044: Like Mother, Like Daughter

In honor of Mother’s Day, I decided to bring on my first guest, my daughter, onto the podcast. As you’ll hear, we share a lot of similarities in our creativity and how we express ourselves through creating.

In this episode, she shares what she does to express her creativity and how she uses it as an outlet.

We also talk about how she feels being my daughter, what lights her up creatively and what upcoming projects she’s looking forward to.

What you’ll find in this episode:

An introduction to my daughter
What she does to express her creativity
How she feels about creation and uses it when she’s feeling frustrated or sad
Her advice for parents to help prompt creativity in their kids
Her opening up about having me as a mom
What she’s excited about creating
Creative projects she’s looking forward to

Read the transcript of the episode below:

Today is my very first episode having a guest. And it is not just any guest. It is my oldest child. My daughter, who's going to be joining me. This is Episode 44: Like Mother, Like Daughter.
Welcome to the Committed to Create Podcast. I'm Lisa Funk and I am so excited to hang out with you here as we talk about the power of creating with our hands and our minds. I like to keep it real, remind you that you are not alone and share specific ways that creativity and mindfulness can help us live even more meaningful and joyful lives. I am so glad that you're here.
Hello and welcome to the podcast! Today is going to be very different. It is my very first interview. I have always done solo episodes by myself, and today is the very first time I'm having someone else on the podcast. And this is a very important person in my life. My daughter, my oldest daughter. 
I don't share my kids much at all on social media. I don't share their names. That's just a personal choice for me because that's how we're choosing to do it. But she's amazing. And I wanted to have her on the podcast. She's incredibly creative and fun. And I am going to let her now introduce herself and tell you a little bit about her, how old she is, what she likes doing for fun, how many siblings she has, stuff like that. All right. Take it away. 
DAUGHTER (D): I'm her daughter. I'm not going to share my name, but I'm 11 years old. I have three siblings. I am the oldest and I really like doing art, making poems, writing stories. Like creating sculptures out of mud, which is something that I do. And being creative is just something that I do on a daily basis. It's just a really big part of my life. 
So tell us why you like to do creative things?
 D: Because it really helps me express myself. Like if I'm having a bad day, I can draw a storm clouds and the person who's annoying me getting electrocuted.
You don't really do that, do you?
D: No, I don't. But, you know, it helps me express myself. 
You also like drawing. 
D: Yeah. 
And  painting. 
D: Yes. 
And I feel like almost anything that's creative, you enjoy. You make little pieces of the little flowers that have paper. 
D: Oh yeah. I remember.when I once did that.
And remember when we went on vacation and you made all of that jewelry out of plants? 
D: Yes. Like little rings and things out of roses, 
Like little branches you would take and make them into bracelets and stuff. That was pretty. 
D: I was all like, can I propose a boy with this?
What?! You are hilarious. She's 11 folks. Okay. So do you think that I am like a mom who encourages creativity or what would you say about our house and like the environment or me? Do you feel encouraged to do creative things? 
D: Well, you do give me like supplies, like pens, Tombow pen and paper. And it really, the environment is just encouraging. 
Yeah? How so? 
D: Well, it's just a very warm environment. It's all like, and like open spaces, not cramped. It can let creativity fly. 
Oh, I like that. 
D: Spread wings and fly. 
Spread wings and fly. So, can you tell us about how you use creativity when you're feeling frustrated or sad?
D: I sometimes kind of try to draw what I'm feeling. Like, if I'm feeling sad, I don't know, I can draw storm clouds again. 
Or sometimes you write poetry. 
D: Yeah. Like about Spring, I can write about the birds with their new songs and everything else that happens. 
Yeah. And you love to sing. 
D: Yeah! I can siiiiing.
 How do you think other people that might be listening, how do you think that they can encourage their kids to be more creative? 
D: Um, give them some open space. Give them some prompts, like, oh, see the shampoo bottle, pretend it's an animal, draw it. What does it look like? Does it have any special characteristics? Or maybe you see something in nature? Like you draw a bird from your imagination, you know, just prompts to like help them narrow their focus. 
What do you think that some parents do that kind of stops creativity? Like what's something that would kind of discourage a kid that would stop them? 
D: CHORES! I'm just kidding. Um, I don't really know. I think maybe making them go to school. I don't know what to say! 
Well, like if I said don't make a mess. 
D: Oh yeah. Sometimes mess is all part of the fun. But sometimes you can take ordinary things that might discourage creativity or make them creative, like, sweeping the broom making, going on an epic quest to battle a dragon or something like that.
Oh, I like it. Yep. So would you say that we have a clean house or a messy house? 
D: Uh, before we cleaned, it was a very messy house. 
Well, it gets messy and then we clean it, right? 
D: Yes. Clean it up! 
But it's messy with a lot of arts supplies. What do we keep our art supplies in? 
