40 episodes
Postpartum Production Kaitlin Solimine
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- Arts
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5.0 • 38 Ratings
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TL;DR (i.e., give me the elevator pitch!) description:
Being a producer of creative projects and a mother don’t need to be mutually exclusive pursuits—how can we as parents in early postpartum (and well beyond!) reframe and reclaim the work we do as creatives and caregivers, to be seen as productive, valued, and meaningful? Join novelist and host Kaitlin Solimine on this journey to reframing postpartum and caregiving as worthy of intellectual, philosophical, and socially-impactful pursuit.
Long description:
It’s hard to find the balance between being a mother and pursuing creative projects – especially during the 4th trimester. When Kaitlin Solimine, a published, award-winning author and mother of three young children, was lying in bed recovering from her third childbirth, she had an epiphany: this time that most have described as “lost” time, was rather extremely creatively informative for her (she wrote new sections of her novel and even launched this podcast from that bed!).
Deep in the trenches of early postpartum herself, join Kaitlin and her creator-activist-mother guests, as they navigate the liminal space between mothering and creating. If you are a new parent in postpartum, had a creative pursuit before you became a mother, or simply seek inspiration from other artists who are creating during a transitional time, this is the podcast for you.
These episodes will provide you with practical and philosophical suggestions on how to reframe your work in a space where parenting is not ordinarily considered meaningful productivity, generate new ideas on how to incorporate creativity into motherhood (and how parenting moments may inspire creative pursuits as well!), and explore other artists’ processes around creating during the transition to parenting young children. Although this podcast is not meant to be prescriptive, hearing these stories and learning about the tools other creatives use will hopefully inspire you to consider ways to integrate your artist and caregiver identities in meaningful, impactful ways.
Why the term “production”?
Google the term “postpartum” and you’ll be led to a plethora of websites about postpartum depression and anxiety. While these are important topics and experiences worthy of additional research and support, the postpartum period, when treated with support and curiosity, can be reframed as one of creative possibility and identity transformation. Rather than relinquishing new mothers to corners where they need to choose between creative work and caregiving, or where they feel completely lost when it comes to their creative identity, this podcast provides a third path for creative mothers who are seeking meaning and validation of the caregiving work they do on a daily basis.
What is “productive” time when you’re a mother and a creative? How can public-facing creative projects, and the often hidden and devalued time of raising humans, be seen as “productive” pursuits within the current capitalist structure of American and Western society?
Kaitlin herself has discovered that the postpartum period after birth offers an opportunity to pause and find new significance to exploring artistry while caregiving as an integral part of life. Notably, Kaitlin recorded the early episodes of her first season while in postpartum with her third child.
Biweekly, Kaitlin talks with authors, poets, writers, painters, philosophers, and parenting experts about mothering, changing perceptions of motherhood/parenting, art, creativity, activism, family leave, childbirth, finding inspiration, changing identities, expansive change, caregiving roles, and more.
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Poetry and Parenthood: How Amy Bornman Mines Domestic Practice for Creative Power
We’re so excited to introduce listeners today to Amy Bornman: a poet, textile artist, and parent living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as the author of two books of poetry, There is a Future (Paraclete Press Poetry, 2020), Broken Waters (forthcoming), and co-author of How to Sew Clothes (Abrams Books, 2023). Amy has literally made creative pieces out of the experiences of the births of her two children, and she's even birthed the small press Imaginary Lake, which supports her creative production.
Amy's work focuses on themes of domesticity, caregiving, confession, and spirituality. In this conversation, we deeply appreciated Amy's perspective on art making and the domestic space, and how art making can be a radical act, especially when it sits outside the capitalist context.
In today’s conversation, Kaitlin and Amy discuss:
The importance of sharing diverse birth stories, including those that are not safe, supported, or desired, to provide a full range of human experience Art making in the domestic space, finding success with small press and zine publishing, and writing without traditional publishing barriersAmy’s two birth experiences, and how the the experience of birthing her first child helped her step into power as a mother with her second
More of Amy’s work:
amybornman.com amybornman.substack.com @amybornman / @allwellworkshop / @imaginary_lake
Referenced in the Podcast:
Louise Erdrich’s The Blue Jay’s DanceAdrienne Rich's Of Woman BornAmelia Greenhall Anemone
Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.
