Heather Theurer, Artist and Parent
 |
| Blue Ribbon |
How many children do you have?
What are their ages?
⁃ I have 5 children: 16 (boy), 13 (girl),
10 (girl), and 8 (identical twin boys)
 |
| Adoration |
How did your artistic career
begin?
⁃ When I could pick up a pencil :) When
my parents asked me at the age of 3 what I was going to grow up to be, I said,
“a famous artist.” I’ve been working at that ever since. I finally went
“professional” about 18 years ago.
What is your Parenting/work/art situation?
 |
| Etherium |
⁃ I have a great husband who supports me
in all three of those roles. My studio is an open, walk-through space in our
home, so my kids are always able and welcome to be a part of what I do,
although that doesn’t necessarily make it easy to accomplish projects! But now
that all of them are in school, I do get a few precious quiet hours during the
day to focus only on my artwork. Art is my passion, but my family is my love,
so there is a delicate balance that I am always very aware of and that requires
specific attention so that I don’t mess up what’s most important. And sometimes
that means putting my art aside.
When do you make time to do your
art and do you have a regular art routine?
⁃ I try to make it as regular as
possible, although this doesn’t always happen. I have to be pretty flexible
with a large family. During the daylight hours, however, when there’s the best
light to work with is when I make specific time to create.
 |
| Lilo and Stitch |
Do your children get involved
with your art?
⁃ That depends on how you look at it! :)
When they were younger they got involved—a lot! When I’d sell a painting, I’d
say that the buyer was really getting two artists for the price of one because
some little fingers decided to work on the piece while I was out of the room. Now
that their older, some of my kids have decided that they’re not quite so
interested in art as before, which is okay, but a couple of them really love it
too. My daughter who’s 10 blows me away with what she creates and she loves to
learn new techniques as I learn them. If she keeps it up, she’ll be way ahead
of me as an adult!
Do they inspire aspects of your
art?
⁃ Absolutely. Most of my paintings in
some way or another have been inspired by them. Either by an experience or
struggle we were going through, or simply something they said or did that
sparked an idea. I’ve actually snagged some ideas from drawings my 10 year old
drew for one of my dragons.
 |
| Spread |
How has having children changed
your artwork?
⁃ I think it has matured my artwork.
Great art, in my opinion, is created as a result of deep life experiences
translated into the medium you’re working in. This comes in many forms, but
life with my children has expanded my view of life and the universe and the
eternities in a way that has given my art a new dimension and depth of meaning
that wasn’t there before I had them.
How does making time for artwork
influence other household tasks?
⁃ Well, for one thing, the dishes don’t
always get done. Or the laundry put away. I am pretty compulsive about working
in a tidy house. It drives me nuts to have clutter floating around and tasks
undone. That being said, if inspiration hits me hard enough, the rest of those
things can completely melt away into nothingness and I can entirely ignore them
for the moments I spend encompassed by that idea. When you’re transported into
another world you’re recreating, the world you live in suddenly doesn’t exist
anymore. It’s an awesome feeling while it lasts.
Have different ages of your
children been more difficult to make time for artwork and in which ways?
⁃ It was a struggle while they were
little, but nothing like it is now that they’re older. You’d think that they
would be more independent, thus less demanding, but their schedules and
homework and personal interests (and yes, sometimes attitudes!) have actually
made it more difficult than before. Not to mention that my career has grown
with them and the number of commissions, shows and projects I work on have
increased, so that adds to the issue. So I’m always having to re-evaluate my
schedule and workload to make sure that I’m not going to over-do it.
 |
| Stripey Dragon- Aubrey age 9 |
 |
| Massive Dragon Aubrey age 9 |
How do you encourage your children to be artistic?
⁃ Seeing my kids create is a real joy for
me, so I ask them to create for me whenever I can. I have them draw for their
grandparents and relatives. I also save what they draw for me, framing some of
them even. There are a myriad of opportunities to create and enter contests and
things like that too, which I think is good for them as it provides a specific
goal they can work for and reach. But I also know that creating good art
requires skill, so along with positive reinforcement, I will offer critiques to
challenge them to put in even more effort and thought and technique into what
they create, to which they have responded in turn with some pretty amazing
stuff.
Do you feel extra pressure as an
artist to raise your children to be artistic?
 |
| Dripping Dragon by Aubrey age 9 |
⁃ I did at first, but not anymore. I’ve
come to realize that my children are unique, both from other children around
them and from me. Not all of them show an interest in being artistic, but what
subjects they do show interest in, I think is amazing and I want to build them
up in what they love. Even though my dad was a engineer, physicist and
mathematician and always hoped that I’d do the same, he never put me down for
wanting to be an artist and always encouraged it. The least I can do is the
same for my children in what they like. But no matter what, I still try to
squeeze in some kind of artistic endeavors into their lives because I know that
learning to use the creative side of yourself is not only enjoyable, but is
essential to succeeding in just about any other area of expertise. If you can
see things pictured in your head or on paper, it’s far easier to figure out a
problem or task, whether thats in math, science, english, you name it.
Have you seen your children take
inspiration from your artwork?
⁃ Some, yes. My 10 year old (yeah, she’s
the most artistically-inclined one of the bunch) used to copy and re-copy in
pencil some of the paintings that I’d done. I was flattered! Until one day when
she embellished one of “my” dragons with a twist of her own. Then I got
excited! She had taken something she’d seen and made it hers. She owned it. And now she takes elements
from nature and puts them together to make the most amazing creatures. All from
a little bit of copying.
In what ways does being an artist
make being a parent harder or easier?
⁃ It makes it easier because it gives me
a way to escape into my own world when I need it. A world that is incorruptible
except by me and is as perfect or imperfect as I want to make it. It makes it
harder because inspiration doesn’t always come at the most convenient times.
Life needs living and tasks need doing and children need loving more than a
painting needs to be painted sometimes.
 |
| Triumph |
Do you think being a parent
affects the way you are perceived as an artist?
⁃ Most of the time, I get two main
responses. The first is that people can’t believe that I have five kids and
still have the time to be a full-time artist. Those people are always a little
amazed that I can create what I do and balance all of that. The other response
is one of a bit of disdain. Like having a family is a hinderance and therefore
makes what I do a “hobby” rather than a career. But usually that’s because
they’ve first heard of my kids and haven’t yet paid attention to the work that
I do. Either way, I don’t really care. I do what I do because I love it, and
yes, occasionally that means putting my art on the back burner for a while so I
can take care of my family. If someone is going to like my art, then go ahead
and like my art—instead of preconceiving ideas about it’s worth simply because
of my family situation. The idea seems a little ludicrous, but it happens.
Silly, I know.
Are there any other things about
Balancing Painting and Parenting that you would like to share?
⁃ Everyone’s situation is unique, so it
would be tough to give particular advice on it, but if I had one thought that I
could share, it would be to follow your heart. Not in a selfish, personally
indulging kind of way, but in a real, true-to-your-soul kind of way. God gives
us gifts for a reason and we have to find that reason. The ability to create
art is a gift. My children are a gift. Life is a gift. Treat those things as
such and you can’t go wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment