Art Battle

 

Fun times as always at the Kamloops Art Battle.  I'm always humbled by the incredible talent that crawls out of the wood work for this event. 

 

I didn't see who bought my Bad Ass Beauty, but rumor has it she has found a home at Kamloops Innovation.  I feel pretty good about that, like a proud mama. 

 

My art has had a heavy tone over the past few months and I've taken a diversion and just having some fun with some new works in progress.  You can swing by my Instagram account @sheshewolf to see my #wips and whimsies or 'Like' my Facebook Page for more frequent updates. 

 

 



I am competing in the next Art Battle this Friday night.  Last time was a blast.  Come check it out!

Your Social Justice Movement

I am super excited to be part of the upcoming 'Your Social Justice Movement' show at Padlock Studio.

This is a group exhibit focused around the locally produced documentary 'Exploring the Meaning of Social Justice'.

Padlock will host the first public screening of this film and reception April 22, 2017.  

Hope to see you there!

I Am a Wolf

I am a wolf now. 

I spent 200 years in the womb of despair and clawed my way out of that sour belly one prick at a time.

I am free, though chains still bind me.  They are rusted and weakened and soon will crumble from my ankles.

The air smells sweet and clean and my sight is focused and piercing.  I can hear whispers a mile away in my heart, clear as a summers day.

A lone wolf contented in her solitude.  Free to wander woods and follow the wind.  To howl at the moon to her hearts content, the soloist always leading her own choir.

Free to meditate and mingle on her own terms.  To breathe in the breadth of life instead of sucking on a cheroot of death.

Not contented to follow the pack I live the life of a cat  in the hide of the dog.  Not to hide away in the shadows from fear, but in stealth observation, collecting stories and selecting perfect prey.

It is good to be wild.  We were not born to be captives, eating kibbles from plastic cups.  We are meant to lap the blood of our mother straight off her bones.

I am the bad wolf.  I create myself.  

And for that I am despised and feared.  I reflect the wild inside the trained monkey and he trembles at my fearsome howls.  He hears hunger, wanting and sadness in my song, but his ears are out of tune.  It is a joyous song I sing, even when the heart is heavy.  For even the saddest songs are songs of joy.  

Joy because we can open our throats and sing.

Joy because mother hears our song and she moves with our rhythm.

Joy, because our song cannot be silenced.

Joy for the sake of joy.

Do not tremble when you see me.  I am not a depraved and mangy mongrel with an eye to your jugular.  I am a wistful wanderer rambling on a feral foray.

International Women's Day

~Chalice~

Blood spills from my loins
Collected in a sacred chalice
Nestled at the entrance of my womb
Never stagnant.  Never stale.

My cup never runneth over,
But is emptied upon the earth
Devoured and broken down into the divine
Satisfying infinite beings of iron delight

No mother today but mother always
Daily labour creating our life
Rolling with the ebb and flow
Of contractions and screaming reactions
All that is worthy holds pain
All that is painful is ecstasy awaiting release

I am the soft
I am the strong
The roar
The weaver
The judgement and redeemer
The sting of a wooden spoon washed down with a hug and a warm cup of milk

~SW

Artistic Indecency

Deflowered 

"She passed the decency test!" I jokingly exclaimed. I entered this piece into an open art show that reserved the right to refuse any art deemed offensive.

I made 'Deflowered' specifically for this show without giving much thought to decency - until I packed her up for delivery.  Then it occurred to me that this might (and probably will) offend somebody.  Old ladies and young girls may view it and feel shame at their own anatomy they rarely get to see.  Young boys may become aroused, teenage boys may be filled with depraved thoughts and old men may be disgusted (and relieved) by their need for Viagra.

I thought this was a little edgy when I created it, but forgot to consider decency; because my anatomy is not indecent. My vulva is a beautiful flower sought after by my lovers. It oozes with strength and power. My menses is not a curse; it is a blessing. It is gift of creative flow and heightened intuition. The curse is the inability to retreat and perform menstrual rituals. The curse is society's discomfort with the rites of my womb. The curse is the degradation of my anatomy into simply cheap popcorn porn- a plush hole to be assaulted and pounded; a hole without a face or feelings or a soul. The curse is not mine, it is yours.

Luckily, artists are an open minded bunch who like to push boundaries and nudge us out of our comfort zone.  'It's just a flower ... with cranberry juice.' one joked. But no, it is not. It is a beautiful, bleeding vulva imbedded in a flower.

Arnica's Members Show and Sale in Kamloops

Origins of a Woman

I love the look of a shaven black woman. There is something about the African bones that carries a grace, dignity, power and beauty in her shaven scalp that's not so easily achieved by women of other ethnicities- myself included. And in her shaven grace she shows the rest of us that we are stunning, even without the adornments that typically define 'woman', like flowing locks.

It is as though she has stripped herself unapologetically to the core. In the absence of what we expect from a woman she is even more feminine and delicate- delicate like a diamond that cannot be easily broken and can slice through steel.

This lass is framed and ready for the Arnica Artist Run Center's members show and sale. Stop by and check out some of Kamloops amazing artist March 3rd to 11th, in conjunction with Art Exposed at the Old Court House.