D: In art cart or in our closet. We used to have like this big bookcase where we just dump stuff. It wasn't even, it was not organized. 
Yeah, it was, but then people would just dump stuff on it. So now we have the art cart that you can wheel around to different places. 
D: Just have to unplug the pencil sharpener. 
Yeah. And then you can go to the art closet and get more supplies. That's pretty fun. All right. So what else do you want to tell everybody about me? 
D: You're an amazing mom. 
Oh, really? 
D: Yes you are. Sometimes we have our thorns, but we'll always work it out. 
Thank you. What do you like about me as a mom? What do you think I do well? 
D: Well, you're really good at encouraging us or like helping us do things that we want to do. Like if I want to do acting, you get me to a class for musical theater. 
I mean, I don't say yes to everything, but yeah, but sometimes. 
D: Sometimes you can be really encouraging. 
I try to say yes when you want to be creative, right? Even if it's going to be messy. It's kind of hard because you guys don't always clean up. Remember when you did that parade. 
D: Oh, no, I remember we made, we took wagons and then put cardboard on them, decorated cardboard, and then put it on them. Like there would be a swan and I got messy and I never cleaned it up. Well, I really had to clean it up cause it was all over the outdoor table.
Yeah. But took a while to clean it up, but that was okay. What's something I could improve on as a mom. 
D: I don't know. I think you're pretty good. 
Pretty good? You can tell everybody it's okay. 
D: No, I can't think of anything. 
We do not always agree on things. Sometimes we have our thorns, as you said. 
D: Like, when we disagreed on like, if I needed a separate outfit, that's this, this is the entire reason I'm on this podcast, cause I won a bet! 
She won a bet. Tell everybody the bet that we made. 
D: Okay. So in my theater class, I'm doing a play and I have this all orange costume, but I thought that I would need another costume because I'm another character at the beginning of the play, like a background character. And she's all like, no, you'll just put on your costume. So I made a bet. My class teacher said, yeah, you're going to need another one. So this is why I'm on the podcast. 
Well, I said to her, yeah, if you win the bet, what do you want to win? And she said, I want to be on your podcast. And I said done, that's a win-win for me too. So do you think that your brothers and sister, do you think that they are more creative because of you sometimes?
D: I drew a picture of a puppy and then my sister did the exact same thing. 
Yeah. So she learns from you and you have a lot of ideas about like putting on a play. 
D: Mmmhmm. One time I tried to do a play and then she didn't want to do it anymore. Cause we were doing it, um, in front of the entire family. So it was supposed to be a first step for our stuffed animals. But then I was all like getting big ideas, like, oh, it's going to be in front of the entire family. And then she got stage fright. So sometimes I can be a little, I can be a little making them scared.
Controlling? 
D: Yes, I'm a control freak! 
It's hard to let that go. Isn't it? How do you work on letting that go? 
D: Like just say, how will my life be so much better by doing this? Like, if I was crazy about doing something, I must all like, well, it's, my life can be so much better after I do this? 
Is it worth it? 
D: Yeah. 
Yeah. But you do pretty good. 
D: I guess.
I mean, you are a kid. 
D: Yep. 
Right. So what's something that you are excited to create these days? 
D: I'm excited to try doing like realistic watercolor pictures because I found your old book about the art of watercolor and I started to read it and then it was all like, ooh, I want to try this. 
You're a big reader. You love to read. 
D: Yes. 
And you do get a lot of ideas from books. 
D: Yeah. Yeah. Like when I read a book or watch a movie, I get all inspired by it. And then I'm all like, oh, I read a book about Zodiacs. Oh, now I'm all crazy about Zodiac. And then it like fades away and I was all like, why am I even, why was I even crazy about that? Now it's corny. 
Okay. So for example, in Little Women, you were reading about what? 
D: I was reading about Amy making mud sculptures. So that's why I made the sculptures that I do today. 
Yeah. So she started at recess at school during recess. She started making mud sculptures that are very detailed. 
D: I just make a dog and then use my pencil to make the fur.
I mean, I'm going to link to one of these pictures in the show notes because that's pretty impressive. Do you get dirty? 
D: Yes, my hands get super dirty, but then I wash them off in the drinking fountain. 
Do the teachers or the aides seem to care about you getting muddy? 
D: No they don't, they don't. 
And now you've inspired other people to try it.
D: Yeah, my friend so-and-so she tried it at the park and she got muddy because she had a mud fight with her brothers. 
Oh, it turned into a mud fight? 
D: Yeah. And that's why she took a bath after. 
Okay. All right. What are some other creative projects that you're looking forward to? Like in the future? 
D: Um, I think I'd really like to try painting or working on my face game, like trying to do faces a little more realistically or like realistic drawing, popping off the paper thing.
Yeah, that's a great, that's a great one. We have some similar goals. Maybe we could learn some painting together or something. That'd be kind of fun. What do you think about hand lettering? 
