Artist’s Statement: Artist Residency In Motherhood (Oct 2022 - May 2023)

I became a mother in 2011. Becoming a mother changes many things in life. At times I thought to myself, "Maybe I should put my life on hold and focus on parenting for a while." However, that is not who I am. My artist self cannot be given up and cannot wait until my child becomes an adult---because this means I am raising her without the core part of myself. This residency is a protest against the unhelpful societal beliefs about motherhood. It is also a project and practice of myself showing up as the whole self for my child and for the rest of the world.

Topics of exploration: My intention of this residency is to explore my parental experiences as an immigrant in America — e.g. Passing down the language and culture of the home country to the next generation, changing identities of myself as the mother and my child as we both negotiate the mainstream culture and the heritage culture, and dreams and hopes for the next generation. My motherhood so far taught me to let go of assimilation strategies and instead invest in reclaiming my own cultural identity. Because of this, I intentionally select Mokuhanga (woodblock print) and Kamihanga (paper plate prints) as art media to explore the above topics, as these art methods are from my country of origin, Japan.

You can see how I am doing in my residency via Instagram @ mikigoerdt ! I will also let you know about my art sales and artmaking events if you sign up for my mailing list here.

Join the movement--http://www.artistresidencyinmotherhood.com/