Prior to becoming a mother, I had spent many years working freelance, and my sole focus was my work. From the moment my son was born he became my entire focus. Every waking hour, and there were many of them, reflected his needs, and on top of that I fell deeply in love with him.

I worked briefly part-time when he was around five months old, undertaking a few publishing and small ad commissions which I could only complete while he napped in the day. I found him so fascinating, and it wasn’t until he grew to two-and-a-half years old that I was able to find more time to think about myself and my work.

One day in his second year I had the urge to draw for fun on a spare piece of paper, a tiny hand (belonging to my son) picked up a pencil and joined me in drawing on the paper. Has this became ‘the new normal’? I thought to myself. I wondering why I had avoided drawing previously while around him. What a gift for him to be able to see his mum draw. I spent that evening developing the drawing of myself and that sketch became ‘The Illustrator’. I was so elated to hear my image was shortlisted as it gave me much more confidence on my recent return to the creation of new work. 

I feel that although things are changing I do feel there are aspects and stories of motherhood that don’t get a lot of airplay and at times I feel the real challenge is being heard about your experience as a mother and a woman.