Inspiration Comes From Many Places

Welcome to Week Two of the month-long Carnival of Creative Mothers to celebrate the launch of The Rainbow Way: Cultivating Creativity in the Midst of Motherhood

by Lucy H. Pearce. 

Today’s topic is Creative Heroines. Do read to the end of this post for a full list of carnival participants. 

Join the Carnival and be in with a chance to win a free e-copy of The Rainbow Way!

December 4th: Creative Inheritance.

December 11th: The Creative Process.

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Being creative has always been a part of me, I was born into a creative family. My mother is probably my earliest creative heroine. I grew up in the Northeast between NY and VT. We lived near the amazing Lake Champlain. Being on the lake was a part of my life especially in the summers. Both sets of grandparents had summer camps on the lake and we were always at one or the other. Some of my fondest memories are from my childhood on that lake. We could pick up the smooth stones and skip them as far as we could on the water. We collected stones to take home, some in cool shapes. It was these natural beauties that my Mother encouraged me to paint. I remember sitting at the dining room table (that my father made) and painting my little heart out. When I got sick of rocks I moved on to glass bottles. I still remember doing this. I was very young, I want to say I was 3. My mother loved to paint and I found that love through her. As I got older I’m sure I moved on to painting bigger things. She encouraged my creativity and I’m so glad she did. She was encouraged by her family as well. My Nana’s home was filled with paintings (really good ones) that her kids did for her in oil paint. It is part of my heritage.

thank you google images

Fast forward many years and to my first art class I can remember, I think it was about 4th or 5th grade. I started learning about many artists and styles and I was intrigued. The things that fascinated me most was the back stories about the artists and their struggles and how that influenced their art. Some of my favorites were Modigliani, Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, Roy Lichtenstein, Renoir and Magritte. There are so many artists I love, I treasure my art history books from college, they are a world of information to me. I soak up history of any kind but art history is my absolute favorite. I had the chance to travel to France in college and went to the Louvre and Musée D’Orsay and it all came to life! The back stories and everything came back to me. My nickname on the trip was the future art curator! LOL I hope this love never goes away. I have to thank my teacher in college Dennis Costanzo (my creative hero) for bringing art history to life for me. I am truly grateful.

Orsay Museum, Paris, France

I have a hard time with being a creative mother at times. If the urge to be creative hits then I drop everything else that needs to be done and go get my hands in paint! I can’t ignore the call because if I do it’s gone. Because of this my house is always a mess, dinner is late sometimes and my kids fend for themselves if they’re not at school or napping. I end up with creative guilt so to speak. God made us creative beings and He gave us our gifts to give and help others with it, I truly believe this. There are times a painting from someone else just speaks to me and it resonates so deep that I have to have it. The other artist didn’t know what I was going through but they painted something that was super healing for me. They are helping me out in their own way. I don’t know how many times that has happened but it has. This happened recently and this certain painting pretty much described the last 2 years of my life, I showed it to my hubby and he started getting teary-eyed. Art is a gift meant to be shared. I need to find the happy balance of keeping a smooth running home and my creativity alive and well.

art by Tara Ross but one of my artsy FB friends!

Supporting myself as a creative mother means allowing myself time to reawaken my creative juices. I do this by going to a local bookstore and browsing the mixed media magazines. Those pages are filled with artists and friends of mine. I am so blessed to be a part of a large mixed media community of people who share their expertise, encourage others and just go for their dreams. I’m so proud when I pick up one of those magazines and read an article that my friend wrote and then have the chance to go stay at her home at an art retreat. It’s an amazing blessing. I allow myself time to connect with these people via social media mostly. I give myself time to play in the studio with no pressure of creating to sell but creating to create. You need to recharge your creativity. If you get a chance to go to an art retreat even a local art class it does wonders for your creative self. It is a must do and it helps so much. Get together with a bunch of friends and just make something together. Go out and DO IT! This supports not only you but your friends as well. Help your friends nurture their gift, find their gift so they can help others too. I love just going to support my friends if they’re in a local art show, you don’t have to buy anything but just knowing you came out to support them means the world to them. Art is a gift and the inspiration for it can be found in many places, you just have to look for it!

xoxo

Aimée

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ORDER YOUR SIGNED COPY of  The Rainbow Way!   and grab your free extras  (first 200 orders only!): – exclusive access to a private Facebook group for creative mothers – a vibrant greetings card and book-mark of one of the author’s paintings. Kindle and paperback editions from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble or order it from your local bookshop!

• Carnival host and author of The Rainbow Way, Lucy at Dreaming Aloud celebrates her creative fairy godmothers, and gives thanks for the creative blessings that each has gifted her.
• And on her other site, The Happy Womb, Lucy expresses her sadness at a lack of real-life female mentors and Wise Women in her life so far.
• Becky at Soul Sunshine shares the creativity heroines– her Saviors– who reactivated her creative heart after a near-20-year-hiatus.
• Lucy Pierce from Soulskin Musings explores the ways in which three artists have inspired her to follow the inner wild of her own creative narrative and it’s interface with the forces of nature and of Spirit.
• Kae at The Wilde Womb shares how she invokes her inner child when summoning creative juices. 
• Zoie at TouchstoneZ reflects on the women who have inspired her most. 
• Alex at The Art of Birth shares her Journey of a Creative Mama which is all about liberating the Feminine through Art.
• Laura at Authentic Parenting is grateful to those women who have inspired her.
• Who most inspires Georgie at Visual Toast? She’ll tell you here!
• Please come to the dinner party, invites Nicki at Just Like Play, where we will celebrate Judy Chicago, art, womanhood, and the creative kitchen table.
• Becky at Raising Loveliness shares her creative heroines.
• Dawn Collins at The Barefoot Home honors three artistic mothers in the post:her strong willed Nona, her free spirited mother and the best solo artist ever… Mother Earth.
• Angela at Peach Coglo looks to her grandma and granny as her creative heroines when the creative going gets tough.
• Jennifer at Let Your Soul Shine wears odd socks proudly!
• Kelly at Knittingandthings shares how she turned her grief into helping others  
• Biromums remember their biggest creative heroines.
• Darcel at The Mahogany Way shares who inspires her.
• Aimée at Creativeflutters discusses which artists influence her in her creative journey. Find out how she nourishes herself as a creative mother, and finds the time to help other moms on their journeys.
• Creativity is something that’s always meant the most to Jasmine at Brown Eyed Girl and she can’t wait to take the journey in identifying herself and supporting other moms with it as well.
• KatyStuff has a mother who allowed her to make mud pies while she knit or embroidered near by.
• Ali Baker is a creative mama to twin girls who reignited her creative energy and sense of who she used to be by just doing it and creating whatever needs to be created in an imperfect way. 
• Liz at Reckless Knitting remembers her biggest inspirations.
• Milochka  at Art Play Day shares her creative heroines.