Cup O Karma

I recently went to Inside the Bungalow, which is a very charming little estate that has been converted into a way cool cafe and yoga center. They have an outdoor patio and a courtyard teeming with trees, birds, and lots of relaxation. The owners and employees are welcoming and know how to make a killer cappuccino (it made me want to drink coffee again).

This venue is hosting an annual event called Cup O Karma, which will take place on May 2nd 5:30-9:30, to raise funds for three domestic violence organizations: Fix the Hurt, National Training and Advocacy Network/SEEDS, and Mesa Police Department CAFV. There will be live music, a raffle, silent auction, Bravery will be there, food, drinks, chair massages, goodie bags, and more. Spread the word and join us!!!!

I will have several original portraits of survivors from these beneficiaries at the event, which means that there will be 8x10 copies of the originals with their stories for sale donation and pledge donations can be made on the original works. The pledges will offer the donor an 8x10 copy of the original with the story and a custom original artwork made by the artist. The size and type of the original custom piece will be determined by the size of the pledge. Additionally, I will be contributing something special to the silent auction.

They are still in need of raffle and silent auction items, so if anyone is interested in sharing your gifts and talents, please contact me and I will forward you the information.


One contributing artist who works with glass and makes beautiful embellished bottles and very artsy jewelry is Joyce White. It's funny because she subscribed to my blog and made a typo in the subscription, so I found her website and emailed her about resubscribing. It turned out to be an amazing discovery of incredible art by an amazing survivor. I am happy to say that Joyce has donated a piece to the silent auction/raffle and will be part of the Bravery project. Who says that typos can't be useful!

Check out Joyce's beautiful and unique work:
Joyce White African Jewelry

The Dinner Party

March is Women's History Month and Mesa Community College had a Women's Studies Conference that was really great. I am not saying that because I was given the honor of twice presenting the Bravery project to students and staff members, which was a lot of fun. I am saying it was great because I got to meet feminist and art legend, Judy Chicago.

Among her many artworks, Judy is best known for her huge installation piece called The Dinner Party. Each side of the triangle is 48 feet, together represents women in history who have made a significant contribution in life, but was obscured over by the by the male-dominated edits of historical texts. With no women studies programs and almost no information on women in history during the 60's, the artist painstakingly researched historically significant women from all over the world and brought 1035 of them back to life in her installation and in her beautifully written textbook. After traveling all over the world, The Dinner Party now has a permanent home in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY.

Listening to her speak was very engaging and humbling. When I met her I'm sure I stumbled over my words a bit when realizing what an amazing and determined person she is. I bought her book The Dinner Party and brought it to her for a signature. Standing there I blurted out about my Bravery project and what I was doing, hoping to show that we are both telling stories about people through our art. I left feeling a skip in my step and excited to read about all the awesome women that I (we) never learned about in school.

There was an intimate dinner party later that evening that I could not attend, but I found the next day that she spoke about my project at that dinner and gave encouragement to support our efforts (yes that means all of you wonderful volunteers, sponsors, and coordinators) in this project to make it successful. How about that!!


Judy Chicago
Through the Flower
The Dinner Party

A Mother's Solution

A couple of days ago I met with a beautiful young lady, Valerie, who was hesitant to share that she was a survivor. After visiting my website, she emailed me one day from work about her startup nonprofit geared toward teen dating violence. We met at Starbucks to talk about how our organizations might help each other and much to my gratefulness, she decided to share her story and have her portrait done. I want to thank her for coming forward.

**I named the organization, Bravery for a reason: that there is no shame in being a survivor. We are ALL survivors of something in life and the whole point of the portraits is to turn that word victim around to the positive and hold your head up with a determined smile and show the world who you are today.

Valerie has a sister, Vanessa, who authored a book called A Mother's Solution, which is about a mother's perspective on her daughter's abusive relations with a boy she is dating. Below is a synopsis from Vanessa's website.

Evelyn Hill leads an upscale suburban lifestyle that includes a loving husband and two wonderful children.

Happiness quickly turns to terror when the family falls prey to a violent thug-like character from down the way. He enters their lives by dating Evelyn's teenage daughter and later sends their lives spiraling out of control.

