I remember myself as being a creative child…

If I wasn’t reading, you could probably find me drawing, writing, coloring, sewing, singing or perfecting my mud pies!

One summer, my mom signed me up for a painting class at my school. That is where I was introduced to acrylic paint! I still remember the first thing I painted in that class. Can still close my eyes and envision the finished painting—a zebra.

About a year later, my mom lost her battle with cancer. And I wonder sometimes if she knew or sensed that I was going to need that form of creative expression. Because, goodness, I certainly did, especially throughout my teenage angst years. I learned, in high school, after a few unexpected encounters, that I am someone who tends to bottle my emotions up until they overflow like a volcano on some poor unsuspecting soul. To battle those tendencies, I turned to abstract painting to help work through those strong emotions. Choosing color based on what felt right at the moment.

In college, I began earning a Chemistry degree to further my aspirations of becoming a crime scene investigator. After barely passing my Chemistry class for credit and learning that I would need to re-take it, I decided to do some serious soul searching on what my next steps would be. Leading me to change my major to Studio Art because what is something I do when I am under extreme emotional stress? Create!

I graduated with a Studio Art degree in Painting with a specialization in Museum Studies from Michigan State University. Upon graduation, I accepted a full-time position at Cranbrook Institute of Science. It is where I had previously worked on my holiday and summer breaks for many years. Cranbrook Institute of Science is where I gained an immense love for museums and their unending supply of inspiration—the colors of the minerals, the painted diorama scenes, the colorful displays of insects and birds (just to name a few). I never tired of walking around the exhibits, which was good because I put some miles through those halls!

Fast forward a few years and a few life events—marriage, buying a house, change of job. All of these things left me exhausted—emotionally, mentally, physically. They left me with no will, desire, or room to create. You see, I had worked so hard in college creatively but struggled with inspiration and who I was as an artist and that struggle continued to translate into my daily life after graduation, for years.

With the arrival of my first son, I threw myself into motherhood. The joys and laughter, the hardships and tears. For almost two years, he was my sole focus. Painting, but infrequently whenever the whim struck me. Then I became pregnant with our second son and felt a surge of inspiration come over me. I created a few paintings while pregnant but adjusting to life with two kids, a toddler and a newborn, required all my focus for a few months. The inspiration never left me, if anything I was feeling even more inspired by having to care for two children, so started painting again.

So, you’ve made it this far, and it is the here and now! I am striving to give my boys every opportunity to grow up expressing their creativity. To give them that gift my mom gave me, a love of creating! There for them to fall back on when they are struggling or want to be closer with themselves. A way to express their emotions when they have no other way to do so.

They assist me in the beginning stages of all of my paintings. We work together until we have a few base layers built up, and then I continue building layers full of color, form, and pattern. Moving through areas of big and small moments, just like motherhood.

My work is endlessly inspired by my boys and revolves around the joys of motherhood. Those special moments, big and small, that happen throughout the day. Those emotions that bubble up inside of us when we think of our children. The light that they bring to our lives without even trying!

For more stories about art and motherhood, follow along on Instagram @elizabeth.harness.studio