Mother Maker Podcast Mother Maker

As a new mom, Naima Adedapo was a finalist on season 10 of American Idol. We talk all about her experience on the show, coming into her voice through country music, and how finding yoga has transformed her life while raising her two daughters, ages 10 and 12.

I think one of the most magical things about having kids is to be a witness to someone experiencing life for the very first time. For Emily French, this incredible phenomenon is a major source of inspiration, so much so that when her children were small, she took them out of daycare so that they could be home with her while she worked on her art practice. Now, her kids are in school, but that initial step helped her to confirm what she wanted to be doing with her life. What I love about Emily’s work is that it is initially bright, sunny, and joyful. When she told me she overcame a dark time in her life battling depression and an eating disorder, it made me pause. She is now in her element, making art and writing every day, while raising kids, from a place of wellness. We all have periods of pain, trauma, darkness in our pasts, but it’s a beautiful thing to come out of the darkness and find yourself living in your truth. Thanks for reading. Love, Emma

I'm just returning to working on the site and podcast since our baby girl, Susannah was born in August. I took a break from Mother Maker for awhile, much longer than anticipated, but every time I come back to working on these interviews, I’m reminded that this work is so important. Moms are tough. We push through. Sometimes it’s really hard to just articulate why you’re struggling, or how someone else could even help. Sometimes it feels easier to just do everything yourself, even if you’re doing it through tears. I speak to these women and I hear things that I don’t hear being talked about, even in social media. These interviews make me feel more connected to others, less alone, and I loved talking with Brooklyn artist Melissa Murray. She's got a new project in the works, Mother Tongue, and one of the things we spoke about is whether or not we should call attention to our work being about motherhood when it is, or if we should let the work speak for itself. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading. Love, Emma.

Julie Comfort is an American expat living in Berlin with her partner Bo, and two daughters: Tully, age 12 and Nova, age one. She created Rabbel Magazine for preteen girls, both out of a nostalgia of the magazines she read as a kid, but also to build something inspiring for her daughter’s generation. The birth of the Rabbel Magazine also came with the birth of Julie’s second baby, 11 years after becoming a mother for the first time. We talked a lot about how much more difficult this one has been for Julie. We also dive into how hard Julie is working to foster an attitude of letting go of perfectionism in her work as she is raising her girls.

I actually met Sara through the Mother Maker Facebook group, Mother Maker: Artists Raising Humans. She had been following the Mother Maker interviews on the website and on our Instagram account, and when she began posting some of her work in the Facebook group, I really fell in love with it. I love Sara's illustrations for their bright colors and her use of line, but also for the way she draws her characters: through a lens of fun and whimsy, full of life and complexity. Sara has two children, ages two and nine months, and one on the way, due in September. Sara's first child was born prematurely at 29 weeks, and because he came so unexpectedly, Sara had to continue working nearly immediately after he was born. I love her perspective on how she dealt with such a challenging period in her life. Just a note, we talk in the interview about Sara’s new website launch. Well, it has launched since we recorded this interview, so be sure to check it out. sarainfante.com. Thanks for reading. Love, Emma

It was a therapist that helped Megan see that she needed to rediscover her art after staying home with her young children for four years. Although it was a process, her basement art practice became her career, and has evolved over the course of her motherhood story to becoming a livelihood for her family. It was that modest private basement space that was really key to her being able to connect with her self each day.