You are a writer even when you need sleep more than morning pages. 😴
An Open Call for Entwined Anthology 🌿
When I was a new mum I knew that I needed art.
But I didn’t quite understand why.
It’s incredibly hard to make art as a new parent because of all the time and energy that goes into keeping a tiny human alive.
But I expected this. So I had a plan.
For years I had determined to re-read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron as a new parent. Surely that would remind me how important my art was.
So I bought a shiny new copy and invited my Patreon supporters to read along with me. (To their credit no one told me I was crazy - even the other moms.)
I set about reading one chapter a week. I can’t remember how far I got before I realized that Julia had no idea what I really needed.
It turns out The Artist’s Way wasn’t the book I needed as a new mum.
I say this as someone who loves Julia Cameron and has re-read her books many times.
My brain really loves a right way of doing things. I latched on to Julia Cameron’s methods as a teenager and carried those expectations with me even if I wasn’t always acting on them. I went through inconsistent cycles of journaling and artist dates for decades.
Suddenly, I realized that Julia didn’t have a magic system.
She had a system that worked for her.
And sometimes worked for other people.
Some of you are probably thinking this is really obvious.
But it was earth shattering for me.
I wasn’t a failure. Her expectations simply did not align with my capacity.
What if I had my own potential for magic, but never discovered it because I was so locked on to Julia’s way?
I started releasing all of my expectations and starting fresh.
My creative process shattered into million pieces and I started putting it back together one fragment at a time. Ironically I was journaling - a lot. But I was also embracing inconsistency so it felt rebellious.
One day I started accidentally writing a book.
A book that said I was an artist whether or not I was making art every day.
That I was a writer even if I needed sleep more than morning pages.
That there was more to the creative process than the act of making.
I finished a rough draft in early 2020 and went on to survey over 100 creative mothers to weave in quotes and experiences beyond my own.
The first chapter was called, Discover Your Creative Ecosystem and eventually grew into a book of it’s own.
When COVID hit I lost access to the public library where I had been writing.
My husband took over the room that used to be my home office.
And had not yet discovered the power of noise cancelling headphones.
My mental health spiraled out. I could barely function much less write. I white knuckled my way through the next year until we finally finished my backyard studio. Eventually I pulled out my manuscript and it felt like it was written by a different person.
I took the chapter on creative ecosystems and ran with it, but once that was gone it felt like the heart of what I really wanted to say had already been said.
I was at a loss of how to move forward. I had no idea what to do with the beautiful quotes and survey data I had collected.
Until I began to reimagine the project as an anthology.
The anthology framework breathed life back into the project.
The idea that every mother needs different things was always central to the book I wanted to write, and what better way to say that than to make the whole project a collaboration.
With excitement I started building a creative team:
Cover artist Twiggy Boyer.
Interior Illustrator Emily Jalinsky.
Workbook Cover Artist Annie King.
With these amazing artist mothers on board I am more excited than ever to bring this project to life.
But I need your help!
I’m looking for more creative mums to submit their writing to the project.
Learn more about the open call (and small stipend) below.
Or share this post to help spread the word!
Submit your writing to Entwined: Motherhood and Creativity. 🌿
The purpose of this anthology is to inspire mothers to pursue creativity, to reframe what "counts" as art, and to hold space for rest and ideation within the creative process. This isn't just a book about making art. It's about the whole of motherhood and how that impacts our creative process.
Submission Guidelines
CLOSED. This open call was for August 2023. The project is in progress and will be crowdfunded autumn of 2024.
Non fiction written works and poetry about the intersection of motherhood and the creative process.
There is no strict word count requirement.
Long form and short pieces are both welcome.
Anyone who identifies as a mother is invited to contribute.
Open Call image featuring artwork by: Twiggy Boyer.
I’m new to exploring Substack (so new I haven’t even written a profile yet!) and it’s lovely to read this. I definitely found my writing habits changed when I became a mum 6 years ago - and I’m constantly adapting my expectations of myself and what I think I can achieve with my time.
I would love to submit! But first, I just want to share that as a new mum, I once tried to knit and was so tired I couldn’t even keep track of what the last row had been. It was utterly fascinating and demoralizing to be unable to get my brain to function.