My offering today for Art Every Day Month (over the hump -we’re more than half-way through!) is my new line of sea-nettles. This little beauty is 9″ tall and could hang on a Christmas tree or just in your window to catch the light. The beads are all of my left-overs and spills not worth sorting so this little creation gives me a way to not waste anything (that’s the art – figuring out how to best use all your materials!). I have more – this is the smallest. I think I may have to make some for my local shops and December upcoming shows (Dec 4 Makers’ Mart at Annmarie Sculpture Garden in Solomons (every 1st Saturday year round), December 10 at SeaScapes Home Accents Gift Shop in North Beach, and December 11 Prince Frederick Art Walk (multiple venues) sponsored by a committee of folks from CalvArt Gallery).
A Gathering of Women
If you read my facebook, you know that I went to see the Black Crowes at Hubby’s place of work on Sunday. This requires getting there for load in and staying through load out but wasn’t bad because it was the 2nd day of the show, and getting ready was more about restoring from a late night show (after the Crowes) than about loading it all in.
Lots of time to read and think – you’d expect that I get plenty of that since my kids are grown and gone, and I work out of the house so have lots of time for that, but work is work and reading and thinking usually my end of the day relaxation. Well. I do believe a combination of putting myself down on the page daily for Art Every Day Month and being out of my usual space set me up for some excellent reflection time. Here are some notes from then.
I didn’t even know I was in transition. Usually there is that feelng of restlessness, anxiety, yearning toward something.
Sunday morning, there I was sitting in the Holiday Inn on Solomons listening to Dr Rachel Brem speak about the Brem Foundation To Defeat Breat Cancer and its work and suddenly I knew I wanted to start something called A Community of Women. A Women’s Collective. A Women’s Cooperative. A Women’s Something.
Yes – I’ve been thinking about an organization and trying to find a name for it. But it was more along the lines of a business organization.
This is broader. It is about social justice, community organizing, leadership, space to play and be quiet, shared goals. I write that and I think – only progressive women. Then I think – we need all voices at the table if we are to talk about the hard things.
Then I think – I need to join that library group that talks about the hard things.
Where is this need to be active again coming from? Am I running from Art? Do I just need the ability to stretch my organizing muscles again: leadership training, an organized community, belonging? There it is. Belonging to something I start – gives me control of direction. Hmmmmm. How would it look if I just joined what others are doing? Or is this complementary? I have to think about that.
Immediately after I typed that last bit, I opened the book I was reading and read: When we don’t use our talents to cultivate meaningful work, we struggle. (Brene Brown)
Then (since that was at the very end of the book), I opened the next book (because I’m sitting at the 9:30 Club about 10 ft away from the Black Crowes sound checking for their show tonight – the perq of being married to the Clubs lead sound technician) I opened my next book and read: ”Putting our voice out into the world isn’t for others, not really – it is only for ourselves, ultimately. If it touches someone else, if it changes their life or angers or buoys them, that’s not yours to own (Patty Digh).
When answers come back that fast you know you’re on to something.
This is what I’m thinking: An Active Community of Women.
Requesting Input
[In other words, don’t just read – share your thoughts with me!]
Have you ever thought of belonging to a community of women where you could be yourself, talk about the hard, things, find respite? If no, okay. If yes – tell me about it. Brain storm with me here in the comments or direclty: info@tammyvitale.com.
How do you envision it? What have you done towards creating it? What is keeping you from doing something twoards it? What are the draw that pull you toward something like this? What are the drawbacks? What are the roadblocks? Where do you go for help?
What might it look like? Would it be noisey or quiet or both at different/the same times?
How would you tell people about this community? What kind of space would you create so they could respond?
Is it exhilerating or scarey or a bit of both to think of something like this out loud, in public…or even in private?
What do you think a collective os women is capable of doing to help the world be a better place?
[Note to self: now I remember why I wrote every day once upon a time – because sooner or later it takes you deep into yourself- there’s no where else to go once the surface stuff is neatly tucked onto the page and there are lines of blank space left to go!]
