Summary: “The times that we learn most are when we make mistakes” Improviser, actor, photographer, and arts educator Seniz Lennes talks about the complexity of growing up in a family that supported artistic work but strongly encouraged having a practical job and making creative work a hobby. Seniz talks about being influenced by her musically inclined parents and her large, loud Turkish family. She shares how her father started recording music at the age of 40 and how that has given her confidence to explore new creative work no matter her age or experience level. “I can’t not sing books to my kids” Seniz talks about how being a parent means not having time to wait for inspiration but rather using the free moments that exist and do creative work in those moments. Which results in being more productive and more creative. She talks finding ways to use moments of parental “failure” to talk about how to deal with frustration and failure with her daughters. “The times that we learn most are when we make mistakes” Seniz talks about finding ways to treat being a parent as a job and how that allows her to maintain a personal identity that exists outside of motherhood. And how that allows for reflection on what is and isn’t working in her parenting work. “I feel more creatively inspired since I’ve had kids” Check out Yes and Parenting dot com for more from Seniz
