This idea came to me 3 years ago, and rocketed to the top of the list November 6th of last year. For me, that day brought fear, fury, and depression.
It also brought every bit of my being vibrating in recognition of Toni Morrison’s quote about times of crisis: “This is precisely the time when artists go to work.”
Instant. Obvious. Unequivocal. It was time.
I didn’t know how or why, but I KNEW this project needed to live, and I was going to make sure it did.
So… I got to work.
I started talking with my friends about this weird idea for an art installation photo shoot I had to visually represent women taking up unapologetic space in this world.
Literally it would be me, standing on a ladder, wearing a skirt made of parachutes that obscure the ladder such that I look VERY tall… fantastical… unreal even… wearing a shirt that reads – I AM HERE.
Parachutes because I’m a skydiver and I love layering in thoughtful details, but the core idea me as a representation of all women.
Impossible to ignore us by the sheer power of our presence.
All this positioned in front of the government building in my town as representation of what’s happening in our current government.
This also a nod to the Silent Sentinels of the Women’s Suffrage movement, the first people ever (men or women) to protest in front of the White House. They did nothing, they said NOTHING, they just stood there with their banners, rain or shine, day after day, standing up for women everywhere.
F*ck yeah. We stand on ladders and on the shoulders of every brave regular person who came before us.
We started with a tiny little ladder that actually looked really cool, but we realized pretty quickly we needed to (and wanted to) go way bigger. We got a ladder double the size, set safety standards so I was never up there without someone holding the bottom. We had multiple practice build days, engineering conversations, trips to Home Depot to buy 2×4’s, PVC pipe, and the fixins for an underskirt made out of round tomato trellises.
We scheduled multiple different days to do the shoot and every time something happened that forced us to reschedule. Nevertheless… we persisted. (Ehh ehh, see what I did there? )
We booked it AGAIN weeks out for April 1st, only for another highly questionable weather forecast to come with it.
I was flying my amazing photographer friend, Leah Levy, in to do the shoot, so we were waiting to book her ticket watching the weather forecast keep changing ahhhhhhh…
AND THEN…
Another wave of undeniable intuition came over me… and I knew. We’re doing it April 1st. No matter what. Rain or shine.
April Fools Day, as Women’s month is theoretically “over,” it’s a joke if anyone thinks women are not wildly powerful. Try to look away.
Turns out the weather was perfect AND, unbeknownst to us, as we were doing what we could to stand up for what’s right, Cory Booker was doing the same with his historic filibuster. I cried multiple times today watching him thunder and feeling his heart.
Cory said, “I’m not going to let my inability to do everything undermine my ability to do something.”
Cory stood and spoke for 25 hours and 5 minutes supported by his people while I stood on that ladder supported by mine.
All of us doing what we could.
THIS, my friends.
Our intuition knows. Trust it. Be brave enough to trust yourself. Stand up in the ways you are called. Every bit makes a difference and contributes to momentum we aren’t always going to be sure is there, but we have to keep believing in anyway.
If this inspired you at all, please share. My hope is that every bit adds to that momentum. I believe it does.
Thank you, my friends. All my love.
PS. If you want to see more of the behind-the-scenes pics or be more in the conversation, go either to IG, FB or LinkedIn. Lots more conversation in the comments. #goteam
This is the post I shared with this image, that I turned into this IG reel:
It’s pure comedy if anyone thinks women are not wildly powerful. I will continue to use my literal voice of course and half the time we don’t even need it. Try to look away. 😈🔥 #IAMHERE
I believe EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US.. has this power.
Personally, I am always looking for ways to challenge myself into the expanse of the human experience… to explore the edges of what’s possible… to grow, to heal and to continue learning how to take up unapologetic space in this world.
A world that was built on ideas that women should be seen, not heard.. a world that teaches women roles they must play to fit in and stay safe… a world that does not honor, acknowledge or uplift women’s positive power.
As an artist, I am always looking for ways in effect to use myself as a model for expanding our ideas on what’s possible… to center ideas I think matter and make a difference.
In this case… I believe, as women, we CAN take bold risks… we can use our voices… we can project them LOUDLY… in whatever ways we each are uniquely called. We can do this literally and metaphorically.
The point is… we can do it. No one is going to tell me I can’t. Well, they can tell me, that’s fine, I’ll just decline. 😈😘
If any bit of my sharing inspires you, please share it forward so it might also inspire another. ✨
Even when we can’t be sure what we’re doing is making any difference, we have to believe it does. I believe it does.
If you have an inkling about a direction you want to go, a way you want to speak up, a way you want to create… DO IT.
Get the help and support you need for sure… but find a way. There are 3 other badass women literally under that skirt backing me up and another behind the lens. PERSIST. Find a way. You will be surprised at the power a truly inspired idea actually has to motivate action. Both in yourself, and in those you ask to join you.
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