Woman/photographer

Once again, what surrounds me influences my art... This one took shape with very little mental interference from me -- which means I was completely mystified for most of the creative process -- which seemed to drag on for days.  It was only today that I realized this image was about the creative process, and womanhood, and the challenges of balancing creativity and family; clearly a reflection of an amazing book I just finished.

The book, Eight Girls Taking Pictures, consists of 8 fictionalized biographies of women photographers.  The stories -- the women and their work -- move chronologically through most of the 20th century, and beautifully depict the progress of women's lot in life over time.The writing is lyrical and engaging, and author Whitney Otto manages to capture the challenges of photography without beating the reader over the head with them: the stories are perfectly engrossing for the plots alone.

But now that I see this painting through the lens of the book I just finished, I realize there are wombs, and blood; bolts of inspiration and camera lenses; pain and beauty, muddiness and clarity all working together.  I'm not sure I like it, but I think it needed to be painted, and for that I'm grateful -- if only that it's done and I can move on!