This Newark Artist Created Printmaking Classes Exclusively For Mothers

A four-week printmaking program in Newark is giving mothers something rarely offered: a dedicated creative space designed entirely around their stories, identities, and artistic expression outside caregiving roles.

Angela Pilgrim, founder of Fruishun Press Studio, is working to provide mothers with a creative, engaging space with the four-week art program, “Dear You.” 

Taking place at Shine Portrait Studio and Project for Empty Space in Newark, “Dear You” has provided local women with a place to connect with each other and share their life stories, which they then poured into printmaking works of art. 

“This program was something that I wanted to do to give back,” said Pilgrim. “My journey in printmaking was rooted in a lot of community,” said Pilgrim. “Community is so important when it comes to printmaking because you cannot do printmaking in silo…. So, knowing that, I wanted to kind of give back in my own studio.”

Jamesia Griffin, Pilgrim’s studio assistant for “Dear You,” argued that this program is “probably the first of its kind in Newark,” as it brought togethFer a group of women who don’t know each other to create new, unexpected artwork. 

“It shows you just how much hope and vision these women have beyond their motherhood,” said Griffin.

Dominique Bradley, one of the participating mothers and a behaviorist/mentor, said that every week of the “Dear You” program was “a different opportunity to see [themselves].”

Over four weekends, “Dear You” participants reflected on personal memories and turned them into visual works of art. They learned how to take family photographs and transfer their images through printmaking. They also learn to make screen prints of quotes that personify their stories.

This program culminated in a collaborative quilt, featuring quotes that guided each woman through motherhood. According to Pilgrim, this quilt, designed by a seamstress in Newark, is meant to have their words “live on in a tangible space” as a “living archive,” which they shared with their children.

Through the “Dear You” program, Pilgrim hopes that participating women will acquire both the skills and the courage to continue making art. Claiming that mothers are not often able to create art, she argues that mothers are a demographic deserving of opportunities to learn new skills and to create a community where they can be vulnerable and express themselves to others.

Lillian “Phoenyx” Ojo, Pilgrim’s printing assistant, says that, through this program, Pilgrim is “giving mothers an outlet for their creativity that isn’t just within caregiving roles, as well as highlighting their personhood outside of being a mother.”

“I feel like it’s sometimes hard as a mother in their day-to-day life to find time to just really express their personhood because they’re always taking care of other people,” added Phoenyx. “They’re always having to be mindful of the environment, the environment that they’re in. And in this space, we’re cultivating an environment for them and [we] focus on them.”

In addition, Kween Moore, one of the program’s facilitators, emphasized how these workshops have provided a “moving” and “life-changing” experience for those involved.

“Being mothers is a hard task. Being any parent, anybody’s parent is a hard task,” said Moore. “But knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do or having a network or a village of people or women to help you through, I think that’s what this program is.”

However, Pilgrim claims that this program is only the beginning of a longer commitment to support mothers through artistic expression in Newark.

She is already working on “Dear You – Volume II.” According to her, this program expand the archive they started in “Dear You,” introducing new forms of printmaking and teaching women how to develop handbound books. Pilgrim expects the next workshop series to commence in the spring or early summer of 2026. 

“My goal is to offer these programs when I can, building a sustainable creative community where mothers can explore their stories, learn new skills, and see themselves reflected in the work they make,” said Pilgrim.