The Art of Motherhood

Come to my house, the evidence is clear: I am a mother. I am proud of the evidence –

the tiara in the bathroom beside the lump of dripped and dried toothpaste,

the mismatched socks by the small trainers at the door,

the tired, rained-on teddy bear lying on the driveway stones,

the drawer of sippy cups and lids,

the DVD shelf with The Wizard of Oz and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,

the unevenly parked stroller with burp cloth stuffed inside the cup holder,

the brightly colored books in every room,

the kid-size garden furniture dotting my yard.

All visuals of my life, my motherhood.

I love being a mother. I never believed it could be this fun, this busy, this lovely. It has surpassed my dreams and become a lifestyle that I would choose again and again.

And it has fueled my artistic passions. I see the bits and pieces of motherhood about me and want to sketch it out for all to see. My camera takes it all in, stores it for the days in the future when all will be tidy and quiet and on my own terms; when treats don’t have to be shared, plates are not plastic and when I am not responsible for another being’s very survival.

In the meantime, I take and take, I take it all in.

How about you?

Do you, too, have those beloved shots, that visual evidence of life with your babies (human or furry). Why not pick your favorite and share it as a shout out to the world ‘I am mother’?  Oh I so want to see them! There are so many awesome photos here at Shutter Sisters and on the Shutter Sister Flickr site, I know you can do it proud.

Or this week, if you have not yet trained your camera on your topsy-turvvy kid land, would you photograph the version of motherhood in your home, car, neighborhood, your life? Please share! I look forward to seeing your world!

+++++

I wrote my book ‘The Artistic Mother – A practical Guide for Fitting Creativity into your Life’ for Moms who want to get in the habit of fitting small amounts of art into their day. In the book I focus on my three favorite art forms: photography, poetry and mixed media collage and outline a 12 week workshop to create family focused mixed media projects. Trudy Callan has started up an online accountability group for women who are doing the workshop. Visit Trudy if you want to join in and bask in the friendly support of other Artistic Moms!

Image and words courtesy of Honorary Sister / Guest Blogger Shona Cole who is a mom of 5 under the age of 10, author of the new book ‘The Artistic Mother – A practical Guide for Fitting Creativity into your Life’. You can visit here at her blog ‘An Artful Life’.

Comments

[Marcie]

Here's a bit of a different view of the 'art' of motherhood:
http://visionandverb.com/2010/03/of-that-im-sure/

[Trudy Callan]

This was a wonderful post, Shona. We all need the reminder to capture these moments while our children are young so we can have them to look back on. And the reminder to relish in this season of our lives as mothers, to cherish these precious gifts.

Thanks for the mention of the Artistic Mother's accountability group.

Trudy Callan
www.artisticcreationswithtrudy.blogspot.com

[melissa]

This is authentic life around here and my mommy heart treasures it: http://melissamillerphotos.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/02/a-new-favorite-dirty-look.html

[Samantha D]

This is really what it's all about - this tiny little person who has swooped in and changed my life forever, making it more fun, more real, and more loving.


http://howtocapturesouls.blogspot.com/2010/03/pictures-of-motherhood.html

[Nicci]

A wonderful post. While I don't have human babies I am always chasing my fur baby around with my camera. She is starting to run from me so I catch her when she is sleeping.
http://lifeseenthroughmylens.blogspot.com/2010/02/20-hiding-in-sleep.html

[E L K]

shona so nice to see you here . your poetic words are memories for me .

this post from a year ago is one of my favorites and confirms that artistic beginnings
run deep .. a special moment with daughter home from college :

http://www.redorgray.com/2009/01/reflectionjpg-by-redorgray-on-flickr.html

[Liz]

This is such a lovely post! I'm not a mom yet, but believe when I say I can't wait for that time of my life! I may not be a mom but I'm an Aunt and that's got to count for something right? I have 5 nephews and 1 niece ranging in age from 4 months old to 7 years old and I absolutely love being an Aunt. My backyard is covered in toys.. here are a couple of shots from last spring.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photogliz/3399740107/in/set-72157612922387466/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photogliz/3443573176/in/set-72157616782632586/

[maddie]

