Julia Karol: Creating a Family

Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi – I am Julia. I am a solo mom to an amazing 2 year old. I run a boutique investment firm as my full time career and spend my spare time as a storyteller. My creativity/ artistic passion is expressed through audio storytelling in a podcast called “Stork’d” and through a more personal newsletter called “Let’s Start a Family,” both about the many ways to create family.  I loved answering these questions – it really helped me get more clear in my heart about what drives me as a storyteller and a maker.

What did you use to do during recess?

My friends and I used to build “mousey houses”  in the footbeds of trees. We would imagine small creatures (mice, fairies and others) quietly living amongst the twisted root structures of the larger trees on our school playgrounds. Envisioning ourselves their giant guardians, we would construct tiny homes out of acorn caps, molded dirt and leaves. In addition to creating physical spaces for these magic creatures, we would construct elaborate stories about the invisible inhabitants.

Did you think of yourself as a creative kid? What does creativity look like for you these days?

I grew up surrounded by creativity: my mom is a mystery novelist who has become an expert at short fiction mysteries. She comes from a family of writers – including one exceptionally well known master of locked box mysteries from the Golden Age of detective fiction. In addition, my sister was a professional ballet dancers (even as children). Amidst this backdrop of talent, I always thought of myself as pretty mundane and average. While I loved painting, and writing stories and poems, I never really considered myself traditionally “creative”.

These days, I think a lot about how “creative” is one of the many restrictive labels like “smart”, “good”, “gifted”, “athletic”, “rebellious” etc. that  we apply to kids which really restricts self-perception. It negates that we humans are all naturally each of those things and so much more.

How much time do you get to work on creative projects?

My creativity must be squeezed into in-between times and found moments. I record the podcast between meetings for my professional job. I edit episodes late at night when my son is asleep. I write on newsletters in the moments when I am running between one activity to the next such as walking to work (google docs and voice notes work surprisingly well on the fly). It makes for a lot of chaos - and for frequently bumping into other pedestrians.

How did motherhood change your creative practice?

Covid and motherhood unlocked all of my creativity which I had previously been hiding in a forgotten corner of my mind. Launching a podcast (and subsequently a newsletter) about the paths people take to build their families while simultaneously building mine as a solo mom, help me redefined what it means to be creative in my life. Suddenly I found my medium – storytelling by asking questions and assisting the guest to extract meaning on behalf of themselves and our audience.

Through both the podcast and by becoming a mother, I have stepped into a new identity as a creator. I have designed a life as a solo parent that is wholly aligned with my hopes, dreams, values and vision for myself. I have created a remarkable human. And I get to make stories.

For me, all of these things are intertwined. In the same way that motherhood changes you by re-arranging you on a physical level (pushing your organs around to make space for the baby, absorbing someone else’s DNA into your cells), on a structural level (the shape of your day naturally shifts) and on an emotional level (your heart expands to feel things in ways it never has), becoming a creator has also re-arranged my whole soul.

I have discovered that creating something you care about fundamentally changes you. I am more grounded, more confident, more at ease and more sure of myself than ever before as a mom and a maker.

How does art enrich your life? How does being a mother enrich your art?

Becoming a mother was the ultimate act of creativity for me – not only is there something remarkable about the process of building cells, fingers, toes, organs for a little human for all mothers who carry their children, but also for me as a solo mom I literally had to create my family.

I had to sit down and get real with my heart about what I wanted for my life then take steps to design the life I wanted by composing all the components – picking a doctor, picking a sperm donor, going through fertility treatments, re-designing my relationship to my career, building a supportive community, etc.

 The ultimate creative act for me has been carving out a life that is right for me and my dreams and making it happen by creating my little human.

Now that I am a mom of a toddler, I get to see things through a new, magical lens. Gone is my financial, business mindset and instead I get to witness things through his brand-new perspective. He is currently quite taken by flowers, bees and little bugs and so to get down on his level, slow down and physically shift my perspective, has been inspirational.

What’s inspiring you outside of your own genre?

Right now I am reading everything I can about Rick Rubin after his book On Creativity really struck a chord. I am also fascinated by people who are multi-hyphenate and can express their passions through many different medium – Reese Witherspoon for instance, who creates as an actress, producer, book publisher, and so much more.

If you had a million dollars to make the world a better place, how would you spend it?

I would invest in advocacy to reform family building and childcare resources to ensure that everyone to create and sustain the family of their dreams, however they define it.

---

Julia Karol is the host of Stork’d® the Podcast and author of Let’s Build a Family. She is a solo mom, creative leader, warm friend, animal lover, and champion of alternative families. When she is not hosting Stork'd, Julia runs a private investment firm. She loves supporting businesses to grow and evolve. Outside of work, Julia's passions include hiking, skiing, yoga, reading. She lives in Boston with her dog and two year old son. You can find her on Instagram here or follow on Facebook for updates.

—

Hi! I’m Heidi. Writer. Editor. Mother. I’m interviewing 100 creative mothers, because I believe the more we see other mothers making beauty and meaning in small moments, the more we will be inspired to make our own kind of art, whatever that may look like during this intense season of life. Support the project by sharing with a friend.