We caught up with Edinburgh based artist, Flore Gardner ahead of her Spilt Milk debut at our forthcoming exhibition re: birth.

Open Call! re: birth : Spilt Milk Members Show 2019.

This year’s exhibition will take place at St Margarets House, Edinburgh Sept 28th - Oct 13th. Submission deadline of September 1st for current and new members of Spilt Milk.

“So much of motherhood is inexplicable as intense; opposite emotions exist side-by-side. You can feel deep love right next to strong resentment. Loneliness exists right next to never being alone. My work helps me process that whirlwind. I also hate how little contemporary art investigates motherhood in a raw way.”

“My work is about moments of transformation and since having kids that has heightened.  I am interested in depicting new narratives of mother and child, both separately and in double portraits. I’m interested in how we develop a conscious sense of who we are and subsequently how we deconstruct ourselves, in order to start all over again. At the core of my imagery is a focus on the essence of these transitions, our awareness of mortality and a compulsion for re-invention.”

“My experience of motherhood has made my work stronger. I am more focused and more intent about what it is I want to say and share with the world. I have adapted my practice so that if I’m not in the studio “making” I am in my head processing and evolving my ideas. This creative thinking time is something I have developed through my time spent breastfeeding my children. The connection I have with my children is something that influences my work that I didn’t think would pre-kids. Pre-kids, I predetermined that I would ​never m​ ake my art about my experiences of being a mother and that I would mold my process in order to fit into the category of what is acceptable art. Afterall, I wanted to be a successful artist. But again, I was molding my work to fit within artistic parameters that were designed and dominated by men.”

“I want to encourage my child’s creativity – his joyful imagination – and a deep appreciation for the arts.  I hope he’ll hold onto this as well as his sense of creativity as he gets older.  I also hope I will be a role model for him.  I feel strongly that he grows up to respect women – and other people, animals and the environment.”

“This has been an interesting experience in terms of combining work, an infant and art (among other things) because I could not have started making the work I am making now without having my baby, but it is incredibly difficult to get anything completed in a timely fashion because I have a baby. I have navigated this major challenge by simply communicating with my husband when I really need time in the studio, whether it’s for creating/making or just to clear my head. He does the same. We make a great team.”

“Yes, everything seems to have changed. At times, I feel that I have “lost” my identity as an independent person. My children’s needs come first and it's hard to remember what it felt like to have “free-time”. While this loss of part-of-my-identity can be seen as a negative, it can also be seen as a positive. Being a mother has taught me about myself: my limits, my potential, my stesses, how to do more with less time. This influences my work as I make work about the duality. The joy and the struggle. The sadness and humor. The good and the bad. The loss of time and the new experiences. It seems nothing is ever 100% and I think talking about those juxtapositions allows me to connect  with viewers on a more intimate level. “

…..“The experience of motherhood brought up the subject for my work since I like making from my life observation. But one thing definitely changed my view it’s my breast. Nothing really prepared me for being a first-time Mum and the profound change it has had on me and my body image, before becoming a mother I worried about how I looked. Was I the right shape and size, was I attractive enough? I now realise none of that matters. My body is now a bed, a soothing space, a safe space and a source of food.”

“….I decided that that I must work in the studio every day. At the same time I made commitment to my self care. Each day I make sure to do something for myself as well as something for my studio practice. I spend some time researching and reading, writing, visiting galleries and museums, viewing contemporary dance, watching films. Each week i spend time writing label copy for my works. I use instagram as a daily digital sketchbook, noting what I’m working on and what I am interested in.”