BY SARAH HARRELSON
"Being a mother has helped me relinquish control," painter Danielle McKinney tells CULTURED. "My daughter is teaching me what art is all about: imagination and being in the moment."
Motherhood is a broad canvas, but it often demands similar traits as art-making: multi-tasking, patience, and originality, to name a few. For some, finding a balance between the contours of motherhood and a creative practice is inevitable, even galvanizing. For others, that tug-of-war is hard-won. "If an artist is a good person, especially a woman artist who is also a good mother, it somehow makes her art not legitimate," sculptor Rachel Feinstein says below. "Society feels that she spends too much of her focus on her children and not her art."
No matter the approach, the impact of parenthood on an artist reveals a spectrum of adjustments and revelations: a greater attention to detail, more willingness to fail and try again, or a renewed capacity for imaginative interpretation. To celebrate the resilience of artist-mothers everywhere this Mother's Day, CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson sat down with McKinney, Feinstein, Camille Henrot, Karon Davis, Loie Hollowell, and Julia Chiang—working moms across disciplines—to hear how this chapter in life has sculpted their perspectives and practices.
Danielle McKinney, painter
Sarah Harrelson (SH): How has being a mother informed your art practice in unexpected ways?
Danielle Mckinney (DM): Being a mother has helped me relinquish control. With children, it’s all about the flow. I’ve become less rigid when making work. I focus less on technical and more on feeling. When I make art with my daughter, she mixes all the colors together and doesn’t think twice before application. She is proud of what she makes! “A dinosaur, Mommy,” she says. She is teaching me what art is all about: imagination and being in the moment.
SH: Has seeing art through your child’s eyes changed any of your long-held opinions?
DM: I once believed to be a great painter you must be a realist. Spending time making art with my daughter has shown me that perception varies. She’s taught me that a wiggly bold line on paper is a unicorn, and tape on a window with holes is a ladybug. I love her inner world and the way the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. I apply this knowledge when I make my own work. I allow the mundane to become lucid. I tell myself, “It’s real.”
SH: How have you handled the delicate balance of being a working mother?
DM: The first year was intense while finding the balance of being a mother and making work. I'm super thankful for the support of other mothers in the industry that helped me stay grounded and provided keen advice. I learned over time that my artistic practice was a source of joy and that happiness was medicine for my daughter. I also realized playing with my daughter in nature, dancing to music, and long naps is also a part of making art. Ideas for projects come much easier in a relaxed, playful state. So I realized there was no separation from the painter and the mother. Both worlds feed each other, so to say.
SH: What are the lessons you learned from your mother that you hope to also impart to your child?
DM: My mother is my best friend and the best role model a mother could ask for. I have learned so much from my mom. Most importantly, how to think quick on my toes, self-soothe when times are tough, and how to take risks in life. “Go,” she always says, meaning, “Live your life.” I want my daughter to be self-reliant; I want her to know I support her and will always have her back. My mother helped me see that true, lasting joy comes from within. I will keep my promise to give that gift of love to my daughter.
SH: What are your most treasured rituals?
DM: We have so many, lol! We have our own secret language, we dance with our eyes closed, we make each other laugh. My daughter is an old soul, so she has a way to enjoy the quiet moments. We have a ritual of people watching while enjoying ice cream together on a park bench. She is my other half, so rituals are super important. The biggest one we celebrate everyday is when she wakes, we sit and enjoy each other's embrace. It’s a way to show her home is in the heart and mommy will always be “here.”
