You’re never not a full time parent even if you don’t spend all your time with your children, then why are you not a full time artist if you don’t always do art?
I found this a very important read and reframe. I absolutely agree that we are working/creating/mothering 100% of the time whether we are actually at our desks or with our children, or indeed creating in the edges of it all. One no longer exists without the other for me. There is never a time I am not thinking about creating and there is never a time I am not feeling the pull to my children. The physical writing does take up a lot of my time and the thinking about it is pretty much constant… this realisation definitely prompts me to rethink the value of my time, thank you Elin xx
The “there’s never a time I don’t think about creating, and never not a time I’m not pulled to my children” rings so so true!! I feel everything of this, thanks for reading Lyndsay 💕
This is a beautiful and thought provoking piece, Elin! I’ve noticed for myself that the more I embrace the “and” of my list of identities, the less stressful it feels to try to give time and energy to all those parts of me. I no longer feel like I’m shortchanging whatever is outside my immediate focus. Thank you for articulating this message in such a permissive, encouraging way!
Great reflection, Elin. I always throw myself into something that I'm doing, whether paid or not, and independent of hours spent. It's all part of me and my life. Messy, overlapping and connected.
Oh Elin, you just made me have so many feelings and thoughts coming up!
I am someone who loves to give her everything to the things she does and part she plays. And it breaks my heart to think in these buckets of having to SPLIT myself between being a researcher, a creative writer, a loving and caring partner, daughter, friend, dog mum…
No, I am me with all of my parts. At any time. And no matter the current tasks I am doing and how much time each parts get dedicated to at a certain period in my life 🤍
Oh thanks Rachel! It’s actually a photo from the archive, haven’t been there in a few years but definitely have to bring the kids - I love it there used to go frequently when we still lived in Paris, now we just go to visit my mother in law ☺️
You made me think again. For me (in this context) part-time is purely related to hours worked (to earn money). A full-time job is say 40 hours. I work part-time then means I work for example 30 hours or 10 hours or... Note that I say: I work part-time or I have a part-time job. I don't say: I'm a part-time worker. So I guess being an artist, a mother, a wife, a crochter,.. is about identity and in my opinion identity can't be part-time. You are an artist or you're not. How much time you spend in activities related to being an artist or how much money you earn from those activities doesn't change the fact that you are an artist.
I’m so glad, I aim to push the neurons to expand our thinking collectively. It’s fascinating how many preinstalled believes we all carry without even noticing! Even the idea that full time job is 40 hours is quite interesting… and as soon as one enters the independent artistry route there’s no such thing as 40 hours there’ll be moments of much more and others of much less. Appreciate you reading !
Such a wonderful reflection Elin, it just makes me think how we have adopted such linear time models in our lives and how it is just another way that old systems cause separation within ourselves, and others!!! I only have two days of childcare for ‘work’ but I don’t classify myself as running my creative business ‘part time’ because it’s woven into everything I do. Writing, Mothering, supporting others and looking after our home. They all tangle up with eachother and they all make up my wholeness. Thank you for putting it this way, it’s a really powerful way to frame it. Xxx
Thanks Lauren!! I have 0 days of childcare so I’ve really had to do this for my own sanity’s sake too 🫣 couldn’t even stand the idea that I “was no longer a full time artist” when I still create… just not in long batches like before 😅 I’m so glad you found it valuable, it’s definitely everything but linear! Also… there’s so much creativity and art at “work/play” when tending to a home too xx
I identified as a "part-time photographer" for years, maybe even a decade. Even though I was working as a photographer- on location, editing, marketing, yadda, yadda- for 60+ hours a week along with a "full-time job." After taking a break this year, I realized that "part-time" subconsciously made me feel as if my art was less valuable, which was reflected in my pricing. I sold myself SO short because I convinced myself I couldn't charge a higher rate since it wasn't my primary income. Lots of unlearning happened in our hiatus, and I'm so grateful for it. When we delineate our identity as "part-time," we put parts of ourselves in the Shadow, and that's not fair to our authenticity.
Thank you so much for sharing the experience Leanne!! You hit the nail on the head; as long as we don’t recognize what we do it’s hard to put the value it deserves! And if we don’t value it ourselves then why would others value it….?
