Madison Moore is an artist whose creative world feels as thoughtful as it is expansive. A lifelong maker, she works across illustration, ceramics, writing, sewing, natural dyeing, gardening, and quilting. Raised in the Midwest and now based in upstate New York, Madison builds on an art practice that began very early in life and has deepened significantly over time.
As an author and illustrator of books for young people, she’s interested in exploring nature, themes of home and belonging, creativity, and the importance and beauty of the other living things all around us. Madison’s work has been recognized through artist residencies at Tofte Lake Center and Milkwood, and she’s currently developing two illustrated novels and several picture book projects. Her first picture book, More Than Just a Game (2021), honors the Black origins of basketball, while Bonnie’s New Old Outfit (2022) explores how crafting can breathe new life into what we wear.
Alongside her own storytelling, Madison is a dedicated book editor, having acquired and edited over 50 titles since 2020. She also runs a drawing club, designs sewing patterns, and pens a monthly newsletter about the joys and challenges of creative living.
I spoke to Madison about developing an art practice, finding inspiration, and her experience as a working artist.
“I believe there is immense value for everyone in making things, regardless of whether they identify as an artist or a creative.”
As a multi-media and multi-disciplinary artist, I first noticed your work in sewing and textiles. I'd love to hear about when and where you realized you were an artist, and what led you to create more functional items.
I've thought of myself as an artist or wanted to be an artist my whole life. As a kid, I loved art, but not in any sort of serious way. I just liked making things, and I always thought it was really fun. When I went into high school, I did a lot of film photography. And then I started mixing genres, embroidering photographs and collage photos together. In retrospect, that was sort of the beginning of my practice.
I went into college and wasn't originally going to pursue visual arts at all. Then in my sophomore year, I switched one of my majors to visual arts. I learned over time that traditional visual arts in the context of my program wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to make things that were practical and used in everyday life. I wanted to make things that were built on narrative and story. So I felt at odds with what professors wanted from me and what critique groups wanted from me in the fine arts department. It was just not the path that I was on.
At the same time, when I left college, I felt a lot of pressure to figure out what my “one thing” was. Is it illustration? Is it writing? Is it ceramics? What is it? When I started sewing again for the first time in years, which happened just on a whim, it showed me that I didn't actually have to choose one thing. It unleashed in me this connection between all of these different kinds of art. I started sewing and then I was like, you know what? I have time to sew, and I have time to paint. And when I do both, I feel better doing both of them. And the work is better doing both of them. I just have this creative flow. So I like saying that I’m a jack-of-all-trades artist or a jack-of-all-trades maker, where I don't necessarily care about mastering something and putting in thousands and thousands of hours until I'm as good at it as I can be.
I care about letting all of these things thrive together because it makes me feel the best as an artist and a person. I have so much more inspiration to draw from, and my work is stronger.
In terms of your practice, how does the lived environment, you said you're in upstate New York. Where did you grow up? And how is upstate New York influencing your work? Has nature influenced your work at all?
I think of my practice as my lifestyle really. I grew up in the Midwest. I'm from Indiana, and I lived in Chicago for 8 years. I learned a lot about myself there, especially that I wanted to be in nature, and so I moved up here into the Hudson Valley in 2023. [That move] was largely influenced by wanting a slower pace of life where I could have the time and the energy and the space for all these different kinds of art which were just absolutely overwhelming my apartment.
I needed more space, I needed more time, and I needed to give it the energy that I feel it deserves. Nature is definitely the biggest influence in any of my work. I paint a lot of florals. I write and illustrate children's books and most of my stories are narratives about experiencing nature, finding home in nature, and finding comfort in nature. I do a lot of animal and plant journaling and a little bit of herbalism as well. Gardening is a real passion for me.
Being in this space for the past two years has really changed my connection to nature; it has become part of my lived experience as opposed to something I get to dabble in.
How have you made art a living? How do you balance your artistic practice with the need to make a living and pay bills?
I’m not a full-time artist, so I do have another job. I'm a book editor, which I like, and it does kind of meld with my art. But, I work in my art practice as much as I possibly can. It feels as much a part of my everyday life as my “official” job does because of how much I invest in it.
I struggle with the balance in my practice of, "Am I doing this for myself, or am I doing this to make money?" Sometimes it's hard to answer that question and know which to prioritize, because of course, it would be amazing to be a full-time artist one day. At the same time, because I do have another income stream, I try to focus on the projects I want to do, or projects I believe will pay off for my practice in the long run, and hope that they can also be financially successful at some point. A huge part of my practice is doing things that are just for me, and setting boundaries around that is so important.
A lot of people ask me to sew things for them, which is funny. I hadn't really experienced that with the other arts as much, but people are like, "Can you make me a shirt? Can you make me a dress? Can you make me a bag?" If I say yes to these things and I have all of my time taken up by trying to make money or things for other people, I just won't have the creative energy I need to keep this thing rolling, to keep the practice alive.
Who are your influences? Who inspires you as an artist?
A lot of my work is inspired by children's book authors and illustrators, as that is truly the root of my practice. It's something I feel I'm building toward in my career, and I hope it will be a long-term, lifelong thing.
Rebecca Green is one of my favorite illustrators! I really like Matt Rockefeller, Christian Robinson, Felicita Sala, Júlia Sardà, Emma Carlisle, Ryan Andrews, Jo Rioux, Jillian Tamaki, Stacey Thomas, and Nùria Tamarit (I could go on forever!). I recently completed a creative residency and retreat called Milkwood, which is run by the illustrator Sophie Blackall. Seeing a lot of her original work there was incredibly inspiring!
I also feature a creative spotlight in my monthly newsletter, where I try to list artists from various genres: sewists, painters, writers, and more.
How do you see your art practice making broader connections in the world?
I believe there is immense value for everyone in making things, regardless of whether they identify as an artist or a creative. Creation can be anything: baking bread, writing a short poem, or doodling in a notebook. Any act of bringing something into existence is powerful and necessary. I try to convey this message and inspire people to discover what creation means to them, even if it's something they never take more seriously than a notebook they keep on a shelf. I believe it reveals who we are and makes us happier and calmer. It makes us more engaged with the world.
I definitely encourage finding where making can fit into your life, and that drives me! Because there's always a new way I can fit making into my life too.
I started a new series on my newsletter called “A New Practice" and it's about being a beginner. The first one was about how to start sewing clothes if you want to start sewing clothes. I just really wanted people to see that it's easier than you think and you can just take that first step, and try it once, and it might change your life. It might be something that you love forever!
