch myself getting lost in thoughts of family, and I can see that my studio practice is already slowing in preparation for this monumental shift, now only a mere month or so away.
While motherhood experiences a resurgence, my art practice will sink like a seed into the ground. There I can still nurture it with stored memories, intention, and undoubtedly new inspiration. I have the time to let grow what will in my mind, drawing off of what I learned from the fall and winter. What worked? What didn’t work? Where can I put my energies when I return full time to the studio, and realistically what kind of time and energy do I have while on maternity leave to give to art?
Perhaps during this time I will work out my ideas in a journal and a sketchpad. Or perhaps I will ditch it all and let be the fact that new motherhood is one of the most all-encompassing and exhausting experiences one can be honored to live through. I’m not sure yet, but I’m resolved to just do what feels right and let time be a friend rather than a noisy measuring stick on my artistic success.
Other artist mothers out there… do you feel this? Is time difficult for you, too?
Currently I’m listening to the words of Ram Dass, and letting my brain wander back into territories I haven’t let myself venture to since college. I’m putting space around my person filled with calm and forgiveness. I’m continuing to build something important, but I’m learning to have the awareness to not force it. What is art? What is the art I want to make? Make something beautiful and genuine, and your audience will find you. Make your Truth and invite others to enjoy it with you.
Artists of every gender and denomination… do you feel me?
