Stefanie Bruinsma: Escaping into Art

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m a mother of a beautiful 10 year old boy named Ezra. I’m an Infant/Toddler educator currently working for my associates in Early Childhood For Exceptional Children! My inspiration for everything I do comes from my grandmother who was a third grade teacher on a small Island in Alaska. She taught me cursive and how to read. I use her patience in my teachings and cursive in my expressions often as I feel it is a way to be closer to the memory of her. I feel that the human experience is a beautiful one, and I try to capture many moments in my life to help those around me feel understood. I try to speak to the inner child of everyone. Art for me was a safe space to leave a toxic home life of abuse, neglect and drug abuse that was present as a child. Now it’s a world of my very own that I feel most powerful in and can share with those around me. 

What did you used to do during recess? 

When I think about it, I remember our wood playground the most and those weird spaces and tunnels underneath. I always wondered that if I hid, would my teacher notice I was gone? We had woods and lots of trees for climbing. In the fall, we would have beautiful piles of colorful leaves. A hill nearby filled with milkweeds and monarch butterflies occupied a lot of the play space as well. In the winter, we would pack the snow down where the milkweeds were and have a hill for sliding. In the spring, the cold would freeze the rain water in little spaces that were scattered around the playground. We’d always find them, lock arms and skate in our snow boots on the tiny space. Even if the frozen puddle was small, we would fit at least 5 kids on the ice patch. 

My appreciation for Massachusetts grew from that playground. I still have a sliver in my hand from sliding my hand across the wood. I still say “our'' because this is a place I made lifelong friends with. I recently brought up the smell of our playground to one of my childhood neighbors. We also shared a duplex for many years. He also remembers it and it’s like a smell that we can both taste, feel and that’s home for us and we can’t explain. I'll never forget the clapping games, jump rope, and finding critters. I’ll never forget the songs or my first kiss in those wood tunnels filled with rocks and warm sand that smelled like sunblock and sun blisters. 

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

I was always curious about the things around me and I’m still digging and exploring as an adult. Escapism and submerging to a safe space is a common theme for me as it always has been. I’d always think about kids that didn’t see the beauty in things like I did, and as a child I felt very lonely internally. If I showed some kids my bugs that I’d find, some kids would find ways to hurt them. I was lucky to grow up in the same town and keep some beautiful friendships. With my sister, friends, and the other women in my life, I found ways to avoid bullies and see beauty by exploring the woods, swimming in puddles, making wacky things with whatever I could find. Music was an outlet as well and still is. I still dance and sing around my home and my son and husband join! 

Growing up, my family was very poor, so yard sales were our Saturdays after the food pantry and antiques filled our home after that Friday's payday. We had a lot of stray animals make their way into our lives as my Mother was very loving to all things. I don’t think we ever killed spiders in our home. 

I still have a garden like my father did. Our little family adventures now include exploring the outdoors, going to the library, museums, yard sales and antique shops! 

Creativity looks the same as it always has. I'm always still looking for inspiration and submerging myself into a world that is accepting, loving and free. I imagine tying myself like a balloon to the ground as a mother and teacher so I can fully embrace and be present with my kids. The urge to jump into my mind is very real but the moment has so many beautiful things I crave to be apart of it because creativity and inspiration is there. I try to handle everything with love like my mother and grandmother would.

 

How did motherhood change your creative practice?

The inspiration of caring for my littles has helped me look closer to my inner child and to understand myself and them more. I was a very young mom at age 23 so my idea of who I was, was still not fully grasped. Fresh into a new relationship of my early 20’s, we had no clue what we were doing, but now as life goes on, I prioritize my time and find balance as my son has gotten older. In earlier days of toddler antics, I’d include my boy in all my artist antics and he’s grown to love art, painting and drawing. Never leave a toddler around an open paint drawer is the best advice I have for ya’ll! 

What’s inspiring you outside of your own genre? 

So many things! I personally gravitate towards crazy fashion, extreme makeup, drag, taboo subjects, different religions, philosophy and a little bit of activism. I’d say I express myself a little like Robin Williams; dark comedy at nighttime but talking with dinosaurs, like in Mrs.Doubtfire, during the daytime. 

How would you like the world to see artists and mothers?

Mothers come from all life experiences, shapes and sizes. Raising children is a journey and mothers have a right to experience time for themselves to contribute to the soul. Mothers are beautiful vessels! Being a mother is an act of complete surrender to the needs of others but our needs have value as well and the need to express them should be a priority. We are our best when we have our moments to ourselves to connect to the whole. 

How could we support and encourage each other more? 

Don’t apologize for being tired. It’s okay. If the dishes aren't done, the house is a mess and the babies are asleep. Go to bed, or dive into a world and make space for yourself. Your littles are playing, take out that book you've been meaning to read, take a break and lay in the grass. Don’t feel guilt for wanting your time alone to yourself. Mom guilt is real but your priorities are important so things can run smoothly elsewhere. You’ll have a little more patience for your family and be able to be present in everyday moments. Give yourself a break from over-thinking and be gentle to yourself. You do enough, and you are enough.

When do you feel most creative?

Early mornings as the sun rises and late at night.

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Stefanie Bruinsma is an infant/toddler educator, homemaker, and mom to a 10-year-old boy. She recently painted a mural in Salem, Massachusetts. Follow her painting journey and support her art on Instagram @south.east.paw.

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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.