How can we pursue creativity in the messy margins of motherhood?
In this episode of Live Creatively, I’m chatting with Ashlee Gadd. Ashlee is the author of Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood and the founder of Coffee + Crumbs—a beautiful online space where motherhood and storytelling intersect. As a writer and photographer, Ashlee has spent her entire motherhood creating in the margins.
I absolutely loved this candid conversation with fellow creative mama, Ashlee. We talked about how to be intentional in the ways we pursue creativity in the (very limited) margins of motherhood – and even find joy in the midst of it all. Ashlee shares that it is possible for motherhood and creativity to coexist. As a mama in the thick of life with two littles, this message resonates with me deeply and I am grateful to get to share it with all the creative mamas who are listening!
Listen in as Ashlee and I chat about:
- The truth that creativity and motherhood can coexist
- How to carve out time to be creative in your everyday life
- The things Ashlee has had to sacrifice to make space for creativity
- How to adjust as your creative routines and rhythms change over the years
- Believing that creativity is worthy of taking up space in our lives
- Baby steps we can take to start creating room for creativity
This episode is such a breath of fresh air for the mama who is longing to carve out time and space to reconnect with her creativity in the midst of motherhood. For the mama who wants to feel the joy of creating again. If that’s you, be encouraged. You are not alone in this pursuit and it is possible (and worth it!) to let go of the guilt and, as Ashlee would encourage us to do, create anyway.
What does it mean to Ashlee to Live Creatively?
“I think of living in a way where you are making space to pursue the things that make you feel alive. That’s how I feel when I’m creating…I feel wholly, abundantly alive. That’s what that phrase means to me.”
If you are struggling to pursue your God-given creative gifts alongside motherhood, this episode is for you!
About Ashlee Gadd
Ashlee is the author of Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood and the founder of Coffee + Crumbs—a beautiful online space where motherhood and storytelling intersect. As a writer and photographer, Ashlee has spent her entire motherhood creating in the margins. When she’s not writing or vacuuming Cheerios out of the carpet, she loves making friends on the internet, eating cereal for dinner, and rearranging bookshelves. She and her husband have three kids and live in Northern California.
You can find all of the links to connect with Ashlee and check out anything she mentioned in the episode below:
Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood
You have creative dreams swirling in your heart, but pursuing them while changing diapers and managing the carpool schedule feels impossible. You have no time. No space. You can mother, or you can create. You certainly can’t do both (right?!).
But what if you could pursue your God-given creative gifts alongside motherhood, for the enrichment of bothexperiences? What if you stopped viewing creativity as a selfish act, and started to see it as essential to your own flourishing as a mother?
This book is a much-needed permission slip to do just that–through the pictures you take, the stories you write, the meals you make, the music you play, the gardens you grow.
In this unforgettable book filled with rich storytelling and stunning photographs, writer and mother Ashlee Gadd helps you set aside the guilt and discover the sacred connection between creating and mothering. One-part commissioning, one-part pep talk, Create Anyway will propel you forward with a renewed sense of energy, purpose, and enthusiasm for stewarding the creative dreams God has planted in your heart–right alongside the diapers and carpool.
Here’s to creating in the margins of motherhood.
Here’s to creating anyway.
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