This year we held a community contest seeking original artwork to be the 2019 official Take Back the Night design for our "Light Out of Darkness" theme. We were honored to receive a number of powerful submissions and voted as a community collective to select a winner. Congratulations to Laura Rowley for her winning design, a celestial creation! These designs are my personal interpretation of "Light Out of Darkness." I considered my own experience as a survivor/thriver of sexual assault. After years of therapy and time with supportive friends and family, I feel a sense that I can spread my energy and positive light outward. Initial ideas and images included a dancer surrounded in light, stars, and suns. I chose the font of letters with geometrical shapes for "Light Out of Darkness" to represent the network of community support that survivors need to process experiences. The sun-like image represents anyone who transitions from trauma to recovery and joy. For me, "Take Back the Night" is such an important event for survivors to share their experiences with one another and with the community. It creates a feeling of solidarity and hope that we can work together toward ending rape culture in our society. What is the most rewarding part of being an artist in our community? I teach bookbinding, printmaking and papermaking, and I am passionate about socially-engaged art. I feel most fulfilled when collaborating on projects that make a positive impact in people’s lives and our environment, to create a more fair and just world. I currently work around the Finger Lakes Region with libraries, afterschool programs, colleges, organizations like the Advocacy Center, small businesses, other artists, and art therapists, sharing skills and artwork. It has been a personal goal for a long time to become a teaching artist, to get to connect with all sorts of people making art, and I am grateful that this community supports me in doing what I love.
In my own transition from victim to survivor/thriver, light has been a source of inspiration for healing, both physically and mentally. I chose the constellation font to represent the community support network that survivors need for processing their traumatic experiences. It is important to connect with others who have had similar experiences, as well as share with those people who have not. The sun-like image represents the transition from trauma to recovery to joy.
The phrase “the personal is political“ was first used by feminists in the 1970s to express the idea that sexual violence is rooted in a larger system of people taking advantage of power in relationships. It is not our fault for getting hurt. We can work together to end rape culture in our society. We can build power by sharing our stories and fighting back against the societal forces that make rape culture acceptable.
Unlimited energy! I’m an introvert and social situations are quite exhausting for me—but they also inspire me, feed me and give me purpose.
My first bookbinding professor used to tell our class "move forward in a positive way." This has helped me in so many situations where I have felt lost or overwhelmed. It also reminds me of my professor, a dynamic mentor who lead me to find my identity and passion. Just keep moving forward, together. |
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