A Mother, An Artist, An Inspiration

My mother has a great story she loves to tell... when she was a young mommy, deeply entrenched in the daze of a stay-at-home mom, she knew she needed a creative outlet to stay sane. So with visions of being a folk-singer, playing guitar with children seated around her in an idylic fashion, she signed up for a guitar class at the local community college. It was cancelled before it began. Panicked, she quickly took a slot in the next available class - watercolors. And a passion was born. Fast forward about 30 years - my mother, Marcy Chapman, is a renowned compositional watercolorist. Last Friday, she debuted her fall collection, featuring a stunning series of sunflowers, at a local art walk. Her whim to try painiting has served her well over the years; at first it offered a distraction from her little ones, then as her talent developed along with her girls, it became a means to pay for college educations! But most noteworthy to me right now is how my mother stays grounded in herself through her art (and has throughout many stages of mothering!). Painting is a place she can always come home to that belongs just to her. I want this too! I am now the one at home with two little girls, wiping noses and bottoms and getting a thrill over hearing what Selby has for snack each day at preschool. So, I am following in my mother's footsteps, pursuing a creative outlet to express myself beyond the sweet confinements of motherhood. I have begun to write again; a book on my home-birth community is in the works, article pitches on natural parenting are finding their way to publications and, of course, I'm showing up here to blog. Already, I'm finding a bit of sanity trhough the written word. A sweet, creative escape where I am more than just Mommy.

Do you have a creative outlet? I'd love to hear about it!