In this episode of Mother And …, artist Mona Cliff (Fort Belknap A’aninin tribe) reflects on how motherhood and Indigenous traditions have shaped her art practice. Cliff, who works across beadwork, murals, and mixed media, describes how raising three children initially led her to focus on traditional arts - making regalia and beadwork - before returning to a contemporary practice that integrates cultural knowledge with fine art. She speaks candidly about navigating the logistical challenges of mothering while building an artistic career, from beading late at night when her children were small to involving her now-teenagers in murals and studio projects. For Cliff, beadwork embodies ancestral knowledge, generosity, and the value of women’s time, principles she weaves into both her art and parenting. This episode 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 …, socially engaged Diana Heise reflects on how motherhood has reshaped her creative and academic life. Working across performance, photography, film, and ecofeminist practices, Heise shares how projects like her “De-Assimilation Diet” series grew directly out of the visceral experience of feeding her first child, transforming caregiving into art. She discusses the complexities of raising two young daughters and a stepdaughter while navigating academia, confronting perfectionism, and challenging patriarchal expectations in art and family life. Her work, including the eco-activist project “We Are Of This World,” emphasizes presence, collaboration, and ethical engagement with both community and the natural world. This episode 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 …, photographer Adrienne Maples reflects on her two decades behind the camera and the ways motherhood has shaped her creative vision. Maples has developed an artistic style that blends reality and fantasy, often layering multiple images to create magical, composite portraits. She speaks candidly about balancing her life as a single mother, artist, and business owner, and how her daughter has inspired her work through different life stages. Maples also shares her concerns about the influence of social media on young people and the intentional choices she has made to nurture her daughter’s creativity. Her story serves as a reminder of how parenting can fuel artistic practice and reimagine beauty in an image-saturated world. 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 …, installation artist Cory Imig shares how motherhood reshaped her creative practice, leading her from large-scale environments to intimate vignettes of space and time. She reflects on the ways parenting young children has taught her to embrace flexibility and spontaneity in her studio, while also inviting her children into her creative process. Balancing her roles as an artist, mother, and educator, Imig speaks candidly about the challenges of limited time and shifting priorities, and the support she has found in her multi-generational household. She also discusses how empathy and presence guide both her parenting and her approach to teaching. 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 …, installation and performance artist Beili Liu discusses how motherhood has shaped her artistic vision and practice. Liu’s work explores themes of cultural memory, migration, and environmental change, often weaving together personal experience and urgent social concerns. She reflects on her daughter’s role as both inspiration and collaborator, and on the ways parenting has become a source of learning and growth in her creative life. Liu shares insights into works such as "Each and Every," which responds to the family separation crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, "Hold On," which addresses gun violence in schools, and "Arctic Mending," which draws attention to climate change. As both an artist and educator, Liu emphasizes nurturing empathy, resilience, and civic responsibility in her students, qualities she also cultivates in her parenting. 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 professor Julie Farstad reflects on the ways motherhood and art have become deeply intertwined in her life and practice. As a painter and educator at the Kansas City Art Institute, Farstad shares how she brings her children into her studio, challenging the idea that caregiving and creative work must remain separate. She speaks candidly about navigating challenges faced as an artist-mother, embracing wonder and experimentation in both parenting and painting, and drawing on lessons from parent-child interactive therapy to foster trust and risk-taking in her classroom. Her story offers a holistic vision of how artistic practice, teaching, and motherhood can enrich one another rather than exist in tension. 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 …, host Eleanor Lim-Midyett sits down with Stephanie Leedy and her daughter Erin Woodworth, who together carry forward the vision of the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, Missouri—the home of the Mother And … exhibition. Stephanie reflects on her father, artist Jim Leedy, and how growing up immersed in his creative world shaped her own artistic path. Erin shares her perspective as both a daughter and a mother, continuing the family’s legacy of supporting artists through the gallery. Together, Stephanie and Erin discuss the importance of fostering community, the challenges and rewards of balancing caregiving and creativity, and how their experiences as mothers shape their approach to art and leadership. This conversation sets the stage for the Mother And … exhibition, on view at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center from September 5 through November 21, 2025.