I ordered your book Shona and am waiting for it to arrive ~ you inspire me in a myriad of
ways with your generous spirit and unbidden warmth

i am amazed by your art, poetry and general 'aliveness'

you show up for your muse, your family and still have energy and
desire to share with everyone else

:)

[JoLyn]

I love being a mother! But even more wonderful somehow is being a grandmother. This photo shows my baby... with her baby.

http://www.ayearofhappyphotos.com/2010/03/35-a-good-laugh.html

[AnnGeeDee]

This post makes me think of another momma who's sharing art with her children and the world. In lieu of one of my own pictures, I'll share her site instead since I get so much enjoyment from it: http://www.artfulparent.typepad.com/ I hope you do too.

[Lucy]

This is the only little creature I'll get to mother in this lifetime. Just looking at this photo lets me know he adores me as much as I adore him.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucindasummerville/4421315844/

[brittany]

such a beautiful post. a great reminder that there is such beauty to be captured in the life of a mother.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sivyerfamily/4032503610/

[spread your wings]

this makes me happy and sad. your book can make a woman want to have another child to "play and create" with. it makes me miss the days of mothering a young child but mothering a grown daughter has it's rewards too. the precious memories with my young daughter sometimes seem just days ago yet the moments with my daughter now are treasured even more. realizing that she is getting closer and closer to graduating college and being completely being on her own I fear her trips home will be less frequent but i know we always create together - together and away. she gives me inspiration and i give her encouragement and vice versa. we feed off each others thoughts and ideas - we are a great team... and I will always be her mom and home will always be her shelter.
I don't have any visual evidence of mothering right now to share (at work) but on our blog there is evidence.
this was last year. she is about to finish her second year of college and her room will be freshened for her arrival.
http://spreadingwings08.blogspot.com/2009/05/coming-home.html
http://spreadingwings08.blogspot.com/2008/10/this-is-taylor-this-is-my-mom.html

[DorkyMum]

Beautiful post - thanks for sharing.

I definitely agree that life has become more colourful since our son arrived - the house is filled with bright objects and smiling faces. And it's not just that his things have become part of our life, it's also that things we owned anyway, and thought of as completely mundane, are objects that fascinate him... spaghetti measures and colanders being good examples!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorkymum/4367033239/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorkymum/4367030653/

[Heather]

I am not a mother, but I greatly admire those who are, my sister is an awesome one! Maybe one day I will be too.. Now about the book, I bought this, as i said I am not a mother , but the projects and ideas in this book are awesome, and really really inspiring, I would suggest it to those who are not mothers as well!
www.toliveinspired.wordpress.com

[Natalia]

I love these words. A few weeks ago I saw my three year old son waiting by the front door. He was ready to walk out into the world and go to pre-school. Complete with bed-head. It was one of those moments that I knew would be gone in a year, and that he would be so much bigger ... I had to take the photo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8195947@N07/4325772399/

[jenica]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onelittleone/4440581675
the joys of motherhood, the crazed out, stressed out, blissed out moments.

[damiec]

Very true words. lovely post. I try most of the time to not mind the clutter and give them and their things the room to create all around - somedays better than other, but I do try. One thing that has helped me is co-opting the toys. I find them popping up in my 365 way more that I'd have expected.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/4407169506/in/set-72157618298145718/

and when I need a reminder that my time with them is short, so I'd better make sure I'm paying attention, I look at this visual metaphor for, "over before you know it"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/3729135835/in/set-72157618298145718/

[Amie aka MammaLoves]

Thank you for the inspiration to capture the crazy that is my house filled with three young boys.

My initial reaction reading this post was oh she is one of those mommies--the perfect mommies. Everything she captures must be beautiful. That is not my life right now. I have boys, they are messy, I am messy, I work, there is no time. I can't be like her. But then I realized that I will look back at this time sooner than I want to believe and miss it--miss the chaos and clutter--miss my beautiful little boys.

So thank you. Thank you for helping me to see the beauty in the chaos.

[traceyclark]

this day is perfect for me to celebrate the art of motherhood shona! i found out i was becoming a mom 13 years ago today. http://traceyclark.squarespace.com/blog/2010/3/17/lady-luck.html

so glad you came to share with us today! thank you.