So glad you got out of it slowly but surely (I find it to be a continuous process tbh) xx
I'm so glad you wrote about this. Deciding that we have the right to determine our identity can be life-changing. Fifteen years ago, I was a full-time homeschooling mom and full-time caregiver to both my parents. I felt like my creative life was over forever.
But thanks to a random self-help book, I decided to refer to myself as an "ARTIST" even if it was just, initially, in my own thoughts. I wrote on a scrap of paper pinned to the kitchen wall: "I am an artist, a mother, a caregiver".
I believed, during those years, that I was an artist even if I was not creating work. I decided my identity lived in the way I look at the world, the things I think about, the way I was raising my daughter, really everything.
Over time, I was able to re-build my artist life alongside my other responsibilities, until, several years later, I was making work again. Not in a way someone might consider "full time" but for me it was deeply satisfying.
Now I identify as both an artist and writer, even though I don't make a full living from either. I am always thinking about my creative work, my next project. Deciding I have the right to choose my identities has helped me grow into them.
Choosing that identity and saying it out loud can feel weird and fraudulent but can also determine our path forward! Thanks for a great post.
Thank you so much Tina for taking the time to read, reflect and share your valuable experience 🙏🏼 I love the scrap paper you put on the wall! Absolutely brilliant ✨ I went over to read some of your things and I just have to say what an absolutely beautiful and talented writer you are! A delight to read.
We’ve lived in 7 countries over the past 9 years, not as nomad as in having a trailer, but I now wish we had had one because it would’ve probably been easier than having to change house all the time…. We’ve found a lovely place in the deep countryside of Belgium that we absolutely love and where it’s legal to homeschool (it’s very restricted in Europe), but we still keep the dream to get a motorhome to cruise Europe. Went to a showroom not long ago and our daughters had similar experiences to what you described with Kiki.
Yay mission accomplished 🥰🥰 it is isn’t it!! It’s like as soon as money is involved then it’s deemed more legitimate… which is ironic because there have been moments through my art career that we made a lot of money and still it wasn’t considered legitimate because it was art 🫣😅
100% agree either way what you are saying. It is often based on judgement made by others. If they think that you are not a ‘real’ artist because it is not your main income source, then that’s their short sightedness. I find not being motivated by what is going to sell best, allows more authenticity in the art making. Personally, I don’t want the joy of making art to be pressured by needing to make money from it. If it so happens that money is earned because someone wants to buy a work that is great, but it doesn’t make the art or me as an artist more or less worthy. Big lessons for me in letting go other others judgements and needing validation from others.
The last bits in letting go and validation are so powerful! I feel as though letting go serves us well regardless of where we are on the making-money-from-our-art-spectrum (that got long haha) thanks for your input 🙏🏼🥰
I was just thinking about this: I yam what I yam (as Popeye would say). I write and I make art---depending on the day---and I have a part-time "real job" that is my only *reliable* source of income. But how do I describe myself? And how do I explain it when people ask "what are you working on at the moment?" and I say "nothing", which is the case at the moment? I'm comfortable with being full-time me, but I don't always know how to describe "what I do".
Great post! We've really bastardized the phrase "part-time." It makes sense in the context of work/jobs: "I'm a full-time teacher and part-time tutor," etc. But it should never have me its way into the lexicon of passions/interests/creativity.
Thanks Evan! Bastardized is such a good word for this!! Thanks for sharing that, and you’re right it can make sense in different contexts but tends to help applied/translated across the board…
I found this a very important read and reframe. I absolutely agree that we are working/creating/mothering 100% of the time whether we are actually at our desks or with our children, or indeed creating in the edges of it all. One no longer exists without the other for me. There is never a time I am not thinking about creating and there is never a time I am not feeling the pull to my children. The physical writing does take up a lot of my time and the thinking about it is pretty much constant… this realisation definitely prompts me to rethink the value of my time, thank you Elin xx
The “there’s never a time I don’t think about creating, and never not a time I’m not pulled to my children” rings so so true!! I feel everything of this, thanks for reading Lyndsay 💕
I echo everything that Lyndsay says here!
