Art takes time.  Mothering takes time.  For artists who are mothers, the challenge is great.  The Documentary  “Who Does She Think She Is?”  directed by Pamela Tanner Boll, explores the difficulties and challenges of being both an artist and a mother.

I try not to write much when my children are around or awake.  It’s too frustrating, for them and for me.   Luckily, now that they are a little older than babies,  I actually do have some time alone to write and also to participate in theater and in films.  When my children were babies, I really did feel a little lost, one of the reasons being that time for my personal creative outlets was greatly diminished.  The needs of my children took, (and continue to take) precedent over anybody elses needs, including my own.  I love being a mother, and I love being an artist too.

The film profiles the lives and art of five women as they seek to remain true to both their art and to their families.  The film defines the struggles which mothers who are also artists face.  As mothers they must nurture their own children, as artists they must also nurture their creativity.  Both tasks require an enormous amount of commitment.

There is a fine line – if I am paying attention to my art, am I neglecting my children?  If I ignore that part of myself, or repress it, I am doing both myself and my children a disservice?

The film speaks about how female artists are not valued to the same extent as their male counterpoints and how adding motherhood into the mix seems to further diminish the status of the female artist.  Female visual artists, female writers, female actors and directors, female artists of any medium, receive significantly less recognition for their work than male artists.

Ultimately the film conveys of a message of hope and encouragement, urging women to stay the path as artists, to have courage and to take risks.  I am learning how to balance my art and my mothering, and films like this, in illuminating the struggles of other mothers, are helpful and thought provoking.

For more information about the film and about screenings, check out their website.