Follow this gripping tale of a mother's love and the journey she willingly took when it is discovered that she and her mysterious client are the brains behind murder.

Valerie explained that teen violence is escalating at alarming rates. For instance, for women, ages 15 to 30, homicide resulting from domestic violence is the number one killer. Forty percent of teenage girls ages 14-17 say they know someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend. Why is this?

vanessacollier.com (Take a look at the video interview on Midday Arizona.)



Links on teen dating violence:
Dating Bill of Rights
Real Teens Talk
Teaching Materials for Teen Dating Violence
See It And Stop It

Generalizations and Attitudes

Tim, my husband, came across this interesting news article on the 1943's Guide to Hiring Women(the pdf is much easier to read if enlarged), which was published for male supervisors. This is during World War II when men were off to fight and women filled in the workforce gaps. Some of the claims are interesting; for example, "Pick young married women...they're less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it..." This fallacy is intriguing because coming from the corporate world myself, I heard time and again that being married encouraged promotion because it showed responsibility and stability. Generalizations are slow to change.


This week, I met with more wonderful people this week to discuss portraits and listen to their stories. The consultation process can sometimes be a little emotional for both of us. During these meetings, I usually ask some detailed questions to understand the situation better. By no means are the inquiries meant to emotionally harm and they do not have to be answered if the person is feeling uncomfortable. Actually, sometimes it can be uncomfortable for me because I feel such compassion for the survivor that I can be at a loss for words or say something silly at times. So if I have an expression of paralysis from the neck up, now you know the reason.

I hear these stories and think how truth is stranger than fiction. After learning about the individuals, it's amazing how the public has dogmatic attitudes about victims of domestic violence. There are so many variables in each person's life that no history is the same; in fact, they are all quite unique from each other. I won't go into the stories here, but all will be available at the October show. One generalization I can make is that elevated outcomes are highly contrasted by the depths of suffering a victim has to endure. The human spirit may feel broken for a time, but eventually it drags us out of the bottom of the earth and pulls us up into the heavens--where we all could and should be.

The beauty of triumph over hardship is that people who have experienced it use their unique stories for education and become the angels for those who still suffer. Generalizations are slow to change, but they are a changing.



Here are some links on research about attitudes on domestic violence: Knowledge is power!
Attitudes of New Police Recruits Concerning Domestic Violence
University Students Attributing Blame in Domestic Violence
Awareness and Attitudes about Domestic Violence (Read pg 19 in Two Steps Forward, One Step Back...)

Activity Updates

There is so much to share, that I could make this a really long post, instead, I will recap a few things that happened over the week.

The Vagina Monologue celebrity performance was really excellent. The women were beautiful and did a geat job. I even got three new volunteers for the project. The resort was georgeous with some really cool modern art.

There are two more monologue performances at ASU, Neeb Hall Saturday and Sunday. I plan to be there sharing the project with students on campus.





I went to the reading for Domestic Violence: The Musical at Save the Family, and I can tell you that this musical is really unique and wonderful. It's entertaining while educational about the fallacies that surround domestic abuse. Furthermore, if you are an organization that needs to raise funds to help victims, you can work with Linda and John King to set up and market a show for your organization. The show is an hour long with eight actors and can be performed in almost any venue big or small. Another win-win.

It's official! Henry from Salt Lake City, Utah is my first pet portrait for Bravery. If you haven't seen what Rhonda and Henry are doing to fight animal abuse, please take a look at Help Us Help Them. They're work is an important part of domestic violence awareness and accountability.

Next month is Women's History Month, and I've been invited to speak at the Women Studies Conference at Mesa Community College on March 20th. This is exciting because it's a chance to share Bravery Project, Inc. with people. I will be discussing the business side of the organization as well as my creative process in making portraits. There are three pieces from Bravery on display at the Kirk Center. Also, one of my volunteers, Elizabeth, will have her bead jewelry on display as well.


Many of you know that the October exhibit is at Fresh Start. I'm working on a nice reception for the opening night. I am very excited to say that Exhibit Experts has agreed to sponsor the art display panels for the artwork during the whole show. Those of you who are artists understand how expensive that can be, so I am really grateful to have this generous company's support. There are still many things needed for the reception and show, so please pass along the word.