Creation Stories With: Ariel Dearie
Flowers, 4am starts and coming back to yourself
Hi Friends,
I have something new for you today, something I have been working on for a while that I’m very excited to share. It feels right to launch it for International Women’s Day.
Creation Stories is a monthly interview series that will explore personal experiences of motherhood and creativity. Each month I will speak to an inspiring human about the ways in which being a mother has impacted their self-employed creative work; the feelings, the joys, the challenges, the logistics.
As I sit here pregnant again, on the brink of another journey through the portal of motherhood, I am finding myself yearning for the wisdom of other artists and mothers. Even though I have spent the last six years navigating this (uneven) terrain for myself, being pregnant again is a vulnerable headspace and - as with most things - I look to the sisterhood of other women to light the way.
I hear from a lot of other self-employed creatives that they are searching for similar reassurance as they feel their feelings around this possible path - I hope this series will provide some support and inspiration. I will be speaking to people who do all kinds of different creative work, in different parts of the world about all the different ways they are living creative lives as mothers.
This month’s guest is my dear friend and incredible flower artist Ariel Dearie. Ariel and I met around 16 years ago working at the same restaurant in Brooklyn. In the early days of her floral business we shared a studio and I assisted her on some jobs; she has gone on to work with some incredible clients and I am endlessly inspired by her creative vision and drive. I often think it was working with Ariel that first planted the seed of flower inspiration in me and for that I am forever grateful.
I hope you enjoy our conversation:
Hi! Can you tell me about your work and/ or creative practice?
I work with flowers in many forms. For many years I've worked with flowers for photos shoots, private homes, and events. Recently I've started also making floral collages and creating flowers in copper and brass for installations and functional pieces. I love the idea of working with flowers in a more permanent way.
2. Can you tell me about your family (who is in your family? How old are your kids? Where do you live?)
I live in Rhinebeck, NY which is a small town in the Hudson Valley, about 2 hours north of NYC with my husband and two daughters who are 4 and 7.
3. How did your path towards motherhood and/ or experience of pregnancy affect your work?
Both of my pregnancies were relatively easy, which was lucky, of course. My work does require a lot of lifting, so that was tricky sometimes, but fortunately, I work with amazing people who were happy to help!
4. Has your experience of birth impacted you as a creative person?
I'm not really sure... I suppose that giving birth and having babies has made me shift my priorities and pay attention to what is most important to me.
5. Were you able to give yourself maternity leave and what did that look like for you?
I took about 3 months off with my first daughter. We do flowers for private homes, so those continued, but I managed the installations from home.
6. Literally, how do you do it? How do you structure your weeks around work and motherhood. Who helps you?
We currently have an au pair who lives with us, so that's been incredibly helpful. I also have a really close friend who also has daughters the same age as mine, so we carpool and try to juggle things together. Even with help though, I feel like I'm constantly trying to find the balance between my work, home life, and time with my daughters.
Since I often work in NYC, I find myself often waking up super early (4 or 5am) to head to the city and maximize my hours away from home.
7. How has motherhood affected your relationship to creativity?
When my daughters were babies and toddlers, I was so consumed with the day to day of everything that I found I didn't have much extra space in my brain for creativity. Now that they're a bit older and a bit more independent, it's been nice to have that part of my brain back.
Since becoming a mother, I've found that I'm a lot more particular with the projects I take.
I've also found that I am a lot more productive with my time when I'm away from my kids. It's amazing how much you can get done when given 4 hours as a mother!
8. How has motherhood affected your relationship to rest?
Ha! That's something we're still working on. I don't know when the last time I had a full night's sleep was!
9. How has motherhood affected your relationship to ambition and perfectionism ?
I feel like I really have to make my time away from my children count so I've found I've maybe become more of a perfectionist with my work. If I'm going to be away from my children, I may as well make it count and do the best possible job I can.
10. What wisdom or advice might you offer to a self-employed person working in the arts who is on the brink of motherhood?
It will be difficult for those early years, and you may feel like you've lost a part of yourself, but it will come back to you eventually.
Ariel, thank you so much for being here! You can see more of her work HERE and follow her on Instagram HERE .
Take Care,
Katy x
What a beautiful q&a! I loved learning more about you 🌸