Message from Swaziland show

Lately I haven't been feeling like an "artist".  I have been immersed in full Mommy mode.  Adjusting, trying to stay afloat in the new normal, trying to be present.  I haven't been in my art studio for over a month- a long time for me.  So, to have an art show right now felt a little strange.  How was I going to be able to embrace that part of myself right now?   Would I be able to for the opening or would I have to "fake it til I make it".  Here, I have soooo long dreamt of a solo art show in an art gallery.  Really it has been a dream of mine.  And on top of it I was going to be able to show works I was both so proud of and wanted others to witness....and yet I was feeling disconnected from it.

I had applied for a solo show at the Monroe Arts Center about a year and a half ago. Our small community has a growing arts community within it and our Arts Center brings in all kinds of art and culture.  I am so grateful for their presence here!!  I have also been excited that I would be able to share these works with the very community that helped support my journey on AIDS Walk Africa in Swaziland!  April 1st my art exhibit "Message from Swaziland" opened at the Monroe Arts Center (showing the month of April).

To see all the works displayed so beautifully in the space was amazing.  It has been nearly a year and a half since I displayed the entire series together...and boy, is it powerful.  I was able to speak at the opening reception and really felt I was able to communicate what the series is truly about:  opening our hearts and mind to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Swaziland.

I walked away from the gallery that night feeling satisfied.  I was grateful to be supported by my family and friends.   I felt lucky to be born a woman in the USA.  I was hopeful that new people had heard the message...and proud that I had been able to share it.  I felt like an artist again!