I seldom come to the Club anymore. I used to do it more for territorial pissing because my husband is a cutie/sweetie and I wanted to brand himas mine than for the music. Hopefully I’m mostly over all that now. But I always and still find that being here is profoundly conducive to creative reading and thinking for me. I have no distractions here – just a corner out of everyone’s way, something thought provoking in my hands, and my own thoughts. Of course live bluesy background music doesn’t hurt either!
Wylde Women’s Wisdom
If you can’t find what your heart is yearning for, create it yourself! Tammy Vitale
11 Comments
There has been a yearning in me as well. A need to open up, and tell what I feel. With the start of blogging, I have found it is much easier for me to pour out my passions on the internet, where I don’t see the confused stares from people who don’t understand (imagined or otherwise). Maybe AEDM can continue…an extension of the friendships we’ve found, and, like you already said, a continuum of the art.
Love the sea nettles!
I belong to a couple small communities of women outside of internet-land. One is in person, one over the phone. I can’t say that we’re taking action in our community, but I do get a lot out of meeting regularly with these women to talk about our lives and goals and to share our progress.
Julie: yes – they are my questions, too. and I think they need to be thought about in community,not off by myself. Yet how to gather the women to think about community seems to haveme stuck…which I think is more me being hesitant since I professionaly bring people together to do stuff around issues. hmmmm. sometimes you just have to think about it out loud on paper to help “see” things!
Community is something I’ve been feeling the need for lately. But how it should be, I’m not sure. You’ve raised a lot of good questions and ones I need to think about.
Anne:Anne
I live here – in these thinking about spaces. It’s why I make art – when I’m making art, my
head is silent.
I love the noise and the silence.
I have been where I am for 16 going on 17 years now. I have different circles of women for busines, for art, for hanging out, but none for the really big questions (take that back: I have one friend to run these things by, but she can’t join in because she is up to her ears in her own life – a caretaker and full time worker and going to school). I’ve been thinking lately that I’ve been sort of lazy in not making my own space for this – but it’s
slippery. I haven’t yet quite defined exactly what this looks like and don’t want to without
input from others.
It gets circular.
Off to make sea nettles. ;]
What interesting things you’re thinking about.
Your sea nettle is lovely.
I’m in a transitional place, in the middle of moving to a new place (and still partly tied to the old one) and need a community of like-minded women. At the same time, I can be a very private, solitary person and find it hard to connect to others. I like what Paula says “A word here, a phone call there, a smile somewhere else.” Sometimes it really is simple to make those connections.
This little beauty is really beautiful 🙂
Another community sync here. I found an old post by myself where I had changed my word of the year from abundance to community (for the past three years the word I chose changed when I found out what I actually meant by it around March 😀 ), so I thought about what I had really done about it.
I´ve been strengthening the small women communities I belong to: moms from son´s class, moms from daughter´s class, etc. Nothing big, just keeping the energy moving and the bonding deepening. A word here, a phone call there, a smile somewhere else.
When women gather, magic happens. 🙂
Julis – awesome! I cannot wait to hear from you!
Sue: Amazing! There’s your seanettle as pretty as can be! And you don’t even have them on the
west coast!
the something more isn’t really more than art, it’s a continuum. I’m convinced. I’ve been
trying to connect my organizing and my art on that continuum for a while. I need more heads
thinking!
Wow. You say a lot here. The two quotes especially speak to me. I’ve been having some (very quiet) thoughts about wondering if art is enough..or how to make the art enhance something larger. Im trying not to shrink from those thoughts because I think they are important.
Oh, and the sea nettles? Love it. And now that I’ve been educated, look what I found in my doodles last night. Are we both channeling sea creatures??
http://suedoodles.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/dancing-the-dancer/
Community: one of my favorite topics, Tammy. Sometimes I feel, yes, I know – AEDM is about art and flows beyond art. Creativity is so ultimately feminine. I am about to go advocate for my daughter (who is in college 3,000 miles from me and who I have connected with an AEDMer to be “another Mom when I am not close” from last year who lives close to where my child is in school…
Just hearing about women banding together in community in any form makes my heart smile.
I’ll write to you further later today or tomorrow after I brew some more.