Join a group for artists, and people involved in the arts who are parents

Join a group for artists, and people involved in the arts who are parents

Matilda Leyser, 22 June 2012

I had this session on my own. The title I called for it originally was actually ‘Mothering the Work.’ Maybe it was a duff title, or maybe it was the right title because it gave me some time alone to think about how to be a mother and an artist and time on my own was what I needed. Except of course, I wasn't on my own because I rarely am these days - my 5 month old son was beside me as I worked. He chewed on pens and scrunched up paper and worked on figuring out crawling as I wrote down my thoughts and ideas. And, in essence, the session itself was one of my ideas. Here it is:

I want to start a play group for parents who are artists and their children, because we (parents and children) are both in the business of play so I don't believe we need our play to be segregated into separate spaces. My play can support and enhance my son's and vice versa. It will be an experimental space, in every sense: a space for experiments and the space itself will be an experiment. Much of the creative work I do at the moment involves writing so initially I would like to run some writing sessions for people of all ages - 5 months or 50 years. ‘Writing’ in this context would mean anything you choose to do with a pen and paper - doodles, scribbles, paper-tearing, origami all welcome - every form of play.

If you are interested in being part of a play group like this, or have ideas about it then please add a comment here and I will keep you up dated as to when and where the group meets.

Tags:

family, writing, artists, group, father, childcare, babies, mother, Parents, creche, children, play

Comments: 1

Matilda Leyser, 27 May 2014

Mothers who Make

This is an invitation to come along to a new peer support group for mothers who are artists - professional and/or passionate – writers, painters, actors, dancers, film-makers....every kind of maker welcome, and every kind of mother. Also please feel free to bring your children, of any age.

When: From Weds May 14th 10.30am-12pm. Fortnightly until July 23rd

Where: Battersea Arts Centre, in the Café Waiting Room.

Why: Read on below....

...I am a performer and a writer. When I was pregnant I would tell people my plans for motherhood: “Oh, I'm simply going to pop my baby in a sling and carry on!” My son is now two years old. In some ways I was right: I have carried him in a sling since he was born and I have carried on in that I am still writing, still sometimes performing, still making work. However none of this has been done simply and everything is wholly different to before. In this sense I have carried nothing on. Rather, I have had to set down my life, my sense of who and how I am. Slowly, awkwardly, shakily I pick myself up, day by day. I would not have it any other way but it is a huge challenge.

How to carry our creative selves and our children, our work of mothering and of making, is the focus of this group. If you are a mother and a maker, and if you wonder how to do both these things with fullness, I would love you to come.

To let me know if you would like to come, or if you have any questions, would like to receive reminders about the group meetings or to read reports of the meetings that we hold, please send me an email at [email protected].

I look forward to meeting you.

Matilda

Matilda Leyser has worked as an aerialist, a dancer, an actor and a writer. She is currently working as an Associate Director with Improbable, a writer and a mother of Riddley, now 2 and a bit.