Hello, this is Valerie Day from Living A Vocal Life. During my break from producing new interviews, I'm revisiting some of the insightful conversations I've had with singers in the past five years. This encore episode delves into the crossroads of creativity and motherhood.

In these conversations, you'll discover how artist mothers balance the challenges and rewards of maintaining their creativity while parenting. They share candid accounts of balancing performances with breastfeeding, coping with postpartum depression, and the sacrifices they've made for their children and their art.

This series illuminates the journey of nurturing children and art, offering encouragement and guidance for those on similar paths.

I'd like to express my gratitude to the 11 women who generously lent their voices to the series:

Rebecca Sanborn
Danielle Tucker
Moana Wolfgramm
N'Kenge
Rosi Amador
Ara Lee James
Whitney Jones
Karla Harris
Alex Whiler
China Forbes
Stephanie Schneiderman

The songs featured in this series are:
Stand and Sway, written by Ara Lee James and Beth Wood
from their album Deep Blue

Sleep Is A Wonderful Thing, by Morley from the album Borderless Lullabies.
Borderless Lullabies is a collection of songs and spoken-word recordings, with 100% of proceeds benefiting KIND: Kids In Need of Defense: supportkind.org

Right Before My Eyes, written by my husband, John Smith, from our Nu Shooz Orchestra album Pandora's Box

Stephanie Schneiderman's song, Wherever You Go, from her album Crossfire.

The books mentioned in the episode are:
The Baby On The Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood & The Mind-Baby Problem by Julie Phillips.

Mother Nurture by Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Jan Hanson, and Ricki Pollycove

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On this episode of Living A Vocal Life, we’re diving into the world of microphones, exploring how the right mic can amplify your artistry and protect your vocal health. You’ll also get a peek at the latest module of my course, Becoming A Singer, where we take a look at the art of rehearsing and the power of body language. And finally, I share a personal announcement about the future of the podcast. Tune in for an episode filled with valuable tips and tools to live your best vocal life.

You can find the blog post, A Singer's Best Friend: Choosing The Right Microphone For You, HERE on my website.

To find out more about my free online course, Becoming A Singer, go HERE.

For full show notes, transcriptions of this episode, and other offerings for singers, visit my website HERE.

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LET’S CONNECT!

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for a future podcast episode, I would love to hear from you! You can leave an audio or text message for me in the “Ask Me Anything” section of FanList.com, and I’ll get back to you. And if you have a question that could be helpful to other singers, don’t be shy - I’ll be sure to share it on a future episode of the podcast!

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In this episode of 'Living a Vocal Life,' my guest is Jessica Baldwin, a multi-talented popular music voice specialist, creativity coach, and indie singer-songwriter. Jess's early exposure to a music-rich environment nurtured her journey across various musical genres, leading to her distinctive soul, jazz, and chamber pop sound. She's appeared on American Public Television's Songs At The Center and NPR's Mountain stage, was a quarter-finalist in the 2015 and 2017 American Traditions Competition and won Best Cover Song in the 2015 and 2017 Ohio Music Awards. In this conversation, we take a deep dive into her journey as a singer and teacher with CPTSD and neurodivergence and explore concepts like artist-led coaching, authenticity as an artist, and Inner Family Systems Therapy (IFS). Jess highlights the transformative power of play, delight, and understanding our internal voices in sparking creativity and fostering a deeper connection with music. It was fascinating to hear how she has integrated these principles into her creativity coaching practice, providing invaluable tools for singers grappling with performance anxiety and more. Exploring the depths of creativity, psychology, and a singer's life with Jess was a joy, and I’m excited for you to join us on this journey.

You can find Jess on her True Colors coaching website, her artist website, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

The songs from today’s episode are April Fool, Alarm Call, The InBetween, and By The Sea (used with permission.) To listen or download, go to her Bandcamp page HERE.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS IN THIS EPISODE:

Internal Family Systems:

Introduction to the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard C. Schwartz

No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring
Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard C. Schwartz

Books On Creativity:

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

For full show notes, transcriptions of this episode, and more offerings for singers, you can visit my website HERE.

Please join me on Facebook or Instagram.

LET'S CONNECT!

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for a future podcast episode, I would love to hear from you! You can leave an audio or text message for my guest or me in the “Ask Me Anything” section of FanList.com, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. And if you have a question that could be helpful to other singers, don’t be shy - I’ll be sure to share it on a future episode of the podcast!

Never miss an episode! Sign up for Vocal Notes — my once-a-month newsletter for singers.

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