Birth Art? What is that?

Posted October 11, 2014

When you hear the phrase “Birth Art,” what comes to mind?

When I first heard of birth art, images came to mind of belly casts, clay pottery and paintings. I imagined people, artists, getting into their muse and making these beautiful creations. Beautiful pictures, beautiful sculptures, beautiful bellies.

The idea of having someone guide me through a birth art process confused me.

What was the birth art process like, really? I felt empowered as a birthing mother for both of my homebirths, but birth is a rite of passage we all must integrate. Even though I felt ready, I worried about being “unartistic” and wondered: How can anyone help me make pretty paintings or sculptures?

“Because,” I thought “that is what birth art is about, isn’t it?”

After later becoming a Birthing from Within Birth Art Mentor, I felt free when I understood that birth art:

Can be done with simple materials.

For me, the thought of making a drawing on a belly cast or making a clay sculpture felt overwhelming. I liked the thought, though, of drawing with chalk pastels. The way the color goes on smoothly and looks so vibrant — less intimidating for me than clay or a big plaster landscape. I suppose some might find clay easier and less overwhelming. To each their own!

Is a simple process.

A little drawing, a little writing, a little talking. As I say on my website, “A Little Goes a Long Way.” You don’t have to draw forever or write a long interpretation or explain everything going on in the drawing. The process is what forms the benefit of birth art. That’s why birth art isn’t about making pretty pictures! The picture becomes secondary. In fact, one thing I like when I do birth art sessions over the phone is that I have no way I an accidentally see the picture. I enjoy being able to focus completely on the process, allowing mothers and fathers to use the art itself as a tool to go deeper, get clearer and grow rather than an end point.

Is supported by our biological brain makeup and function.

Did you know that the birth art process activates the same brain wave activity and use as a mother’s brain in labor? Birth art, as I learned intellectually and personally, gets us naturally into an open state where we have access to everything under our conscious awareness. This is where we experience birth. This is where we experience our journey as mothers and fathers. It is here in this place that we can connect to our inner selves at a deeper level and draw forth strength, wisdom and clarity about our present lives in a very real and concrete way.

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Through birth art we can get past the details of our birth experiences into the raw power that we hold in those moments, whether we felt it then or not. We emerge confident and clear and conscious in new ways. We feel connected, to our experience, ourselves, our partners and our wisdom.

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