For regular updates:
Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com
Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast
Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com -
Art and Advocacy: Ashley January’s Response to the Black Maternal Health Crisis
In this episode, we sit with contemporary artist Ashley January to discuss her powerful paintings inspired by maternal experiences. Ashley delves into themes of preeclampsia, premature birth, and birth trauma, shining a spotlight on the Black maternal mortality and morbidity crisis in America. Her art is not just a reflection of her personal journey but also an act of activism, aiming to bring awareness and change to the maternal health landscape.
In this episode, Kaitlin and Ashley discuss:
Art and Maternal Experience: Ashley shares how her journey through motherhood, including facing preeclampsia and premature birth, has profoundly influenced her artwork.The Black Maternal Health Crisis: We explore the critical issues of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in America, and how Ashley's art addresses and brings visibility to these challenges.Art in Clinical Spaces: The impact of Ashley’s work being featured in clinical settings like Tufts University's Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice and Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago.
More about Ashley:
Ashley's Website - Explore Ashley’s portfolio and learn more about her upcoming exhibitions.Instagram: @ashleyjanartIntrauterine Growth Restriction: The painting of Ashley's Kaitlin has in her homeWomen's Caucus for Art - Learn about the organization that awarded Ashley the Emerging Artist Award.Tufts University's Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice - Discover the initiatives and Ashley's contributions to this centerExpo Chicago - Find out more about the art expo where Ashley showcased her new series.Cynthia Corbett Gallery - Check out the gallery representing Ashley’s work
Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.
For regular updates:
Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com
Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast
Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com -
The Explosive Female Body: Artist Alexandra Carter’s Muse in Birth and Beyond
“The bulk of my work comes out of this place of the explosive female body and really meditating on that and looking at that. The body has always been my deepest interest, and painting the figure, and that has been the case for many, many years. And so when I started to think about family building and my reproductive health and my fertility, just even the inkling of those thoughts, the work started to become infused with these images of motherhood of the reproductive female body. Because it represents so much: there's so much richness there for me in terms of how we talk about the female body, in terms of its messiness and its inability to be contained.” - Alexandra Carter
Welcome back to Postpartum Production! We are thrilled to begin Season 3 of the podcast, and to be in community with you once again. Season 3 further examines the intersection of Birth and Creativity, and what better person to start the season than Alexandra Carter, an artist focused on fertility, maternity, and the monstrous feminine, and who, when we held this conversation, was just weeks from giving birth to her second child.
Alexandra’s recent solo exhibitions include “Monstrous Mothers” at the Middle Room in Los Angeles, “Bumps and Grinds” at Rogers Gallery in Las Vegas, “A Sense of Heat in Her Brain” at Luna Aeneas Gallery in Los Angeles, “Berries for BowBow” at Radiant Space in Los Angeles and “Tether,” which was a duo show at Oolong Gallery in Solana Beach, California.
In our first episode, Alexandra and Kaitlin discuss:
Alexandra’s journey as an artist and how that has tandemed with her motherhood journeyHow she is preparing for her second birth, both as a human and as an artist, and how it compares to that of her highly-medicalized first pregnancyThe meaning of the “explosive female body,” a subject much of Alexandra’s work focuses on
More about Alexandra:
Website: https://www.alexandra-carter.com/Instagram @alexandracarterstudio
Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.
For regular updates:
Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com
Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast
Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com -
Marginalia #2: How Not To Scratch the Soil
Hello, dear listener, and welcome back to Postpartum Production! We are thrilled to begin Season 3 of the podcast, and to be in community with you once again.
Before we kick off Season 3, Kaitlin checks in to provide an update on the podcast, a peek into what we’ll be exploring together this season (more on that in a moment!), and some heartfelt reflections on the never-ending challenges of balancing creative work, caregiving, and commerce. How can we create art while paying the bills? How do we play the long game of sustainability, while also living in the present? How does one do it “all” and, as importantly, when?
