In this episode of Mother And …, textile artist and mother Debbie Barrett-Jones discusses her weaving practice, which is rooted in process, intuition, and the long arc of caregiving. Debbie reflects on discovering weaving as a student at the Kansas City Art Institute, where the loom became an instrument for navigating the uncertainty of pregnancy and the evolving contours of her creative life. She discusses how the labor-intensive rhythms of textile work mirror the emotional push-and-pull of parenting - holding on, letting go, and learning to release. 

Debbie also shares the story behind her large-scale photographic installations at the Kansas City International Airport, her collaborations with her artist sister, and the influential mentorship of Stephanie Leedy. For the Mother And … exhibition, Debbie created an installation that brings her loom, her process, and the imperfect, ever-changing nature of parenting into the gallery itself. Her reflections illuminate how maternal experience shapes artistic practice in both subtle and profound ways. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode of Mother And …, artist and mother Linda Lighton reflects on a lifetime of creativity, rebellion, and fearless making. A celebrated ceramicist known for her provocative and politically charged work, Lighton traces her path from hippie-era experimentation to a five-decade career that has explored joy, feminism, and social critique through clay. Her work - ranging from sensuous “divas” and chandelier installations to biting commentaries on gender, violence, and gun culture - transforms everyday symbols of domesticity into bold statements about power, pleasure, and the human condition.

Lighton’s artistic journey has been shaped by generations of women, including her grandmother, who founded one of the first art galleries in Kansas City in the 1930s, and her daughter, a career art specialist and currently Director of Research for Gagosian Gallery. As Lighton prepares for her retrospective, “Love and War” at the Nerman Museum, she reflects on motherhood as an act of courage and continuity. Collaborating with her daughter on the exhibition’s catalogue, she sees their partnership as the culmination of a generational dialogue about art, independence, and joy - a legacy begun in a Kansas City gallery nearly a century ago. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode, Mother And …, artist and mother Althea Murphy-Price discusses how her multidisciplinary practice  - spanning printmaking, sculpture, photography, and installation - explores perception, appearance, and the cultural narratives that shape femininity. Althea reflects on how printmaking’s inherent metaphors of replication, mirroring, and generative matrices resonate deeply with her interests in womanhood and with her own experiences as a mother to two daughters. Her interactions with her daughters, especially those surrounding hair, adornment, and self-presentation, have increasingly infused her studio work with new materials, colors, and questions.

Althea discusses her pieces First Aid and Bed of Needles, both of which transform familiar objects, such as Band-Aids and bobby pins, into reflections on care, vulnerability, caution, and the tools women use to navigate the world. She also speaks candidly about balancing professional identity with caregiving, the importance of role models for Black women artists, and the ongoing evolution of her daughters’ creative lives. For Althea, motherhood has not constrained her practice; it has offered new metaphors, new rhythms, and a deeper understanding of the “and” that defines an artist mother’s life. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode of Mother And …, artist and mother Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez speaks about her four-decade practice that explores cultural memory, migration, feminist histories, and the enduring legacies of colonization. Born in Colombia and trained as an artist from an early age, Nancy describes how political turmoil prompted her migration to New York, where she rebuilt her career while carrying forward objects, materials, and stories that anchor her sense of identity. She reflects on becoming a mother at 41 and how caregiving and artmaking became deeply intertwined - ethically, emotionally, and practically. She discusses her piece “Byzantine Grid,” which was created between breastfeeding sessions, drawing on lace archives, domestic labor, and the generational lineage of women’s handwork.

Throughout the conversation, Nancy discusses feminism as an entry point to human experience, the cultural transmission embedded in mothering, and her daughter’s growing engagement with the histories that shape Nancy’s work. She also shares how she and her partner built “Fiendish Plots,” an artist-run space in Nebraska, grounded in generosity and community. For Nancy, motherhood has never diminished her practice; instead, it has nourished it, expanding her understanding of creativity, care, and the many shades of a feminist life. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode of Mother And …, artist and mother Priya Suresh Kambli discusses her photographic practice and how it is shaped by migration, memory, and the shifting contours of motherhood. Priya reflects on losing her parents young, immigrating to the United States as a teenager, and discovering her artistic voice through the family photographs she carried with her - a makeshift archive that became the foundation of her studio practice. A mother of two, Priya discusses how parenting and artmaking evolve together, each requiring risk, patience, reinvention, and deep attention. She shares how her children have become collaborators and witnesses to her creative life, recognizing her not only as a parent but as an artist with her own commitments and passions.

