The Mother And ... Podcast

In this episode of Mother And …, textile artist and mother Debbie Barrett-Jones discusses her weaving practice, which is rooted in process, intuition, and the long arc of caregiving. Debbie reflects on discovering weaving as a student at the Kansas City Art Institute, where the loom became an instrument for navigating the uncertainty of pregnancy and the evolving contours of her creative life. She...

In this episode of Mother And …, artist and mother Linda Lighton reflects on a lifetime of creativity, rebellion, and fearless making. A celebrated ceramicist known for her provocative and politically charged work, Lighton traces her path from hippie-era experimentation to a five-decade career that has explored joy, feminism, and social critique through clay. Her work - ranging from sensuous “diva...

In this episode, Mother And …, artist and mother Althea Murphy-Price discusses how her multidisciplinary practice  - spanning printmaking, sculpture, photography, and installation - explores perception, appearance, and the cultural narratives that shape femininity. Althea reflects on how printmaking’s inherent metaphors of replication, mirroring, and generative matrices resonate deeply with her in...

In this episode of Mother And …, artist and mother Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez speaks about her four-decade practice that explores cultural memory, migration, feminist histories, and the enduring legacies of colonization. Born in Colombia and trained as an artist from an early age, Nancy describes how political turmoil prompted her migration to New York, where she rebuilt her career while carrying fo...

In this episode of Mother And …, artist and mother Priya Suresh Kambli discusses her photographic practice and how it is shaped by migration, memory, and the shifting contours of motherhood. Priya reflects on losing her parents young, immigrating to the United States as a teenager, and discovering her artistic voice through the family photographs she carried with her - a makeshift archive that bec...

In this episode, Mother And …, artist and mother Sukanya Mani discusses her hand-cut paper installations that blend storytelling, cultural memory, and feminist reflection. Mani describes how her artistic practice evolved alongside her sons’ growth, from making work by hand while caring for young children to a research-centered approach rooted in emotional intelligence and philosophical inquiry. St...

In this episode of Mother And …, artist and writer Amy Meissner reflects on the intersections of motherhood, making, and repair. Working primarily in fiber and textiles, Meissner’s practice explores the physical and emotional labor of women, beginning with her own lineage of craft-making inherited from generations of Scandinavian women. She also discusses her use of reclaimed domestic materials, a...

In this episode of Mother And…, illustrator and educator Rahele Jomepour-Bell shares how storytelling, cultural heritage, and motherhood intertwine in her creative practice. Born in Iran and now based in Kansas City, Rahele has illustrated acclaimed children’s books, including “Missing Mama” by Winsome Bingham and “My Mother’s Tongues” by Uma Menon. She discusses how motherhood deepened her empath...

In this episode of Mother And…, artist and educator Sarah Irvin reflects on how motherhood has shaped her artistic practice, especially in connection to her understanding of the labor of caregiving. From her early Breastfeeding Drawings and Rocking Chair Drawings - works that use caregiving itself as a mark-making tool - to later series like Connect the Dots and Public Private, Irvin explores how...

In this episode of Mother And …, multidisciplinary artist, architect, and educator Samantha Krukowski reflects on how motherhood, teaching, and care for the natural world shape her creative practice. From restoring old buildings to cultivating native plants in her Kansas City yard, Krukowski explores what it means to create spaces where life can thrive. She discusses how empathy and attentiveness...

In this episode of Mother And …, artist Mona Cliff (Fort Belknap A’aninin tribe) reflects on how motherhood and Indigenous traditions have shaped her art practice. Cliff, who works across beadwork, murals, and mixed media, describes how raising three children initially led her to focus on traditional arts - making regalia and beadwork - before returning to a contemporary practice that integrates c...

In this episode of Mother And …, socially engaged Diana Heise reflects on how motherhood has reshaped her creative and academic life. Working across performance, photography, film, and ecofeminist practices, Heise shares how projects like her “De-Assimilation Diet” series grew directly out of the visceral experience of feeding her first child, transforming caregiving into art. She discusses the co...

In this episode of Mother And …, photographer Adrienne Maples reflects on her two decades behind the camera and the ways motherhood has shaped her creative vision. Maples has developed an artistic style that blends reality and fantasy, often layering multiple images to create magical, composite portraits. She speaks candidly about balancing her life as a single mother, artist, and business owner,...

In this episode of Mother And … , installation artist Cory Imig shares how motherhood reshaped her creative practice, leading her from large-scale environments to intimate vignettes of space and time. She reflects on the ways parenting young children has taught her to embrace flexibility and spontaneity in her studio, while also inviting her children into her creative process. Balancing her roles...

In this episode of Mother And …, installation and performance artist Beili Liu discusses how motherhood has shaped her artistic vision and practice. Liu’s work explores themes of cultural memory, migration, and environmental change, often weaving together personal experience and urgent social concerns. She reflects on her daughter’s role as both inspiration and collaborator, and on the ways parent...

 In this episode of Mother And … , artist and professor Julie Farstad reflects on the ways motherhood and art have become deeply intertwined in her life and practice. As a painter and educator at the Kansas City Art Institute, Farstad shares how she brings her children into her studio, challenging the idea that caregiving and creative work must remain separate. She speaks candidly about navigating...

In this episode of Mother And … , host Eleanor Lim-Midyett sits down with Stephanie Leedy and her daughter Erin Woodworth, who together carry forward the vision of the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, Missouri—the home of the Mother And … exhibition. Stephanie reflects on her father, artist Jim Leedy, and how growing up immersed in his creative world shaped her own artistic path. Erin shar...