Artist Mothers > Wisdom Baty

We Been Doing It
We Been Doing It
ink jet print
11" x 17"
2019

On Being an artist and mom:

As a black woman and single mother there are numerous challenges my family has faced and continues to go up against in our pursuit of a healthy and creative lifestyle. Neighborhood food deserts, sourcing out rigorous educational opportunities for both me and my daughter and figuring out ways to pay for them, being black in mostly white institutions, dealing with stereotypes and media coverage of black bodies, these are a few. I like to think I create strategies that keep me sane under these pressures. I tend to lean towards creative ways to stay focused and productive, without loosing joy. This has a lot to do with wanting my daughter to be able to see her mother navigate the world without falling apart. Inversely I am invested in planting these same strategies, observations, and intuition within my daughter for her personal happiness and growth, in moments of calm and chaos.