These 12 pieces are taken from about 70 days of drawing my kids post bedtime. The challenge initially was to complete 30 days, but the idea was that they be continuous and unbroken. After the 30 day trial I kept going, even if it meant coming back from my job as a birth doula at 3 a.m. Inspired by artist Lenka Clayton's An Artist residency in Motherhood, the premise being that you don’t need a studio to do your work, but rather a commitment. Not to create art in spite of but because of. To still spend a few minutes documenting a moment. They are all done in a single setting, there was no additional touching up, save the exception of some collage work on a few. The idea being to take what you have, sometimes only a few minutes, sometimes half an hour. Bearing a moment in time. Acknowledging a thought from the day, or a fleeting moment. Documenting growth. A stolen stroke with a pencil. And then letting go. — Christa j. Aikens

Christa is a Philadelphia based artist working mostly in mixed media and drawing. She moved with her family to the U.S. four years ago after spending nearly a decade in Northern Greece, working as an artist, illustrator and singer. She has exhibited mostly in Thessaloniniki, Greece and when in the U.S, in Massachusettes and Upstate NY. Her work has included complex narrative or woven story-like themes that have been influenced by theological, political and social issues. Other collections of prints and drawings reflect a simplicity of focus deeply influenced by her childhood growing up in Iceland. It was there where her interest in drawing and painting piqued: "I found there a culture that valued art, took it seriously, and I find myself returning in cyclical ways to memorized snapshots of the starkness of the landscape and color palette, the interplay with people, relationships and how we take up space".

Contact: christa.aikins [at] gmail.com

BEARING TIME ARTIST: CHRISTA J. AIKINS