Needed more than ever...

This is about the art. It is about the action. The day off was needed to take care of myself and acknowledge the wounds that were inflicted on me and many  others today, but now it is time to start healing those wounds. 

I have been slacking off tremendously, blaming it on a lack of inspiration. However, I should've been careful for what I wished for, because now I am motivated, but out of anger, fear, disappointment, and so much more. I have been working on a piece entitled "blend away the misogyny," and it has always been relevant, but especially now. 

This is for you Katie 

I am not going to let this election take the fight away from me. That is the one thing it cannot take, and I am not one to fight with my fists, but instead with my art, my words, and my actions. For my piece I will be reverting back to photography mixed media. I have chosen to shoot Katie Cody as my model for this piece, someone I respect and admire so much. To me Katie exemplifies strength, passion, courage, compassion, pride, and ambition. That is what I want this piece to be. I hope to make it as powerful as her. 

Like I have expressed earlier, I am giving up on trying to please everyone, so this piece is for those girls who need it. It is for the ones who woke up today feeling unsafe and ashamed of who they are. I hope this piece will not only remind them of their beauty, but also their strength. 

We do not need to compromise. Clearly no one else is, so why should we give up our heels, our makeup, our dresses, or anything else that is seen as "girly" just to earn the respect of those who are still not giving it to us? We do not need to change who we are. We need to refuse to surrender, and I hope this piece is a reminder of those things.

For more background on my feelings and thoughts behind the idea of refusing to surrender and the pieces that will likely soon to come in the near future here is a separate post on another blog that is more broad. 

http://fromthatgirl.blogspot.com/2016/11/refuse-to-surrender.html