The Duality of Motherhood and Creativity
I originally wrote this for Falmouth University’s Illustration Forum as part of a talk on the theme of duality. It was a fantastic event where I had the pleasure of speaking alongside Chris Riddell who, as a side note, delivered a captivating live-drawn lecture.
The word duality describes the coexistence of two different things within a single state. In February last year, I had a baby which has been a wonderful and transformative transition in my life. Pregnancy itself is a biological duality: being one and then becoming two.
In motherhood, I find myself navigating a multitude of contrasting dualities. Craving the deep focus of creative work while feeling drawn to the fleeting, irreplaceable moments of my baby’s early years. Longing for intellectual stimulation while discovering unexpected joy in the simplicity of play. Yearning for independence and solitude while being profoundly comforted by the constant closeness of my child.
Adrienne Rich articulates this push and pull beautifully in ‘Of Woman Born:
“Probably there is nothing in human nature more resonant with charges than the flow of energy between two biologically alike bodies, one of which has lain in amniotic bliss inside the other, one of which has labored to give birth to the other. The materials are here for the deepest mutuality and the most painful estrangement."
I previously thought that creativity and motherhood would sit in competition with each other, as two opposing forces vying for the same finite time and energy. But the reality has been more complex, and happily symbiotic. Motherhood has infused my creativity with a new urgency and depth. While the act of mothering feels inherently creative and brings immense joy, satisfaction, and a heightened sense of life’s affirmation.
In the early newborn days, while my baby napped, I sketched quickly in unfinished gestures rather than refined details. When he started crawling, I experimented with Gestalt drawings allowing my baby to take part. His small hands grabbing at pencils, and movements unintentionally shaping the composition.
Much of my professional work is built on careful refinement; fine-tuning lines, colours, and composition. While on maternity leave last year, I stepped away from that precision for a bit and since have come to appreciate a roughness in drawing quality, where the process itself leaves visible traces. Which I would love to bring back into the aesthetic of my work.
While on maternity leave, I also had more time to let ideas percolate, but less time to execute them. That pause brought a kind of creative refinement and now that I’m back in the studio with more consistency, that clarity has stayed with me. I find myself working with intention and a renewed sense of momentum.