These are questions caregivers, creatives, and those of us just trying to make it work in a capitalist society wrestle with daily. While answers may not be simple, we at Postpartum Production hope to provide you with the tools, inspiration, and support you need as we continue this ongoing pursuit of meaning, impact, and value together as a community.
So, what’s in store for Season 3? Get ready for fascinating, powerful conversations as we speak with artists across genres and mediums- painters, poets, comics, and creatives of all kinds- about the intersection of Birth and Creativity. We delve into the profound connection between the body, the birthing process and the artistic journey, exploring how the transformative experiences of birth inspire and shape creative expression. We can't wait to share these conversations with you.
Lastly, we would love to hear from you: the questions you’re struggling to answer, the tough topics you feel deserve discussion and debate, or just simply what you are experiencing in this moment. Reach out to us any time via our Website, Instagram, or Substack.
We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing our journey together this season.
Referenced in today’s episode:
An interview with Rick Rubin: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/10/the-creative-act-a-way-of-being-by-rick-rubin-review-thoughts-of-the-bearded-beat-masterNew Yorker Article on mentorship and Early/Late blooming artists: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-malcolm-gladwell
For regular updates:
Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast Subscribe to our newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com -
S2E15 - A Moment in Time: Looking Back on Season Two’s Highlights, Lessons, and Reasons for Hope in Caregiving and Creativity
In this episode, we look back at a few of the themes that emerged from our conversations this season and take stock of what this means now; looking back and also looking forward to the work we all have to continue in our examination of this intersection of caregiving and creativity.
We’re incredibly grateful that our guests could take the time to sit with Kaitlin, and for their honesty and vulnerability, which really make this podcast the open and engaging space that it is, and hopefully is for you as listeners.
Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.
For regular updates:
Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com
Follow us on Instagram:@postpartumproductionpodcast
Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com
Drop us a line via email: hello@postpartumproduction.com -
S2E14 - The Poetics of Parenting: Poet and Educator Ben Berman's Take on Writing While Parenting
We are capping off our season of conversations with Ben Berman, the author of three books of poems and the new collection of humorous and literary essays, Writing While Parenting. Ben has won the Peace Corps Award for the Best Book of Poetry, has twice been shortlisted for the Massachusetts Book Awards, and has received awards from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, New England Poetry Club, and Somerville Arts Council. He's been teaching for 25 years and currently teaches creative writing classes at Brookline High School. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and two daughters.
Kaitlin’s conversation with Ben explores the intersection of creativity and parenting through the lens of his latest book, and how they can coexist.
Ben and Kaitlin talk about:
Why Ben felt compelled to write a book in and around the subject matter of writing while parenting.The idea that disorder can be a catalyst for creativity and how being a parent as well as working with kids has shifted Ben’s perspective on creativity.The challenge of balancing creative engagement with parenting responsibilities – how we can make our children a part of our creative journey instead of seeing them as obstacles.The delicate balance between being fully present in the moment as a parent and detaching to think about it from a creative perspective and how Ben merges the two aspects through his writing.The relationship between form and content, and how the structures that we create allow for freedom or inhibit it.
More about Ben:
Website: www.ben-berman.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ben.berman.7927/
Pre-order Writing While Parenting here:https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781773491110
Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.
For regular updates:
Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com
Follow us on Instagram: @postpartumproductionpodcast
Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack: https://postpartumproduction.substack.com
Customer Reviews
Beautiful listen
You can tell how much time, energy, and thought goes into creating this beautiful podcast. Kaitlin is a skilled interviewer and her guest list is amazing. I learn so much from each episode, but better yet, I feel seen after each listen. I can’t live without this pod!
Wonderful podcast
Recommended to all my friends. Insightful conversations in each episode.
Great podcast!!
The episode with Ben Berman is a true gem! It explores the dynamic world of creativity and parenting, offering a fresh perspective on balancing the two. Ben's insights on the creative process while being a parent are invaluable. If you're an artist or a parent (or both!), this episode is a must-listen.
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