D: I think it's beautiful and I think it's a really fun thing to learn because then you can go all aristocratic and do famous quotes from like Disney movies. I am a big Disney nerd. Disney goober.
You love Disney. 
D: Yep. 
Yes. Yeah. That's cool. And you do pretty fancy cursive. Do you remember what happened in kindergarten? 
D: Yeah, I was right. It was actually in third grade. 
No, no, no, no, no. In kindergarten you were doing really fancy h's, you were adding a bunch of swirls to your uppercase H 
D: I kept on thinking that oh, swirly on letters equals cursive! Yeah, that works. 
And your teacher was like, I think this is really cool, but let's start with the basics, when she didn't know that you were learning hand lettering at home with, with me, did she? But then she learned and she was like, oh, okay. That makes sense. 
D: And then in third grade I was writing cursive letters and words on the board. When I was ever, I was called up to the board, I would do the letter in cursive and everybody would be all like, what is she writing? I don't understand. They had not learned it yet. 
So you were a little ahead of the curve. I'm glad they are still teaching cursive at our school though. Huh? 
D: Yeah. Instead of typing, a lot of schools are doing, starting to teach kids typing instead of cursive.
Oh. But we need to learn typing too. Huh? 
D: Yeah. 
But that's good to learn both. What do you think about me, and the fact that I have a business? 
D: I think it's really cool because an entrepreneur mom, isn't very like average. Not really. I mean, it's not very common. It's not very common. I mean, it's common in some places, but some moms are also entrepreneurs, but it's not like every single mom has her own business. Like is the boss of their own business. 
And I'm the boss of Dad.
D: Yes. 
What do you think of that? 
D: Because, um, because female equals future. 
Do you think that my business takes me away from my kids or no? 
D: Well, sometimes you're on the computer for a couple of long periods of time, but I think you make up for it for all the fun things that you do with us. Like, take us out for ice cream at Handles. 
And I am on my computer sometimes when I'm doing, like making a book or something. But otherwise I'm mostly with you guys. Well, cause you're at school all day. 
D: Yeah. 
And I miss you. 
D: Yes. 
So I like to be there when you get home. What else do you want to tell the people. 
D: Buy my mom's book?
Oh man. What do you think of my books? 
D: I like them. They really teach me, and I always get the first copy. 
You always get the first copy because that's pretty special. 
D: For free. 
I mean, sort of for free, we do have to pay for it, but yes. Yes. Well, good. I like that. Everybody go buy my book because my sweet daughter here just told you to, I'm just kidding, but. She is. How old, how old are you?
 D: I am 11. 
She's 11. And you've been using the books for like five years or something. 
D: I've been using it since I was like four, like just scribbles on the books. 
Yeah. You were you, I don't know if I've had them quite... yeah, maybe four, five. Anyway, whenever they first started coming out, you started using them and then you've just gotten better and better. And you like them. That's pretty fun. 
Well, thanks for coming on the podcast. 
D: It was a pleasure to be here. 
I hope that you all enjoyed that interview with my sweet daughter. She has been wanting to come on the podcast for a while and we just decided to chat, and just talk about whatever we felt like talking about.
So I hope that maybe give you a peek into our house and our creativity, how we try to encourage it and just kind of a fun peek into our family. 
 I hope that you had a great Mother's Day. I hope that you can allow yourself to have some fun with your kids. I know it's hard to let them make messes sometimes, but it's always worth it. And sometimes I can even get them to help clean up. I am so glad to be here on the podcast with you. I'm so grateful for all of your reviews and for all of your kind messages on Instagram. I love when you share the podcast with other people that you think might enjoy it. I just wanted to say thank you for being here and I can't wait to talk to you again next week.
I forgot to mention, here we are at the very tail end of the podcast, and I wanted to share a song that my daughter sang. She loves to sing. It's one of the ways that she loves to be creative and express herself and so I recorded her singing Circle of Life from The Lion King, and I wanted to include it here just for fun at the end.
D (singing): From the day we arrive on the planet
And, blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the circle of life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
'Til we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle
The circle of life

Links:
Daily Mindful Lettering Volume 2

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Jennifer L. IN LOVE!! What a perfect idea! I am a plant mama too, like Lisa. I also manage a great deal of anxiety. I got into lettering a couple years ago as a creative outlet and discovered a multitude of treasures in the lettering community! This book that Lisa created with her daughter is just perfection! It's all the feels for me! Thank you both!!!
Cinthanie C. EXCELLENT BOOK! I really enjoy taking a minute each day to slow down and apply my hand to something that is not only emotionally supportive but relaxing and fun to do!! The mantras for everyday are very helpful for me. Thank you for your work and bringing such a high quality product into my life!

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044: Like Mother, Like Daughter

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