While listening to Jazz, the artist and mother, Joana Inês-Soares welcomed us into her studio with a contagious smile to talked about her journey as a mother of three beautiful girls Madalena, Violeta and Olivia. She inspires us and will continue to do so through her art and the ways she carries herself in life.

What is your favorite thing about being a mum?
Being able to return to my childhood. I try to emulate a little of my childhood in theirs bettering what didn’t work so well with me and trying to constantly be conscious and present.

Do you feel that from your first born to the others you look at life in a different way? Have your ideas changed?
I changed! What happens is that when we become mothers for the first time, we are simply mothers, which is exactly what happened to me and came as a shock. I believe I did not fully enjoy it therefore I feel that all the second and third time I took better advantage of the experiences gained previously. They were able to be with a more fulfilled mum. It’s a constant learning curve.

What’s most challenging for you?
It is being able to reconcile everything. For me, work has always been an important part of my life and as an artist who are used to do a little of everything it becomes very hard to reconcile everything at a good standard. 

No one warned us that we would constantly be startled. It is very draining to constantly be worried about them. I try to abstract myself but it’s not easy sometimes.

What are you most proud moment in your motherhood journey?
When they were born. It’s a king of reset that takes place where we can fully focus on the little ones knowing that we can go through sleepless nights, the whole post birth process whist trying to keep positive for them. It’s a big test.          

It’s funny that this memory slowly erases with time.

The first time it was so different, I had a life apart from being a mother and had to put it on hold and wasn’t ready to only be a mother.  

How did becoming a mother impact your art? 
It’s difficult because it’s a creative process and has no set schedule. Inevitably children have set schedules that must be respected.

When I have art to make and, in my head, I am ready to begin I can’t because there is dinner to be made or its bedtime. That is the hardest thing to manage.

This is one of the reasons why I chose to have a studio at home. It is important to be in both worlds and this is my way of being present on either side. 

Has the way you perceive your art changed since you have become a mum?
No, actually it has made me take a step back. To make art for me is to do an introspection, it is to get me closer to my inner self and that is very important for me. Specially after becoming a mum, when you dedicate yourself to someone else, you might get a bit out of focus.

To have children has made me go back to my own childhood, when I saw my daughter Madalena experiencing things, I was reminded of my own feelings and experiences. 

 Are they part of your work routine?
Madalena loves experimenting and watch what I’m doing. It’s funny, she gets very happy and excited when I gift her a paint brush. Everything about her is art. 

To they understand what you do?
I make things look easy; I am a person who hardly complains. I try to always take the positive from situations. So, they end up not understanding some difficult situations sometimes.

What are some lessons you wished you’d known before you had kids? What would you like to impart to other mothers?
The first days are difficult and always the hardest, when we are mothers, we want everything to go by quickly and the truth is that is actually does. So, you must enjoy every moment, even the hard ones we must try and soak in to be able to realize that when a mother is born, and inner strength comes with it.

These are the moments in which we become more patient and a better as people.

What advice would you give your youngself?
I was very demanding on myself, I have always set ambitious goals and tried going for them. For me getting into architecture was very important therefore I could have lived a more relaxed and not opted for such a serious and demanding role. Failing is not a problem so I could have failed many times.

[Violeta Cor de Rosa is wearing MAJU dress in gold]