Christa Donner
On being an artist and a mom:
My daughter’s babyhood was not easy, and it was a sloooow process for me to begin making work again. I had artist’s block. I cried a lot. I invited a hypnotist into my studio to help me get over the artist’s block (which worked surprisingly well!) Eventually I learned how to use those tiny chunks of time to create a working process that was actually much more efficient and productive than how I’d used my time in the past.
I felt isolated and realized I needed to find ways to reach out and connect with other artists besides the openings and artist lectures that no longer seemed viable. In 2012 I started Cultural ReProducers, a creative platform and online resource. That project has expanded my creative network to include cultural workers raising families around the world, a group that will continue to evolve as its participants grow and change. That connection with other caregivers became a part of my practice, as a website, as a series of physical events, and in the fictional world of my drawings.