Kate Bingaman-Burt is back on the podcast! Kate is a Portland based artist, illustrator, professor, entrepreneur, and now – thanks to a little fella named Hank – she’s also a mom. So, how does she do allllll of those things I just listed? That’s what we’re going to talk about in our segment titled “Kate Bingaman-Burt had a baby, and yes, she’s still an artist!”. I had a baby too, granted, that was thirteen years ago, but I still remember those early days like it was yesterday. I remember the fog, not showering for days, and feeling like I might not ever make art again. We’re talking rules, daily practice and that, YES, it’s absolutely possible to be a mother AND an artist. True story. You can listen right up there under Kate ‘n Hank, or subscribe on iTunes.

First up, what Kate’s daily “Obsessive Consumption” drawings used to feature:

Ahhhhh, I love it all. I also love that the items she’s buying / documenting NOW, are slightly different:

Haha! YES! Okay, she might not be keeping a traditional “Baby’s Firsts” book, but she’s definitely capturing everything in a super fabulous Kate Bingaman-Burt kind ‘o way! Also, that jean jacket is ridiculously cute. She posts these on Instagram now, so you can follow along over there.

Kate talked about how important having a daily drawing practice is to her, even if it’s only for 15 minutes a day. For years she has made time for this creative outlet… even one day after giving birth. Here are the hospital drawings she mentioned:

So, so special! What a way to capture Hank’s arrival into the world, and a wonderful way to keep a new mom calm (and feeling like herself in a time when it’s really easy to completely forget who you are. Yes, I’m speaking from experience!)

Next… ceramics!? Yep. Seriously, she is never not trying new stuff. Here’s what she’s been doing over in her mom’s kiln:

Oh, thank goodness… somewhere to keep my fingernails!

So, having a full teaching schedule, a daily art practice, and a baby aren’t quite enough for Kate. Enter her fantastic shop / Risograph print workshop studio, Outlet PDX:

Ooooh, I want to go to there. And look, it’s sweet little Hank giving Barbara a hug! Maybe that’ll keep her going just a little bit longer. Speaking of Barbara, she has a message about perfectionism for all of us:

Amen, Barbara, amen.

And finally, the project for this week. This was the unblocking project Kate gave me as part of her interview in my very first book, Creative Block:

Do it… and embrace every little imperfection. Barbara would want that. Thank you so much to Kate for taking time out of her very busy life to do this with me; thanks to both of this week’s fantastic sponsors – Thrive {sign up for their Mastermind group!} and Carve Out Time for Art {preorder their book!}; big mama love thanks to my very special guest at the end of the episode; and as always, huge thanks to you for listening. I’ll be back again next weekend with a new episode. ~ Danielle