Introductions

When I tell people about my plans for this portrait project. The first question they ask is, "why do you want to do this?" and "Why domestic violence?" Good questions! As a budding artist, I enjoy making cool and pretty things, but... what if I could use visual arts for education? Yes, there are photos and computer technology, however, there is something special about a handmade portrait, don't you think? Cameras are great, but impersonal, and when you consider the subject of domestic violence, that's pretty darn personal.

How about the fact that one in three women are victims of abuse worldwide. According to the CDC, 5.3 million incidents of Intimate Partner Violence occur against women in the US every year along with 3.2 incidents against men. That's just the reported cases. Wow. Like most people, I didn't realise. I could go on and on, but what really struck me was that, in Phoenix metro, thousands of women are turned away each year from shelters because there aren't enough beds. That's pretty sad.

Through visual art, with enough people, I can share stories of domestic violence using portraiture to raise awareness on the issue, and just mabe, sell them to raise funds or collect donations at the exhibit. The question now is "who will volunteer to share their story?". As of this post, I have two beautiful and wonderful volunteers with very surprising and different stories to share. In its beginning, this journey has already blown my own preconceived notions about domestic violence. Now that's pretty exciting.