Customer Reviews

The Artistic Mother: A Practical Guide to Fitting Creativity into Your Life

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I just finished reading Shona's book, The Artistic Mother. You have to get this book. I got so much out of it. I have five children and I homeschool; so finding time for my artistic pursuits, sewing and mixed media art, is very challenging, to say the least. But Shona has shown me how I can make that possible, starting with thinking about your vision, setting goals, breaking them down into steps, setting up a dedicated space for doing art. The 12-week art course is great. The instructions and photos are very clear and easy to understand. If you are a beginning artist, Shona points out that it is very important to follow step-by-step instructions of other artists at first; and then you'll be able to branch off on your own with your own ideas. And I love the short essays of the artist moms that are spread through the book.

This book is mothers who are or want to be artists. No matter what stage you are in, you will gain something from this book. If you are a busy mother who loves art but can never fit it in, this book is for you. It will show you how to find the time. It will show you how to plan and prioritize your time.

You can do this, even in the midst of raising your children, mounds of laundry, running errands and changing those diapers. Shona takes you by the hand and shows you how. She is very encouraging. And she knows by experience. She is no different than you. She is a homeschooling mom of five children, one being a new born.

I find that I am a better mom when I take a little time to invest in myself. I have more to give. It really helps to prevent burnout, even just doing a little something each day, even if only for 15 minutes.

The book is down broken into three major sections:

The first section has lots of photos and mixed media collages scattered throughout. Here Shona discusses things like the nature of creativity and some practical, common sense, ideas to becoming motivated to do art on those days when you are too tired or unmotivated by the intensity of motherhood.

The second section is a very brief how-to guide for taking decent photos, writing basic poems and doing collage.

The third section is a 12-week workshop and a day-by-day action plan to guide you through making 12 different projects. The first week is more of a prep week. The daily art challenges can be spread over days. The goal is to get you creating, daily, not just to get the projects done.

Spread throughout the book are short essays and art by momma artists. They will inspire you with their creative vision and lives.

If you are already an artistic mother creating daily while raising your children, then this book will be an affirmation of your lifestyle and an encouragement to keep on keeping on. But if you are someone who is not living that life and would like to be, then this book will teach you what you need to know to get there.

From casting a 'big picture' vision, all the way down to the 'nuts & bolts' of fitting creativity into the very busy life of a mother, Shona covers it all. Beautifully!

I love the 12 week project section. While I will enjoy doing the specific projects she has planned out, I am more excited that it has got my own creative juices flowing again.

The thing I'm most excited about with this book is that even though I haven't even started the projects yet, I've got a 'pep in my step' again. Through her moving poetry, gorgeous photos and beautiful projects, Shona elevates the journey of motherhood to a thing of exquisite beauty and shows that it can be done with excellence...right along, and because of art.

And a final thought...kudos to the designer Melissa Bowers. This book is really such a pleasure to look at!

This book asserts that motherhood and art go hand-in-hand and then proves, through lovely imagery, great instruction, and practical advice, that indeed they do. It is clear that the author has fully embraced both being a mom and being an artist. More importantly for the reader, she has shown that the collaboration of the two is a thing of great beauty. You will most certainly be inspired to follow her lead!

I love this book. I'm a mum with three children under 4 and always seem to have something else to do. This book is great for inspiration, practical advice and the projects are achievable as well as being a great record of your children/family life. I'm quite happily working my way through them at the moment and loving it.

I had just begun to get interested in jewelry making before becoming pregnant. Of course, I put that on the back burner in order to get ready for the baby. However, now that my daughter is eight months, I really felt that I owed it to myself to start up something just for me...to help me have something beautiful and yet purposeful to occupy my precious down time.
So, I came upon this book and was really interested to see what it would propose. I found the words of all the contributors so thoughtful and inspiring, really helpful and genuine. I loved the fact that it combines various forms of art and motherhood. You don't have to necessarily feel guilty that you are doing something you love and taking time away from the obviously important tasks of parenting.
The book outlines easy projects and better yet, gives time frames in which to complete them. I love it. I have already written one poem, which I never thought I would do. I really did think that poetry belonged to "other" people. But the author really gives a systematic way of working toward a poem that just makes sense. Anyhow, I am happy with this purchase and highly recommend the book.

I love this book! I'll start off by being honest and saying that, although I appreciate art and wish I would put the time into it, I just never have. It intimidates me, so I've just admired my friends artsy lives from afar, but this book has really changed that for me. When I first received it, I spent a full day just flipping thru the pages over and over again looking at the beauty of it. It is just a gorgeous book, full of life and joy. Then I finally sat down and read it. I was surprised at how encouraging and approachable I found the projects to be. I dabble in photography and so I was particularly encouraged that I could use my own work to make my home a more lovely place, and step by step instructions on ways to do that. I highly recommend this lovely book for all Moms who appreciate art, even if you don't call yourself artistic.

Well done Shona Cole!

I recently purchased and read through this book and loved it all! As a full-time student with no children I'm not exactly the intended reader, however I found Shona's ideas about fitting creativity into a busy schedule very useful. Personally, I love the way she writes so that people like me, who aren't career artists, are easily able to follow her instructions and can cultivate our understanding of art through her insight as an artist.

This book is so refreshing and gives creative mothers like myself that hope that our creatvie time will come. I'm a stay-at-home/working mom to 4 and 2 year old boys. Needless to say there is little to no time for creative play. I sneak in moments while they nap. I work nights so that time is spoken for. Shona's book reminds me that my kids will get older and I will be able to create more as they age. My hubby reminds me of that as well on those days that I lose sight of things a find myself sad and missing creativity.

The projects in the book are fun and quick to do. Instructions and photos are wonderful. I'm so looking forward to making some of these.

Thanks to Shona for such an inspirational book!

Being a mom and an artist can be a real struggle sometimes! It's not so much that I find myself neglecting my children for my art, but more like neglecting my art and putting it last (if I can fit it in!). Shona's book helped me realize that I have been given this longing for creating for a reason and it is important to myself and my children to satisfy it! I think the best analogy would be filling up a jar with the really big marbles of faith, family, my health and my art and let the smaller things of life just fill up the cracks. Shona's book is FULL of practical ways to do this with tips on photography, painting techniques and writing poetry!
12 workshops to get you started creating every day and then you have to tools to create infinity! You can spend as little as 15 minutes daily or devote your whole day to yourself and your art! I loved this book!

Shona has put together a book that represents the voice of the many moms who want to balance motherhood, the highest calling, with being an artist. With the time constraints and demand for attention that comes from raising a young family, many mothers tend to just give up on the idea of being artistic, or carving out time in their day to practice their craft. But Shona's book comes with encouragement and practical advice for making the most out of a busy schedule. This is not the only place that the book excels however. The artwork contained, is also beautiful and tasteful. The pages show different moms as they practice their craft and the results of this. The overall effect is one of tasteful, and beautiful creativity. The photography is especially creative and eye catching, and the other artwork blends to make this book very aesthetically pleasing. The theme is evident, you can be a busy mom and still practice your craft! Highly recommended.