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.

Fix the Hurt

I had a very nice portrait meeting with a real special couple, Linda and John King. This will be the first portrait of a deceased domestic violence victim. Their daughter, Lisa, was murdered by her abuser. Fortunately, he is in prison doing time, but how unfortunate that it had to happen to these wonderful parents. Linda has become a tour de force in domestic violence prevention and has a website with video footage about her daughter's case. The video takes a minute to download, but it's worth the time and shows how much can be done with diligence.

Linda spends time speaking to groups from High School students to men in prisons about domestic violence. Her mission is about prevention. Linda and John are working on another wonderful way to educate the public on domestic violence prevention using the arts. Together they are creating Domestic Violence: The Musical to reach the public. This is a special performance with live music and an ending that is determined by the audience. How incredible is that!

If anyone is interested in having Linda speak at your event, please contact her. In the meantime, I will keep you posted on her production.

http://fixthehurt.com/videos.html



Just a reminder that Saturday, Feb. 23rd is the one time only celebrity performance of the Vagina Monologues out in Glendale put on by the Phoenix Women's Forum. It promises to be quite an evening. One of the performers, Divine, recited some poetry at the Harmony House Grand Opening event earlier this month. I can say first hand that this gal can write and deliver. Her poetry packs a punch that goes right to your heart.


A quick update on Henry's case in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rhonda, Henry's human companion, wrote in a comment to check the website Help Us Help Them. This site keeps you updated on animal cruelty laws being worked on. Go Rhonda and Henry!

Flu and News bites

It's pretty rare that it happens, but this year was my turn to get hit with the nasty strain of flu virus. Normally, I feel bad for a day and then it's back on my feet after a dose of Airborne and early bedtime. Not this time! With a triple digit fever that dragged on for 8 days and the lovely voice of Tom Waits, I finally went to the doctor and had some blood work done. Fortunately, there was no secondary infection, just a very low white blood cell count indicating a viral infection. So, upon doctor's orders, I had to stay home and miss two of my Bravery promotions at the Vagina Monologues at ASU Polytech and CGCC this weekend. Actually, I had to cancel all my appointments for the past week and a half, and to those of you who were expecting me, I do apologize. The good news is that the fever hasn't returned and the cough is slowly going away and I will be back among the living next week. Appointments are really picking up for the project, so it's time to get the wheels rolling again.

I am always looking to improve the blog, so I've added a news feature that gets updated in real time. This is quite interesting because there are two topics: domestic violence and art updates. These are news stories from across the nation and around the world. If you are interested in learning about latest stats on domestic violence of changes in the law, the articles will pull the latest information. If you want to know what is going in the art world, click on the word "art" and read the newest updates in the art industry. This news feature brings updates everyday, so if you are interested, visit the blog frequently.

I have also added some movies that might be of interest. Tim and I enjoy movies that are unusual and thought provoking, so I will keep an updated link list to share.

I am welcome to suggestions on making this blog useful, so feel free to offer feedback on what you would like to see here.

Art Culture and Fabric Mat Tricks

Since my last post was mainly about domestic violence with that amazing video clip, I am going to focus on art this time. I discovered that there are some artists who visit my website and blog, so this post will be particularly interesting for them.

I went to the Dean's Forum this week, sponsored by ASU's Herberger College of the Arts and it was a great experience. Dean Kwan Wu-Kim spoke with a smorgasbord of ASU people, students, corporate and art members of the community. He talked about how Phoenix could become an art mecca. Instead of people looking outside Arizona for the quality and prestige of art, rather we should be looking within and recognize the diamonds in the rough, and then figure out a way to connect these diamonds into a beautiful necklace of creativity and commerce. There was more said that I won't go into here, but it was an interesting mixed response.

Personally, I agree with Dean Kim that art is involved in EVERYTHING whether we recognize it or not. Since I've taken some traditional art classes, I've learned that art is not exempt from the sciences. There is biology (art anatomy), mathematics/physics (perspective, geometry, golden section), psychology (color science, composition), textiles (art materials), and engineering (problem solving using any of the previous). It truly is the science of light and a form of universal language that should be more respected. There is no dichotomy between art and science. For instance, all the graphics we see everyday, the architecture we live and work in, the fashions that we wear, the live performances we visit, the cars we drive, movies we watch, the music we listen to--art is everywhere and yet... What happens in the real world once the classes are over? What are the opportunities and are they desirable? Boy did I want to chatter up a storm because since I've been working on Bravery, I've learned a ton of information.

I've learned more of the business side and how important marketing and networking is in order to become a successful artist. Furthermore, it's kind of fun sharing your art with people once you learn to handle rejections. Let's face it, not everyone will like the art that I produce, but amazingly enough, so far, everyone (yes everyone) has really like the concept behind Bravery, especially the positive perspective that gives the victims dignity. I couldn't agree more.


With that said, I learned a little trick on matting. I wanted one of my pastel pieces to have a purple suede mat, but they cost $70.00 for a whole board, $50.00 to have one cut and it's not even real suede! It's some kind of polyester material. Bah! Call me frugal, call me cheap, but you can't call me naive. I found that with either some beautiful purple material or (even easier) some pretty shiny purple ribbon, I could embellish matboard to create the fabric texture of my desire. What's really cool is you can take matboard scraps and piece them together and lay the material over it to cover. Fabric glue or double sided tape for the ribbon works great. Just make sure materials are all acid free.

Now one of my art teachers said not to give away secrets, but I have to tell you...I was so frustrated trying to find information about fabric mats on the Internet that I think someone needs to share so other artists won't take out a second mortgage to pay for framing materials!

In case you are interested, I included a couple of websites that offer free info on matting and framing.

Framing for Yourself
How to Mat a Picture
Framing Ideas

Think outside the green.