My Lady and I had a wonderful Art Affair.
Thanks to my daughter for all her help in making this possible, and for doing the business in the booth. I was then able to visit and connect to so many women; some I haven't seen in over 30 years...and new friends.
It was a moment of personal achievement; not in displaying my Art...but myself.
This venue hosts many walks of life and the topic isn't recovering from abuse or about hope for victims of sexual abuse...but Art. And yet many of my interactions with women was about hope, self-empowerment, love after trauma, etc.
I can't know how the other booths went; but we shared stories in mine.
My Art was the icebreaker.
The words on the quilts began the dialogue...
I connected or reconnected.
I felt strong in who I am, no matter who stood before me or walked by my booth.
I am in a community where my sense of self was shattered and put back together.
In the past the shattered self was too afraid to mix or present my new self to old relationships.
Yesterday I felt strong as the lady in my quilts.
I was dressed, as my daughter said, "Like an eccentric Artist"...and yet felt none of the old fears and self-doubts when faced with old church members.
There was a peace within me.
An acceptance of self...and no anger or disgust or other negative emotions towards them.
In the past, I must have hated my abused self, my lack of self-worth etc...and those emotions were misdirected upon them.
I just felt amazed at the peace within me.
Perhaps not even peace; but joy of being me - completely and utterly Me.
With no shame or parts of me I wanted to hide.
While I thought it was "My Lady" at the Art Affair...and her debut....it was actually Mine.
The Art was the backdrop...to Me.
Putting yourself on display by the Art you do.
A woman had said to me, "In order to display your art, you have to be completely okay with who you are and have no secrets." Another one said, "You can't be anal to do what you do." And, then she glanced down at my stripped leggings and smiled. "You aren't in a box...at all."
What a great full circle moment...stepping back onstage as Me.
Okay, and at full peace; bubbling with Joy!
Picture taken by Melissa Hronkin
In the past, I believe that I felt I needed to apologize for who I was, what I did, do and have done. I had to adjust and excuse myself and my art to fit into their approval etc.
Yesterday, I was fully unabashedly Me.
Me...as Me; My Lady...
I felt that I was no longer hiding behind my Art; but had stepped out in front of it.
