Women: What's Now, What's Next
She A Collaborative Artwork by Sara Hiris 2015 & Sara Donatelli (my younger self & former name) 2003. I painted the face in 2003, at the beginning of my professional journey, and the background in 2015. I completed the piece in 2015 for a show which explored the multiple identities of art educators. Each ray represents the characteristics and ways of being that give She her identity and power.
Being a woman with multiple roles and identities (mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, creative professional, speaker, teacher, community member...), and being an engaged observer of what affects people's sense of self and well-being, I naturally am curious about how women identify, feel, and interact in the world.
These interests and observations have led me to notice that almost every conversation I have with a woman--regardless of age, orientation, life situation, or socioeconomic status--turns into a conversation about transition. As women, it seems we often feel like we occupy the space-in-between: career-wise, identity-wise, body-wise, spirit-wise, relationship-wise, style-wise, and otherwise.
Let's talk (more) about it! Let's investigate this idea of transition, what we notice while we are in it, what we have learned from it, what we think it means for us as individuals, as well as women as a whole in our evolving society, and what we want to change or explore further.
I'll be investigating these questions through interviewing women of different backgrounds, interests and ages. These interviews will be shared via this blog, and hopefully in the near future, via a podcast!
We shall see how Women: What's Now, What's Next grows, transforms, and reverberates.
Thank you for your interest and participation. Stay tuned!
-Sara
All things are incomplete. All things, including the universe itself, are in a constant, never-ending state of becoming or dissolving. Often we arbitrarily designate moments, points along the way, as "finished" or "complete." But when does something's destiny finally come to fruition? Is the plant complete when it flowers? When it goes to seed? When the seeds sprout? When everything turns into compost? The notion of completion has no basis in wabi-sabi (p.49-50).
Koren, L. (1994&2008). Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers. Point Reyes, CA: Imperfect Publishing.