Cara McDonough Photos
Luckey (in orange earrings).
The mothers around the table at Briah Luckey’s art studio on East Street weren’t wasting any time. There were greetings and updates before they quickly got to the task at hand, grabbing large rectangles of paper and paintbrushes for that morning’s project: “mark making” with black ink, accented by brightly colored, water-soluble crayons. There was a palpable enthusiasm in the room, perhaps born of the knowledge that this time was their own.
Soon, they would return to their families, work and whatever other commitments were on the agenda — school pick-ups, client appointments, what to have for dinner and more. They would be engulfed, once again, in often-overwhelming world of parental logistics.
That’s not to say that the mothers stopped thinking about those duties during their time in Luckey’s workshop, which is called M.O.S.S. (Mom’s Open Studio Series) and designed specifically for mothers to make art as a form of wellness and self-care. In fact, they talked about the struggles moms face with candor as their brushes flew across the paper, each woman’s creation growing into something quite unique. Large polka dots featured prominently in one piece. A flower took shape on another. The room seemed multi-use: part art-studio, part friendly therapist’s office.
One of the subjects the mothers mulled that morning — perhaps due to the presence of an interviewer in the room asking the question — was why participating in self-directed activities like M.O.S.S. is so important, and justifiable.
“If you’re already navigating in a less than full container, you will have no way to navigate when the sea gets bumpy,” said Lillee Chandra, a M.O.S.S. participant who owns Chandra Bodyworks, a private massage, yoga and somatic therapy practice in North Haven, and has two children.
In her own work, she often urges clients to take time for self-care and recharging.
She pointed out that she needs to take her own advice.
“I’m always trying to practice what I preach and art has been a salve for me as an outlet,” she said.
Using art as a purposeful outlet — a way for moms to express themselves in a meaningful way — was a big part of Luckey’s plan when she thought up and initiated the M.O.S.S. program a little over a year ago.
She’d been working as an art therapist at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, as well as doing art therapy with seniors and other groups. When it came time to make her next professional move, she started thinking about women, and particularly mothers.
“There can be this sense that there’s less value,” she said, about the idea of “just” being a mom. She said the M.O.S.S. program was born in part out of her own experience of motherhood. She lost her identity as being part of the working world and felt isolated. The idea for the program arrived like a lightning bolt late one night. She’d already witnessed the true benefits of art therapy; this would be art for wellness.
The M.O.S.S. workshop is meant to help alleviate isolation, build camaraderie and facilitate opportunities for creativity that moms in particular may feel they’re lacking, at any stage of parenting or life. Luckey emphasizes that some participants work full-time and parent, some are full-time parents and others do a combination of the two.
Participants sign up for two-month sessions that meet weekly, specifically running during school hours so that mothers don’t feel “fractured about coming,” Luckey said. The art disciplines and mediums vary, supplies are included, and the session ends in an end-of-semester closing show that the participants set up themselves.
Luckey is currently exploring new partnerships that would make art-for-wellness like this even more accessible to women, no matter their socioeconomic background or access to childcare.
“Parenting is a creative process in itself,” said Amy Stamp, another M.O.S.S. participant, noting the natural connection between raising children and making art. “And I truly believe that everyone is creative.”
This is a point Luckey emphasizes as well. M.O.S.S. is designed so that those with no experience whatsoever — or whose last art project may have involved collage-making in second grade — don’t feel at a disadvantage.
“When given the right forum, or when people are aware that they possess it, moms are full of creative energy and wisdom and I don’t think it’s called forth or highlighted in our culture,” she said.
Other participants are already artists or “makers,” but M.O.S.S. is a place for them to let their guard down. Stamp owns Craftivate, a DIY art and craft studio in Wallingford that hosts parties, walk-in crafting hours and other events for all ages.
Another participant, Lee Lee McKnight, publishes The Perpetual You, a monthly lifestyle magazine for women that features uplifting and inclusive content.
But here in the studio, the creations are solely their own. Conversation moved organically between subjects, eliciting laughter and more serious tones as the women discussed the demands on their time and remembered what they felt like as new parents. They agreed that it’s a long game to recover from the “loss of self” moms often feel, and discussed potentially participating in Nasty Women CT as a group. At one point, they worked on their art in a comfortable silence for a period at Luckey’s suggestion.
“So much research has been done at this point about the benefits or making art on our nervous system. It’s a meditative process. You get into the ‘flow state,’” said Luckey. “We know trying something new helps us solve problems, creates new neural pathways and just creates community … being with moms who have had a shared experience.”
Chandra said when women try to talk themselves out of this type of clearly beneficial self-care, noting their copious demands, to-do lists and the ever-present job of taking care of a family, the key is to “change your thinking.”
“Just think of it as an investment,” she said.
Observing the moms in action, it’s clear the class is relaxing, and a lot of fun. But it’s clear that M.O.S.S. is much more than that, too. Luckey is excited to extend the program’s meaningfulness to as many mothers as she can.
“There’s a cultivating forgiveness that goes on when we are gentle with ourselves,” she said. “When people make art, they externalize, and they can look at the product in a way with a little more insight into the imperfect part of parenting.”
To find our more about M.O.S.S., visit Briah Luckey’s website.
