Cayce Zavaglia

So I re-discovered this artist tonight. She is a stay-at-home mom of four young children. She lives in St.Louis. She was trained as a painter. She now uses wool embroidery thread to "paint" (sew) these portraits. If you would like to know more about her, the interview with her here is very good. My heart hurts seeing these pieces of art. They are wonderful. 

"As mentioned you are a mother, how do you balance the role of mother and the role of artist? What are the challenges of being a working artist and a mom?

My 4 children are ages 9, 7, 5, and 2. I keep open the notion that the amount of time I am able to spend in my studio will fluctuate constantly until all of my kids are in school full time. If I were still in graduate school, I could get up, have breakfast, drink a coffee, and work from 9-12 in my studio. But this isn’t possible with 2 kids still at home.  I treasure the time with my kids—cooking with them, taking them for treats to the coffee shop, strolling the Botanical Gardens with them, and reading to them. So I choose to look at this as time that is going to inform my work not take me away from my work.  I am always thinking about my work whether I am sewing or not.  I am confident that I would never have stumbled upon this medium had I not become a parent and wanted and needed my work to change.  I tell my artist friends who become mother’s to look for how their work will change for the better when they become mothers.  We cannot imagine it until it happens."

Look at this craftsmanship, this artistry, this wonderousness!!!!