Inspiration for Today’s Renaissance Mom
Part 1 of an interview with Wendy Speake and Kelli Stuart,
authors of Life Creative: Inspiration
for Today’s Renaissance Mom
Creative moms often feel as though they must
lay their passions down once the kids arrive, if for no other reason than there
is no time. But God has something special in mind for creative women during
this intense season of mothering. In Life
Creative: Inspiration for Today’s Renaissance Mom (Kregel Publications) authors Wendy Speake and Kelli
Stuart show that “a mother’s natural
bent toward imagination doesn’t just wither and die with the
birth of a child. This core component remains part of her
intricate design.”
Q:
Life Creative is a book written to
encourage moms, but it is not your average parenting book on raising kids. Tell
us about your new book and how its message is different.
Kelli
Stuart: It’s not a how-to, self-help book about
raising children, but rather a love letter to artistic mothers. We begin by
calling attention to the unique renaissance of art exploding in the world
today, fueled in great part by artistic mothers and social media. In this Pinterest age of handcrafted children's parties,
Instagram photos of beautifully decorated homes and blogs filled with poetry
and prose, clearly we are in the midst of a brand new artistic renaissance — not one born in Italian cathedrals or Harlem jazz clubs,
but rather in kitchens, nurseries and living rooms around the world.
We answer the question, “What was God thinking
when He created me creative and then gave me children?” Creative moms often feel as though
they must lay their passions down. God had
something special in mind for the creative woman during this intense season of
mothering.
Wendy
Speake: This is a book for moms, written by moms
and including the stories of other
moms. We’re all on a journey to embrace our God-given, creative design in the
midst of motherhood! There are, however, some practical pieces of parenting
advice tucked in between the stories about setting boundaries around sacred
family gatherings, praying for wisdom and discernment and how to include your
family in your business of art in the busyness of motherhood.
Q:
As a new mom, did you feel like you needed to rein in your own creativity? If
so, was it from expectations you put on yourself or was it a pressure you felt
from society?

WS:
I find it ironic the last acting job I booked
before conceiving my first child was playing a pregnant woman going into labor.
It was an AT&T commercial. I don’t recall all of the details of the
commercial, but looking back it seems like a profound send-off. I haven’t had a
traditional acting audition since birthing that baby boy. However, something
quite profound happened in the early days of motherhood for me. Just after my son
was born I made 100 handcrafted birth announcements and stamped his little feet
100 on the cover of each one. I decorated his nursery with the most beautiful
Hawaiian print baby bedding I’d ever seen. What I realized as I nursed my baby
in that room, rocking and singing, was I wasn’t an actress as much as I was a
creative woman who acted. Therefore, when the acting stopped, the creativity
had to find another channel in which to flow out of my life.
Now that my children are a bit older, I am
actually acting again. However, it looks different. Some moms I know are able
to do more than I am. Some have flourishing creative businesses or creative
ministries, but I’m only accountable to be the woman that God made me to be — as a wife, as a mother, and
as an artist.
Q:
What encouragement can you offer to the mom in what you describe as “the Dark
Ages of motherhood,” or for whom the art and creativity seem to have been lost?
KS:
Hold on, sweet mom. It really is true that the days are long, but the years are
short. The children need so much of you in the early years, but days are coming
when you’ll find yourself with more time in your days, and the inspiration will
be there waiting for you. In the meantime, look for ways you can use your
artistic gifts right where you are, inside the walls of your home with your
children, your most beautiful creations.
WS:
One of the earliest messages from the book is that everything begins at home, so start there. Color with your
children, make up stories as you tuck them under their covers and bring your
guitar out into the family room again. When there are opportunities in your
local community that fit your skill set, pray about it, talk through it with
your husband and see if you might take a few cautious steps beyond the confines
of your home.
Q:
What does the Great Commission have to do with women’s creative gifts?
WS:
Motherhood often feels like a season of confinement.
How in the world could we ever be part of taking God’s message of love and
salvation out into the great big world? Home and our people take everything we
have, right where we are! But when Jesus sent His disciples “to the end of the
earth,” home is where it all began! In Acts 1:8, we read, “But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Jerusalem was home for the early church, Judea and
Samaria her neighboring communities, and that’s where it all began — outward from there. So it is for moms at home today. Look
for ways to let your light shine right where you are, then into your
neighborhood, your cul-de-sac, school, church, and local mercy ministries, and
from there out into the end of the earth.
Q:
How can today’s busy moms authentically be involved in the “ends of the earth”
part of the Great Commission from their homes without a plane ticket and a passport?
KS:
Within the pages of Life Creative, we
share the stories of many creative mothers who are blessing people around the
world without ever leaving home. Women like Myquilin Smith (The Nester) and
Melissa Michaels, both of whom are teaching women the art of hospitality
through the embracing of home. There are photographers, jewelry makers and
painters, all of whom showcase their art from their living rooms or dining room
tables. A picture shared online has the power to bless someone half a world
away. Mothers around the world are sharing their faith through their artistic
talents, all without ever having to leave home. This is the beauty of living in
our digital age.
WS:
“Missionary” used to be a term reserved for the men, women and children who
traveled to the underbelly of the globe to share Christ with others. Today we
are all invited to live missional lives right where we are — in our homes and
neighborhood. The more we catch the vision, the more passionate about sharing
the Gospel we grow and the more we are propelled out into the world! I see it
again and again, this outward moving force of the Great Commission call upon
our lives. Kelli and I believe art can most definitely be an integral part of a
woman’s calling into the world! For example, I have friends who have made and
sold scarves, pieces of art to be hung on walls and hosted concerts in their
homes to help them fund mission trips to the other side of the world.
KS:
How do I know if now is the right time? How can I know if this will work? What
if I fail — or worse, what if I fail my family? These are common questions
women ask themselves as they begin the process of dream chasing. Failure. It’s
a fear that plagues us all when we prepare to step beyond the predictable
routines of our motherly lives and head into the more uncharted territory of a
working mom.
In this chapter of Life Creative, we recognize the creative mother looking to expand
her hobby into a business won’t always be given a sign or hear an audible
direction about where she should go next. In looking to pursue a business out
of her art, she may find herself at a crossroads. Should she step forward and
pursue her dreams or wait a little longer? While we can’t give specific answers
to those questions, we do encourage these women to evaluate if pursuing a
business endeavor is right for them. We offer several examples of how to know
if the time is right and questions to help them know when and if to take the
steps toward building a business.
Q:
It’s a delicate task to balance art, faith and family. How can moms keep a
balanced perspective when life seems anything but balanced?
KS:
Wendy and I begin by acknowledging balance is fluid concept! What looks like
“balance” for one person will look entirely different for the next. And there’s
a reason for that — because balance is a myth. Finding balance is a bit like
hunting for a unicorn. Maybe it’s out there, but nobody has ever actually seen
it; they’ve only heard it exists.
WS:
Kelli was a friend long before she was a writing partner, and one of the things
she has taught me is balance was never meant to be achieved in the course of
one 24-hour day. Some days it’s all house work; other days we spend the
majority of it building Legos on the floor. There are days for running errands
and having play dates, where we pick up a frozen pizza for dinner, and other
days when we pull away to write, edit photos for a client or sell our wares at
a local farmers market. In the midst of this very full life, something akin to
balance can be found if you are intentional to love well and be gracious to
yourself along the way.
Learn
more about more about Life Creative at
www.lifecreative.me,
and join
the community on Instagram (@lifecreative).
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