The Delicate Balance of a Three Job Mom: Make It an Advantage; Let Your Kids Inspire You

bicycle print baby gown in grey, 0-3 months

The Delicate Balance of a Three Job Mom: Make It an Advantage; Let Your
Kids Inspire You

My best art is done with intention, soul and honesty. It’s not forced. It is organic and easy and personal. I once drew most of my creative energy from the drama or relationships, life and sadness. I would create more when life was tough and I needed an outlet. In my early twenties, I got married, started graduate school and then finally became a middle school teacher. I was happy, and busy. There was a drought in creative energy and inspiration.

A little over 2 years ago, I discovered my new muse. My oldest was about a year old and I was making some art for the house. At this point he was in a phase where he would only eat pears. Using this as inspiration I created Original Pear. This was the beginning of my reemergence as an artist, though I didn’t know it yet.

I’ve found both my kids to be a huge source of inspiration. They keep me moving forward with new ideas or modified projects. I’ve even sat down with my three year old to paint with his watercolors and created new designs.  He was in love with tractors last year so I carved him up a tractor. Then he needed some new art for his room, so I added Car and Truck and the Things That Go series was born. Recently, the baby needed some new duds (he’s growing so fast!). I was finding a huge lack of rad baby boy clothes so I created my latest line of apparel for babies. My busy boys show me what is lacking in the world of “baby things” and they give me motivation to create authentically. Also, designs for them usually turn out quite lovely.

Rather than seeing my kids as an obstacle to creativity, productivity or forward movement, I see them as a huge piece of the process.

My company, elSage, is only here because motherhood re opened my creative side with such a fury that I couldn’t ignore it. Having babies and staying home with them (half time) gave me the time to explore my creativity. I kind of stumbled into creating a growing business that I love. My kids are a constant source of inspiration and invention. They help drive my design and fill my heart in a way that enables creative endeavors to spill out of me. They also keep me very busy, to the point that I can’t explore every idea right when I have it. This means that often when I finally get a moment to work, creativity just pours out of me.

I wouldn’t say that my inspiration comes only from my mom job or from the creative work with elSage, teaching feeds this in ways as well. Teaching gives me the intellectual and social outlet that allows the theoretical balance to
exist.

Teaching keeps reminding me to follow my dreams and it gives me things
to talk about, rant about (link here) and also be inspired by. Teaching satisfies a different side of my personality. It’s a really tough job but there’s nothing like making a difference in the life of a student. I tell my students to dream big, to go for what they want. I’m trying to follow that advice in my own life.

 How are you inspired by your jobs? From where do you draw your creativity?

Fist installment: The Delicate Balance of a Three Job Mom: The Importance of Slowing Down

Phoebe is the owner and artist of elSage Designs. She works mostly with linocut block printing. Her other jobs include teaching middle school and being a mama to her 3 year old and 6 month old. She lives with her boys (husband included) in Skagit Valley, WA.