[shona cole]

Wow, just been through visiting all the comments above, like a art gallery crawl! but now I have to go nurse my screaming one.... thank you all for sharing :) And thank you to Tracey for inviting me here.

Here are so more of my evidence of motherhood pics.... on my blog, I would love you to come by and say hello!
http://shonastudio.blogspot.com/search/label/Artistic%20Mother%20Photos

[Amy]

what a great site...found this from trudy. i needed the reminder today that these little 'evidences' of motherhood are beauty. i so enjoyed strolling through everyone's images.

here's a few from my neck of the woods...
http://exquisite-grace.blogspot.com/2010/03/school-today.html
http://myphotodaily.blogspot.com/2009/02/remember-alamo.html

~Amy

[Jay B.]

Wonderful post... Very informational and educational as usual!

<a href="http://www.top3acaiberry.com">Acai Optimum</a>

[Crystal]

Thanks for your note.

This is a post about a 'lovely' part of motherhood:
http://thedeverfamily.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-i-spent-my-morning.html

This is a picture of what motherhood is to me:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9DODQ_Al3C0/S0LyTiCg7kI/AAAAAAAABMs/L1cB3k7jyjU/s1600-h/IMG_7029b.jpg

And this is my blog, which is, really, what motherhood is for me. Scroll down especially a short ways to Christmas in March Part 1
http://thedeverfamily.blogspot.com/

[Vanessa]

hi Shona! i'm a huge fan of Shutter Sisters so I was thrilled to find you here today. one of my oldest Irish friends on one of my favourite websites... on Paddy's Day, no less... now that's fate!
love this post, Shona, and just generally watching you spread the "motherword" across the web so passionately... good on ya, sho!
as you know, i love capturing photographic memories of my boys playing and growing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/sets/72157607454214429/
it was the desire to document their lives that got me interested in photography in the first place. at first the lens was squarely focused on them and them alone, but then gradually as we grew more comfortable with each other, i began letting my lens wander into the wider angles that are our life. it is an adventure and in many ways, they lead the way.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/sets/

[Lis]

Hi Shona! I am part of the group that is working through your inspiring book ... when I opened it, I felt like I had found a long lost and a mentor and a sister on this journey! My creative life has exploded in this past year and all due to the inspiration, challenges and exhilaration of being a mother. My blog is my place of accountability for this journey and I would love for you to check it out: http://dandelionseedsanddreams.blogspot.com

my focus has been photography, writing, poetry and now mixed media art journaling ... sound familiar? I am so SO excited to explore more through your book - thank you thank you thank you!

[JT]

I love writing and photography (although I'm very new to this), and it wasn't until my daughter was born that I pursued these passions, as she is quite the muse. And now, I feel more alive than ever.

"The Art of Motherhood" - so well said. Thank you for this lovely post. You are so right.

Like you, evidence of motherhood is everywhere around the house. Even as I type this, I spy from the corner of my eye a mess on my toddler's play rug in my home office, replete with primary-colored toys of various shapes, sizes, forms and functions.

[Bethany Kartchner]

Sometimes, I see the art of motherhood being in the child itself. The very fact that I keep these little people alive, dressed, fed, clean is an art! :) Here are some pics of our family that a good friend of mine took. http://creativeruminations.blogspot.com/2010/03/family-pics.html

Here are a few more pics of the children in action. Helping me in the garden. A messy affair to say the least! http://creativeruminations.blogspot.com/2010/03/muddy-helpers.html

[Trude]

Thanks for sharing, this is so inspirational! Right now I'm only a mama to my pup, an Italian Greyhound. I don't have many shots of us together, unfortunately, but I do love this one that shows some of my mothering 'skills': http://www.flickr.com/photos/trudem/4242761859/in/set-72157607489137746/ ;)

[Photo Lens Rental]

Wonderful post which shows the aret of motherhood...

[Lindsay Garrett]

This was beautiful!! I LOVED IT!!

[angelique]

The season of change when they go from play buddies to friends is sweet, here are my babies!! :)

http://amamaexploring.blogspot.com/2010/03/pics-of-our-legacies.html

Great post!!

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