The documentary Who Does She Think She Is? will have a screening tonight at Seattle’s SIFF Cinema. A film that asks the question—“Can women be artists and mothers and wives?” —and answers with a resounding “Yes!”
Comments (5) - April 23, 2009
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Hello! I'm Jenny Vorwaller, an artist located in Seattle. I adore photography, painting, nurturing, & style making.
Small things are my canvas. Something you can hold in your hands or ways to communicate beauty: this is what I love...(more) -
Thanks for sharing this. I am going to have to look it up and see where I can find it in Australia, it looks fascinating!
I am often dealing with how I can fulfill my expressive side and still “fit in”. I have a degree in fine art and education and have always struggled with the balance between them and found teaching art is not as fulfilling when I am not creating myself. I have my first baby due in July and am really trying to work out how I can start pursuing my passion for art and at the same time be a good mother. You are very inspirational for me so thank you for putting your ideas out there.
This documentary looks amazing. It made me realize that this little part of me does feel like balancing creating art and raising children is kind of a daydream, like I will need to give up my passion for a while when my kids are young. I like that it’s helping me think otherwise!
this looks fantastic jenny. thank you for sharing it- i would have probably never heard about this in my part of the world.
I hope you can catch it! There is a list of screenings on their website, though most are in the United States right now, I did notice some mention of other places if you scroll down to the comments. I actually couldn’t make it last night, so I plan to have my own screening at my place when the DVD is released.
There is no doubt in my mind that art thrives when you enter motherhood. Of all the paintings and photographs and drawings I’ve made, truly the most creative task I’ve set about is being a mother. That sensitivity to life, it’s richness and delicacy can not only foster a whole new level to your art, but your love for it.
One of my mentors in this challenge, though she has long passed away before I was even a whisper of an idea, (ha!) is the painter Minerva Tiechert. She was completely prolific. I love to tell people who doubt that mothers can accomplish their dreams about how she used to set her clocks a little bit forward to show her children it was bedtime (hehe) and then she would paint until midnight. All this on top of keeping books for the ranch, helping run the farm, cooking for the farm workers, and raising (yup) FIVE children… she painted.
I think the pace and flow of motherhood is totally conducive to being an artist. The way of creating art is not anything like other professions/careers/passions/lifestyles – it’s not like you are clocking in at 9 and leaving at 5, or that there is a set ladder to climb in any certain chronology. You might even find that the “breaks” in motions of that first year with baby are perfect… in between (sometimes during!) feedings and naps and making meals, there is a quiet space where a woman can be making symphonies, whipping out small sketches, mapping out songs or murals. It’s a flow, a really beautiful flow… and once I got used to it (after wanting to do nothing but hold my first little one in my arms for several weeks and just be) I found it totally complemented my creative pattern and it hasn’t changed since then. (My son is now seven, and I’m expecting #2 this summer, so this is obviously on my mind a lot lately.)
And another side note – giving up passions is not a noble act. (Though I can identify with the fear or notion that you would have to cut it out to make room for the demands that children bring, I’ve felt them too.) I think our children will always be able to sense that there is something or somewhere you might rather be if you shut that part of you off, they will feel a resentment that you carry under the surface for raising them “instead” of being an artist. Unfortunately, it’s common to believe this “sacrifice” has to be made…and not just for female artists, I think it’s a background issue of many mothers. But what would not being fully ourselves teach them? And then, how can we teach them to pursue their talents and dreams without the stinging feeling that we never truly have experienced it? No, the truth is that we are just on the path of life a little bit further along than the souls we are entrusted with… and that head start is only temporary. They will catch up with us one day, and hopefully then, they can see and appreciate that people, even “just moms” never cease living or being who they fully are, and living fully can only bless their lives even more.
(I love this topic, can you tell?) Would love to hear more thoughts on this…
Hey Jenny! Fun to see you blogging again! I always enjoyed reading your stuff.