We recently connected with Beatriz Reid and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Beatriz thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have 5 beautiful children with my husband, David; they are my absolute joy, but the demands of raising them did crush my “creativity” for the past 14 years.

Before 2020, I was always trying to downplay the “creativity” low hum that has always lived inside me. I really thought that being a woman, a mother, and an artist couldn’t coexist, and that one side had to be on top of the other one. While motherhood was calling on me to find ever-greater resources of patience, empathy and composure, art felt like an opposing force.

Honestly, I think that a combination of turning 40 in the middle of the very long 2020 and dealing with a baby attached 24 hours to me, while also dealing with my other 4 kids, my spouse, my mental health, and feeling so far away from Spain aroused something in me that has always been there.

Trying to connect with my creative side was the hardest step to take. After that everything started to follow. Instead of writing a diary, I just started to fill out pages and pages of lines, circles, and color combinations. It was somewhat cathartic. I just felt that my creativity was asleep, and I had to wake it up.

I decided to come up with a plan to correct the imbalance that I was feeling.

First, I decided that I would stop judging and second-guessing my work and put myself out there.

Second, I started an Instagram page highlighting my work, which has continued to grow in followers.

And finally, I opened an Etsy store, which was a big leap for me.

I feel that my artistic journey is just beginning and I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit scary, as during the day I wear other hats, from mom, spouse and since February as a Spanish translator for a wonderful company.

But since I started to “reignite” my creative drive everything truly looks brighter. It fulfills me like nothing else.

The creative-mothering experience is just beginning. And I can’t wait to share it with the world.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” —Pablo Picasso

Many creatives have documented the difficulties of maintaining an artistic practice while caring for small children. For me, this has been the biggest struggle as an artist. I’m learning to switch off for my mom role and get on with my work, but something deep inside me tightens, wincing with shame. It feels like an impossible balance somedays.

Why is it that creating (or really any creative pursuit) seems to be in such conflict with parenting?

I’m sorry to say that I haven’t found the right answer yet. How can you set boundaries around your creative/artistic life to protect time with your children and boundaries around your mothering-life to protect your art?

My kids need to have an emotionally present, stable, compassionate, happy-ish parent, but for me to provide these things, I also need to create. This presents difficult trade-offs with my time. But however joyous one finds parenting, I think it’s ok to chafe at it and ok to carve out your own time. Of course, it helps immensely to have my husband’s support on this new professional creative journey for me.

I think that in this new stage of my creative path, sharing my work publicly is the next step to keep growing. It will hold me accountable for creating my best work. It will provide feedback for doing better work. And when you see others connect with what you create, it will inspire you and make you care more. The world needs people who put creative work out into the world. What seems simple to you is often brilliant to someone else. But you’ll never know that unless you choose to share.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Creating something compelling to me is like being a gold miner of some sort. In my case, hiding from my family in my garage, surrounded by basketballs, soccer balls, umbrellas, and all the stuff that we all keep in garages.

You will need to sift through pounds of dirt and rock and silt just to find a speck of gold in the middle of it all. Bits and pieces of genius will find their way to you if you give yourself permission to let the muse flow.

It’s such a rush to find that moment. I’m learning that in art, the process of making art is emphasized versus the final product. I think that it’s essential for your self-growth, after accomplishing anything that was out of your comfort zone you automatically start going on a journey of adventures.

I have learned through my journey what creating means to me. Amid the frantic chaos of my day-to-day existence, my body and much of my mind taken over by the full-time business of mothering, creating is turning out to be my single act of independence.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

When looking at a piece of art, the first reaction is to view it as a finished product, without considering the struggle and effort that may have gone into its production. For me, just getting to the point where I could display a finished product to the public was a tremendous struggle. I am my own worst critic.

My advice, for anyone reading this article, is to finish something. Anything. Stop researching (or the never-ending scrolling of people doing their thing on Instagram), planning, and preparing to do the work and just do the work. It doesn’t matter how good or how bad it is. You just need to prove to yourself that you have what it takes to produce something.

I started small, with just some quick drawings on my kitchen counter, sometimes on just a tiny piece of paper found in the bottom of my daughter’s diaper bag in the middle of a parking lot.

Nearly everyone is “underqualified” when they first try something new, but that’s why it’s essential to start — no matter how scary it may feel.

In my case, being able to create something from nothing is extremely satisfying, but I also feel that the pieces that I create become pieces of myself going into my clients’ houses.

The idea is to remain consistent in the positive reinforcements, so the thoughts driven by impostor syndrome become less frequent. This will be a long learning journey for me, and I can’t wait for you to be part of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beareidprints.etsy.com/
• Instagram: bea.reidprints

Image Credits
Photography of artist holding paintings by Bianca M. Schiffman. Photography of artist as a child by Santiago de Ossorno. Photography of hands of artist and children by David Reid. Remainder of photographs by Bea Reid. Styling and Make-Up by Bianca M. Schiffman