After a long day at work, Dr. Grace Farris likes to reflect on her life by creating humorous cartoons, many of which tackle the ups and downs of motherhood.
In college, Farris would complete a daily comic. Now, as chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at Mount Sinai West in New York City, she uses her creativity to wind down after her two sons have gone to sleep.
“The kids go to bed, then they ask me for water. They go to bed again, and then they start calling for me,” she joked. “[Later,] I take 30 or 45 minutes thinking about what’s been happening, usually during the day, and I think, ‘I’m going to draw about that tonight.’”
Many of Farris’ cartoons, which she used to draw by hand on card stock but now produces with an iPad and Apple Pencil, offer hilarious takes on being a mom, including the various things her kids say.
“One of the reasons I started drawing these, especially the ones about things my children were saying, was I felt like the photos that I took weren’t capturing the full experience of what it was like,” she said. “And I really wanted to remember the funny and sweet and sometimes heartbreaking things they would say.”
The artist also draws cartoons focused on medicine, feminism and current events. She said she has plans to do longer medical cartoons and would love to publish a book showcasing her art someday.
Farris said her creations were especially helpful when she first moved to New York and didn’t know anyone, and she’s glad she can now offer some relatable humor to other parents.
“I felt kind of isolated living in New York and not knowing a lot of people,” she said, “so sharing some of the experiences around that helps me connect with other moms and other people living in the city.”