Welcome CalArts MIA: Mothers-Inhabiting-Art

Dear Mother Artists,

Welcome to first entry in the CalArts MIA: Mothers-Inhabiting-Art blog. I'm delighted to have a place for us to continue the discussion started at our first CalArts MIA Luncheon, a few weeks ago.  

This group came together at the urging and facilitating of Nicole Stark, Director of Alumni Affairs.  It was astounding how quickly she pulled it together... One weekend, at an Alumni Board meeting, Maria Nicolacakis and I casually mentioned to Nicole an interest in starting a group and within a month, she made it happen.  (Thank you, Nicole; you are truly amazing.) (Honestly, I think Nicole just grew tired of hearing me speak my inner-monologue.) This group was born of our desire to create a dialogue amongst those CalArts women artists who share the unique distinction of also being mothers. The response to the invitation was immediate and enthusiastic: 16 women attended and many more expressed interest in future gatherings. It was evident that a real need existed for a group such as this. 

For those of you who were not there, I can only say that the collective creative energy,  intelligence and passion in that dining room was palpable. It was inspiring to be in the company of such remarkable women artists... some alum, some faculty, some with young children, some with grown children... who were experiencing many of the same challenges balancing it all. 

I personally felt very proud to know that each of us had the courage to gather together in acknowledgment of our artistry and the honest admission of how this inner truth intersects and is impacted by the role of motherhood. It was refreshing and empowering to know that we do not need to walk this path alone, but can instead find strength, guidance and fellowship in the company of our sister artists. as we work towards finding the balance, we need not consider ourselves Missing-In-Action, but rather, Mothers-In-Action: Mothers-Inhabiting-Art.

As a group, we intend to meet on a quarterly basis, but we wanted to build upon that initial gathering and nurture this group's voice; hence the blog. I'm happy you're here to dialogue about whatever motherhood/art/parenting/relationship issues, which you are facing. I look forward to sharing my own thoughts and learning more about each of you. Together, we can discover the ways in which we can celebrate and support each other on this challenging, exciting and soulful path, which we trod as mothers and artists.

Best, Jeudi Cornejo Brealey

Cabaret/Interdisciplinary Artist & Arts Advocate

MFA 1995- Interschool Directing