Kambli also talks about her series “The Idea of Home Follows Me,” created from Midwestern landscapes altered with local clay and handwritten Marathi, merging the geographies and languages that shape her identity. Throughout the conversation, she speaks candidly about navigating residencies, cultural transmission, shifting expectations of motherhood, and the profound value of simply being present - both in the studio and at home. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode, Mother And …, artist and mother Sukanya Mani discusses her hand-cut paper installations that blend storytelling, cultural memory, and feminist reflection. Mani describes how her artistic practice evolved alongside her sons’ growth, from making work by hand while caring for young children to a research-centered approach rooted in emotional intelligence and philosophical inquiry. Storytelling, she explains, connects her childhood in India, her creative voice, and her parenting, offering a way to honor her ancestors while guiding her sons.

Mani discusses Thooli, her installation for the Mother And .. exhibition, inspired by the Tamil word for “cradle.” Constructed from donated saris and encircled by paper-cut figures of ancestors and global goddesses, the piece reflects on postpartum traditions, communal support, and Mani’s experience giving birth as an immigrant far from her family. She also speaks about sustainability, mentorship, and the importance of nurturing creativity in many forms. For Mani, motherhood fosters empathy and deep listening - values that shape her work, her teaching, and her vision of community care. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode of Mother And …, artist and writer Amy Meissner reflects on the intersections of motherhood, making, and repair. Working primarily in fiber and textiles, Meissner’s practice explores the physical and emotional labor of women, beginning with her own lineage of craft-making inherited from generations of Scandinavian women. She also discusses her use of reclaimed domestic materials, a result of her journey from working in the garment industry to artmaking. Meissner also reflects on how handwork became both a meditative and a practical response to motherhood. 

Through artwork series such as Milk on the Tongue, Fatigue Threshold, and Inheritance, Meissner connects her own experiences as a parent with the larger issues of women’s invisible labor, maternal exhaustion, and intergenerational care. The conversation also explores how her children have absorbed the ethics of making and repair, from her son darning socks on airplanes to her daughter helping design architectural structures. Throughout this conversation, Meissner shares how craft, caregiving, and art are inseparable in her life. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode of Mother And…, illustrator and educator Rahele Jomepour-Bell shares how storytelling, cultural heritage, and motherhood intertwine in her creative practice. Born in Iran and now based in Kansas City, Rahele has illustrated acclaimed children’s books, including “Missing Mama” by Winsome Bingham and “My Mother’s Tongues” by Uma Menon. She discusses how motherhood deepened her empathy toward her young audience, and how her daughter, Daria, serves as both a muse and a collaborator - offering ideas, feedback, and inspiration for her illustrations.

Rahele also reflects on her journey from fine art to book illustration art, her embrace of Persian visual traditions, and the importance of diversity and representation in children’s publishing. As a professor at the Kansas City Art Institute, she brings the same warmth and curiosity to her students that she practices at home, encouraging both to embrace imperfection and creativity as part of the artistic process. Her story is one of connection - between languages, cultures, generations, and the many roles of being both an artist and a mother. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode of Mother And…, artist and educator Sarah Irvin reflects on how motherhood has shaped her artistic practice, especially in connection to her understanding of the labor of caregiving. From her early Breastfeeding Drawings and Rocking Chair Drawings - works that use caregiving itself as a mark-making tool - to later series like Connect the Dots and Public Private, Irvin explores how language, systems, and embodied routines shape both art and parenting. She discusses how becoming a mother transformed what she once saw as a conflict between artmaking and caregiving into a generative intersection, asking, “What if there’s art you can only make because you are a parent?”Irvin also shares her work on the Artist Parent Index, a digital humanities project that documents artists addressing reproductive experiences and caregiving in their practices. Throughout the conversation, she emphasizes the ethics of privacy and agency in her work, her commitment to respecting her daughter’s autonomy, and her ongoing effort to build community among artist-parents. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.

In this episode of Mother And …, multidisciplinary artist, architect, and educator Samantha Krukowski reflects on how motherhood, teaching, and care for the natural world shape her creative practice. From restoring old buildings to cultivating native plants in her Kansas City yard, Krukowski explores what it means to create spaces where life can thrive. She discusses how empathy and attentiveness guide both her art and parenting, drawing connections between nurturing her daughter, retraining horses, and reviving neglected environments. Krukowski also shares how surviving cancer deepened her understanding of the body and inspired her to write Our Body Is a Garden, a book for her young daughter. Her story intertwines art, ecology, and motherhood into a holistic vision of creative stewardship. This conversation is part of the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City from September 5 through November 21, 2025.