This is a beautiful and thought provoking piece, Elin! I’ve noticed for myself that the more I embrace the “and” of my list of identities, the less stressful it feels to try to give time and energy to all those parts of me. I no longer feel like I’m shortchanging whatever is outside my immediate focus. Thank you for articulating this message in such a permissive, encouraging way!
Thank you so much Lori! And I appreciate you sharing your experience too - it’s all about finding ways to empower leaning into who we are isn’t it 🙏🏼
It definitely is! 😊
Great reflection, Elin. I always throw myself into something that I'm doing, whether paid or not, and independent of hours spent. It's all part of me and my life. Messy, overlapping and connected.
It sounds just about how I lead my life too.. counting hours drains all the fun of every idea ✨💕
This is so valuable Elin, it links in with something I’m writing about at the moment - untangling patriarchy from our homes and our art.
Thank you for your refreshing perspective 💜
Thank you as always Sarina for giving your precious time and energy to read 🥰✨
Oh Elin, you just made me have so many feelings and thoughts coming up!
I am someone who loves to give her everything to the things she does and part she plays. And it breaks my heart to think in these buckets of having to SPLIT myself between being a researcher, a creative writer, a loving and caring partner, daughter, friend, dog mum…
No, I am me with all of my parts. At any time. And no matter the current tasks I am doing and how much time each parts get dedicated to at a certain period in my life 🤍
Yes yes yes 🙌 you’re everything all at once and that’s the beauty of it all 🥰
Yes! We are full time creatives no matter what our “work” is because we create in every part of our life!
Also, love the photo at L’Orangerie!❤️ I just visited there again this year.
Oh thanks Rachel! It’s actually a photo from the archive, haven’t been there in a few years but definitely have to bring the kids - I love it there used to go frequently when we still lived in Paris, now we just go to visit my mother in law ☺️
You made me think again. For me (in this context) part-time is purely related to hours worked (to earn money). A full-time job is say 40 hours. I work part-time then means I work for example 30 hours or 10 hours or... Note that I say: I work part-time or I have a part-time job. I don't say: I'm a part-time worker. So I guess being an artist, a mother, a wife, a crochter,.. is about identity and in my opinion identity can't be part-time. You are an artist or you're not. How much time you spend in activities related to being an artist or how much money you earn from those activities doesn't change the fact that you are an artist.
I’m so glad, I aim to push the neurons to expand our thinking collectively. It’s fascinating how many preinstalled believes we all carry without even noticing! Even the idea that full time job is 40 hours is quite interesting… and as soon as one enters the independent artistry route there’s no such thing as 40 hours there’ll be moments of much more and others of much less. Appreciate you reading !
Such a wonderful reflection Elin, it just makes me think how we have adopted such linear time models in our lives and how it is just another way that old systems cause separation within ourselves, and others!!! I only have two days of childcare for ‘work’ but I don’t classify myself as running my creative business ‘part time’ because it’s woven into everything I do. Writing, Mothering, supporting others and looking after our home. They all tangle up with eachother and they all make up my wholeness. Thank you for putting it this way, it’s a really powerful way to frame it. Xxx
Thanks Lauren!! I have 0 days of childcare so I’ve really had to do this for my own sanity’s sake too 🫣 couldn’t even stand the idea that I “was no longer a full time artist” when I still create… just not in long batches like before 😅 I’m so glad you found it valuable, it’s definitely everything but linear! Also… there’s so much creativity and art at “work/play” when tending to a home too xx
Yes! And also I LOVE your dress!
Aw thank you! It’s my mother who made it 🥰
Wow! Please pass my praise on to her. It’s gorgeous!
I identified as a "part-time photographer" for years, maybe even a decade. Even though I was working as a photographer- on location, editing, marketing, yadda, yadda- for 60+ hours a week along with a "full-time job." After taking a break this year, I realized that "part-time" subconsciously made me feel as if my art was less valuable, which was reflected in my pricing. I sold myself SO short because I convinced myself I couldn't charge a higher rate since it wasn't my primary income. Lots of unlearning happened in our hiatus, and I'm so grateful for it. When we delineate our identity as "part-time," we put parts of ourselves in the Shadow, and that's not fair to our authenticity.
