Motherhood takes the vessel of your being and dips it underwater, revealing where all the cracks may leak. It has the potential to bring the essential you, the good and the bad, to the forefront, from which you cannot hide. To the forefront, it also brings your priorities, your goals, and your future. Motherhood is a time of focusing and refocusing, a time of looking inward, a time for all else to fall away.
ARTIST // MOTHER
It was at the intersection of this identity that Olivia De Prato, violinist, co-founder of Matricalis, and mother, invited me to write the liner notes for her album I, A.M. - Artist Mother Project, new works for violin and electronics. The album features six composers who all identify as mothers. It was released just a month ago.
These liner notes provided an opportunity for me to contextualize some of my thoughts on motherhood through Adrienne Rich, and put into essay form my own considerations as well as those from conversations I have been having with my community of artist moms around artistry and motherhood. It took work and I feel proud of what I wrote.
I listened to the album many times while I wrote the notes, and I enjoy it very much. My favorite pieces are Mycorrhiza I (Katherine Young) and The Dream Feed (Zosha Di Castri), which both, speaking from experience, make excellent soundtracks for dramatic evening walks.
I invite you to take a listen and I would be honored if you would check out my liner notes as well. Cover art by artist mother, Meghan Hildebrand. I, A.M. was released on October 7th, 2022 on New World Records with support from New Music USA.
This image and text at the top are excerpts from my liner notes released by New World Records, October 2022.