I've been so blessed to be a mother. My husband and I managed to raise an amazing young woman who we are so completely proud of. She will be 21 in a couple of weeks.
She will turn 21 in the faraway land of India on a study abroad trip. She's remarkable to me, because at that age, you couldn't of got me on a plane to go anywhere, never mind halfway around the world, but she's always been the bravest person I know.
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| Pregnant Artist 1994 |
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| Big Baby |
When she was born, the idea of giving up being an artist was not something that ever crossed my mind. Over the years however, I have met lots of mothers who, upon seeing my art, told me that they had given up their art when they became a mother.
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| The Land of Pez (Kayla as a Princess Pez) |
That is something that I really don't understand how it is possible. For me, making art is like eating. I have to do it. I wouldn't know how to function any other way. Art has been a refuge and strength for me throughout my entire life. It is the most powerful way that I know to express myself and so to silence my artistic voice would be to silence my voice entirely.
When my daughter was a baby I used to get up at 4:30 in the morning before she woke up and before I had to go to my teaching job to paint.
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| Flying through Life Together |
I guess that's how driven I was to do it. After I made the decision to leave teaching and stay home with her, I continued to work and pursue artistic opportunities in an effort to show her that you can be a loving and devoted mother and wife and that you can also remain a whole person with dreams and aspirations and accomplishments of your own.
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| Little Artist Girl |
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| Can We Play More? |
Granted, I had one child and the luxury of being able to stay at home with her.
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| Mother and Child Sunflowers |
Needless to say, she has been the inspiration for much of my art.
