In the language of the collective subconscious the term "pure" applies to both the "pure innocence of childhood" as well as the "pure artistic genius." However, the "pure at heart" come in many shapes and sizes, and the thought of these mingling leaves many people feeling uncomfortable. There is something slightly unsettling about this potential mixing of the Child and the Artist, something inappropriate. Even to many of those who are open to the notion of art education for kids, the notion of kids as a topic or as participants in "real" art world remains an uneasy notion. In this article, the author examines cultural anxiety about the intersection of childhood, motherhood, and art making. She uses the example of three artists as well as an essay by Alexandar Hemon to illustrate the explosiveness of these topics, but also how this contested territory--the intersection of family life and artistic practice--can be fertile ground on which the concerns of children can serve as starting points for new artistic strategies where children are involved in these creative processes both as artistic objects and as subjects/agents, much like adults. (Contains 2 notes.)