Art Workshop Focuses In On Single Moms

Jamine Ackert, a single mother and the friend of Mindi Englart, the organizer of an art workshop for single moms and their kids, lay on her back on top of a large sheet of paper on the floor of Ives Main Library on Elm Street. Englart painstakingly traced her outline with marker, so that Ackert could fill it in with a representation of herself. 

“I feel like you can fill your real self in,” said Englart. ​“When you trace yourself there’s a real connection, and I’m trying to encourage people to make that connection.”

The tracing activity, one of multiple art projects Englart offers in her workshop, serves as a way to allow single mothers to focus on themselves for a couple hours while their kids are taken care of. Since receiving funding through an Artist Corps grant from the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, Englart — an artist, educator, and single mother herself — has hosted workshops at libraries all around New Haven. Ives Main Library was the final stop in the project on Saturday.

“When I planned it out, I was thinking I would do a two hour workshop,” said Englart, meaning a full class tailored to the time period. ​“But people would come in anytime, so I had to be more flexible. Very flexible, which is actually very single mom-like.” Englart’s flexibility allowed her to adapt from the scheduled program. When no single mothers showed up to Ives Main Library on Saturday, she changed plans to include all parents and their children.

Englart traced the outline of Ackert’s body in green pen. ​“We can pretend I have pigtails,” said Ackert, holding her hair to the sides of her head in bunches. Then she filled in the outline with large, sweeping flourishes of color, intended to represent the strength of a single mother and her love for her child, and radiating outwards.

Englart passed around handouts encouraging single mothers — or in this case, all parents and children — to think about their past, present, and future. ​“What part(s) of your body do you feel the weight of your motherhood in most strongly?” read the paper. ​“Draw or outline this part of your body.” Ackert chose to illustrate her whole body, while another volunteer, Hannah Zieche, and an attending mother, Ichong Zhang, chose to trace their hands.

“I just believe the arts are what help us stay human,” said Englart. ​“Things come out when you’re making art that don’t come out any other way.”

Since attendance at Ives Main Library ran low, Englart described some of the artwork from past events. While she initially designed the workshop with a focus on art for the mothers, it turned out that the children felt equally enthusiastic about opportunities to represent themselves visually. 

Englart recalled one little girl, about five years old, who had beautiful braids ornamented with beads. For her outline, she had chosen to represent her hair by incorporating all the materials she could find, including marker, strips of paper, and pipe cleaners.

While few single mothers attended Saturday’s event, the library soon filled up with parents, grandparents, and children, many of whom proved eager to check out the art supplies Englart provided. ​“When you bring art to people, they do it,” said Englart. The room went quiet as volunteers, adults, and children alike focused on their individual art pieces. The next moment, it burst into life, as attendees turned to each other to compliment the work, and discuss everything from parenthood and education to work and hobbies. A few coloring sheets and crayons facilitated a community interaction that united everyone in the children’s section of the library.

Englart started the workshop to create a place for single mothers, but she soon found it more difficult than anticipated to build up attendance. She hypothesized the issue might lie in advertising the event, or in the choice to hold it in libraries, which have reported lower and lower attendance each year. ​“I think I need to go to where single moms are, but there isn’t really a group place for that,” she said. ​“That’s what I’m trying to do, because it can be really lonely.”

In 2021, around 15 million single mothers lived in the United States alone. Englart defines a single mother as any mother whose home is the primary residence for her children, even if the father is still in the picture. In addition to the workshops, Englart has created the Single Mother’s Discount Card ​“to help single mom’s get discounts on goods and services.” ​“They’re really at a time of their lives when they’re not at their full earning potential,” Englart explained. The Discount Card is free to join, and mothers can use it at around 75 businesses, including plant stores like Bark & Vine and hairdressers like Jo Bruno Hair.

Despite her difficulties with attendance, Englart is far from giving up her mission. As she waved goodbye to the collection of happy parents and children, all sporting new artwork to carry home with them, it was clear the event was far from a failure. ​“I’m trying to create something that doesn’t exist, a place where single moms are,” said Englart. ​“It takes time to create something that doesn’t exist.”