Studio Notes: Mom's Taxi

Detail of "Dead Prophets" (in process) by Tamlin Blake

One of the greatest challenges I have at the moment is trying to balance my work and home life.
In the not so distant past I would see a sticker on the back of a car proclaiming "mom's taxi" and I  would smile and think, "poor sods, that will never happen to me! I am a career artist not a bored stay at home mom". While I am a career artist and I am not bored, I have to accept that I am also a stay at home mom.

Here I am with two children at school with extra murals that never fit neatly into a day and a lift schedule that leaves me gasping for air. The gasping is due to the panic that sets in as I calculate how many hours I am not sitting in front of my tapestry loom weaving. Keeping in mind that each tapestry takes an average of 150 hours to complete I gasp a lot.

On top of that, our current summer average temperature sits at between 35 to 40 degrees. By the time I collect the kids they are already puddles of hot frustration. And then there is ninjutsu, ballet or piano to be endured. Give me patience!

Yesterday, however, after counting up the meagre hours of work I was able to fit into my day and feeling a little strung out, the eldest sits at the piano and starts to play her most recent piece and the youngest starts doing plies and pirouettes as accompaniment. While it is not Swan Lake it does bring their mother to tears and I realise that those "wasted hours" are an investment into another sort of creative development, the personality and learning of two very precious little people. 

We are all allowed soppy moments to make life more manageable.