Blakely - The belly art project: moms supporting moms

the belly art project moms supporting moms 100% of book author proceeds will help mothers in need. SARA BLAKELY ST. MARTINS PRESS NEW YORK The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: http://us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.

Life doesnt come with a manual. It comes with a mom. This book is dedicated to my wonderful mom, Ellen, who taught me the value of creativity and the importance of showing up. I love you! And to the many inspiring women who believed in this crazy idea, showing up to help other momsusing their creativity, passion, humor, bellies and love along the way. Hi! Thank you for buying this book. You just helped a mom. This Belly Art Project-turned-book celebrates the mother in all of usthe beautiful, creative, inventive spirit that connects everyone.

After all, they call it Mother Nature and the Mother of Invention for a reasonits universal. Mothers are one of our planets greatest resources. We need to do everything we can to support them. Through the Sara Blakely Foundation Im always dreaming up creative ways to help women, and The Belly Art Project is one of them. 100% of the author proceeds from this book will go to Every Mother Counts, Christy Turlington Burns non-profit organization. The story behind the book: Three days before I deliver my son in June 2009, I wake up in the middle of the night with a creative urge to turn my big belly into round objects. The story behind the book: Three days before I deliver my son in June 2009, I wake up in the middle of the night with a creative urge to turn my big belly into round objects.

I see my belly as a glorious, but temporary canvas. Will it ever be this way again? How can I capture this moment in time in a fun and playful way? At 3 AM , I lean over and scribble on a piece of paper: watermelon, beach ball, basketball, Mr. Potato Head, bullseye, and then naturally I fall back asleep. The next morning I decide to give in to this belly painting idea for three reasons: I want to give my husband a creative baby gift; I want to capture this moment in time with my belly in an out-of-the-box, lighthearted way; and I want my son to have these pictures as a keepsake in his baby book. From that moment on, everything happens fast: I call a friend who agrees to paint my belly at the last minute, and we enlist the help of a photographer. (Its hard enough to get in and out of the car when youre about to give birth. (Its hard enough to get in and out of the car when youre about to give birth.

Just imagine doing it while trying to protect a work of art painted on your enormously bulbous belly!)

For the basketball, we drive to a local park where I jump into the middle of an actual basketball game. The players dont speak English; after miming what I want to do, they play along, and the photographer captures the moment. For the watermelon, I walk into a nearby supermarket, head right over to the watermelon display, prop my belly on top of the pile, and walk out. (I can only imagine the person reviewing that weeks surveillance video.) For the beach ball, we drive to a local community pool where families are enjoying the day. I see the disbelief in their eyes as a nine-month pregnant woman in a bikini with a beach ball painted on her belly walks up to the diving board, laughing the whole time. A few weeks later I give these pictures to my husband who absolutely loves them and says I must do more with the concept.

I cant stop thinking about his commentbut life happens, and those pics sit in a drawer for three years. Finally, I decide to see if any other mothers will be up for painting their bellies for a good causeand the answer is YES! Creating the book: This book was a true labor of love, and an absolutely wild processas many of the behind-the-scenes pictures show. Each photo in The Belly Art Project is an original work of art. Everything, and I mean everything, you see is created entirely from scratch. And let me tell you, its not easy to produce art on super pregnant women. (A couple of times we didnt work fast enough, and one of those is included!) My childhood friend Chelsea, a talented producer, agrees to help me bring this book to life, finding places, props, and often the women too. (A couple of times we didnt work fast enough, and one of those is included!) My childhood friend Chelsea, a talented producer, agrees to help me bring this book to life, finding places, props, and often the women too.

On short notice she creates whatever set and belly idea I dream up. For some reason, ideas for the perfect round objects come to me while sitting at traffic lights. How about a snow globe? A pineapple? A fishbowl? Vintage barbells? (This idea requires two bellies, which gets really interesting!) Cherry on top of a sundae? And on and on. Together we hustle, we conspire, and we create a lot of wacky set pieces out of anything and everything. The craziest idea was the disco ball, the only belly that was not entirely painted, which required us to apply 1,268 crystal mirrors to Amanda Palmers pregnant belly (but whos counting?). Lets just say it was a wild ride.

Famous and non-famous mothers came together, including women I grew up with, went to school with, built Spanx with, and some total strangers! I approach pregnant women at nail salons, airports, weddingsand after I convince them Im not crazy, many of them agree to be in the book. What an amazing bunch of women, ranging from actresses, models, teachers, businesswomen, stay-at-home moms, artists, fashion designers, and military moms. They came together at this incredible moment in their lives, volunteering their time (and bellies) to create the downright hilarious and adorable assortment of objects youre about to see, all in the name of helping other mothers. Also, one very famous man agrees to paint his belly, and another paints his wifes belly. Look out for their cameosin a million years you will never guess who they are!

So were inviting all moms-to-be (and everyone else!) to join in the fun. Paint your belly and share your photos on bellyartproject.org.

The more pictures posted, the more awareness generated, the more will be donated. We also welcome any direct donations, 100% of which will go to help moms. Were all connected as mothers, children, artists, and inventors. So be creative, innovative, and outrageously playful in bringing your own ideas into the world. In many ways, life is like a pregnant belly, a canvas, something that will only be what it is for a very short moment in time. Love it. Love it.