Thank you so much for sharing the experience Leanne!! You hit the nail on the head; as long as we don’t recognize what we do it’s hard to put the value it deserves! And if we don’t value it ourselves then why would others value it….?
So glad you got out of it slowly but surely (I find it to be a continuous process tbh) xx
I'm so glad you wrote about this. Deciding that we have the right to determine our identity can be life-changing. Fifteen years ago, I was a full-time homeschooling mom and full-time caregiver to both my parents. I felt like my creative life was over forever.
But thanks to a random self-help book, I decided to refer to myself as an "ARTIST" even if it was just, initially, in my own thoughts. I wrote on a scrap of paper pinned to the kitchen wall: "I am an artist, a mother, a caregiver".
I believed, during those years, that I was an artist even if I was not creating work. I decided my identity lived in the way I look at the world, the things I think about, the way I was raising my daughter, really everything.
Over time, I was able to re-build my artist life alongside my other responsibilities, until, several years later, I was making work again. Not in a way someone might consider "full time" but for me it was deeply satisfying.
Now I identify as both an artist and writer, even though I don't make a full living from either. I am always thinking about my creative work, my next project. Deciding I have the right to choose my identities has helped me grow into them.
Choosing that identity and saying it out loud can feel weird and fraudulent but can also determine our path forward! Thanks for a great post.
Thank you so much Tina for taking the time to read, reflect and share your valuable experience 🙏🏼 I love the scrap paper you put on the wall! Absolutely brilliant ✨ I went over to read some of your things and I just have to say what an absolutely beautiful and talented writer you are! A delight to read.
We’ve lived in 7 countries over the past 9 years, not as nomad as in having a trailer, but I now wish we had had one because it would’ve probably been easier than having to change house all the time…. We’ve found a lovely place in the deep countryside of Belgium that we absolutely love and where it’s legal to homeschool (it’s very restricted in Europe), but we still keep the dream to get a motorhome to cruise Europe. Went to a showroom not long ago and our daughters had similar experiences to what you described with Kiki.
Fingers crossed 🤞🏼 appreciate you being here xx
Thank you so much for reading. Your comment made my day!
Your place in Belgium sounds so lovely, and what wonderful experiences you are giving your daughters.
🥰🥰🥰🥰
Thank you! I feel more empowered! It is funny how we sometimes don’t fully owe the creative endeavour until it makes money. 🤷♀️
Yay mission accomplished 🥰🥰 it is isn’t it!! It’s like as soon as money is involved then it’s deemed more legitimate… which is ironic because there have been moments through my art career that we made a lot of money and still it wasn’t considered legitimate because it was art 🫣😅
100% agree either way what you are saying. It is often based on judgement made by others. If they think that you are not a ‘real’ artist because it is not your main income source, then that’s their short sightedness. I find not being motivated by what is going to sell best, allows more authenticity in the art making. Personally, I don’t want the joy of making art to be pressured by needing to make money from it. If it so happens that money is earned because someone wants to buy a work that is great, but it doesn’t make the art or me as an artist more or less worthy. Big lessons for me in letting go other others judgements and needing validation from others.
The last bits in letting go and validation are so powerful! I feel as though letting go serves us well regardless of where we are on the making-money-from-our-art-spectrum (that got long haha) thanks for your input 🙏🏼🥰
I was just thinking about this: I yam what I yam (as Popeye would say). I write and I make art---depending on the day---and I have a part-time "real job" that is my only *reliable* source of income. But how do I describe myself? And how do I explain it when people ask "what are you working on at the moment?" and I say "nothing", which is the case at the moment? I'm comfortable with being full-time me, but I don't always know how to describe "what I do".
This is a very good reflection and I can totally relate!
“Who I am and what I do” can sometimes feel conflicting. But perhaps it doesn’t have to be? You’re a creative who work to afford to make more art
Love this! I take a great deal of pondering why on Earth I would ever BE part time.
Great post! We've really bastardized the phrase "part-time." It makes sense in the context of work/jobs: "I'm a full-time teacher and part-time tutor," etc. But it should never have me its way into the lexicon of passions/interests/creativity.
Thanks Evan! Bastardized is such a good word for this!! Thanks for sharing that, and you’re right it can make sense in different contexts but tends to help applied/translated across the board…