It's alive!

so today, our Mother Earth Day, the project Changing Woman finally came alive. i worked on it for weeks, and this last week i kept myself busy polishing it and finishing the last details and replanning the budget. it is a weird, but at the same time exciting feeling of jumping into unknown territory. i had experiences with fundraising before, out of the internet and for much smaller philanthropic projects, but nothing with that level of involvement and commitment.

it is simple as that: i am now tied up to this project from head to toe for at least the next 18 months of my life. of course i will be doing non-CW works along the way - personal projects and commissions - but most of my production will be dedicated to the women that will courageously and generously giving me a bit of their lives and feelings so that others can feel less lonely and think that, hey, they can be that kind of heroines too.

i am happy with the possibility of tapping into these women's lives. i have already received a few stories and i   am being careful not to let them grow too much inside for now. when my fascination with the human being meets art making i see a whole world of symbolic meanings unfolding that are at one time overwhelming and strangely addictive. i have so much to learn from these women and so much to absorb from their tears and their hopes.

with this project i am also hoping to tap into a work of helping healing the Divine Feminine on our Earth. i truly believe that artists are shamans and that we have the power to send out whatever we are putting our energies and efforts into at the moment of the art making. so i am already delighted with the perspective of dedicating myself to this work that is the very purpose of my Earth journey.

so, i have 45 days of fundraising ahead of me and i will need all help i can get to spread the word around. so if you have a few minutes to spare, consider taking a look at my Indie Gogo page here. i think the perks are pretty sweet because they will be produced exclusively for the campaign funders, so i will do my best to create really beautiful and neat stuff. the project's webpage is also up and running with more info, art, and the project's updates. and we also have the Zazzle store, a second alternative for fundraising.

this is my fundraising video. of course i am not a film maker, and have no notion of lighting or movie edition or any of these valuable things to know in times like these, so that's what i could get, and with all my camera fright, accent, and self-consciousness, i actually think it is not that bad. i think it is getting the message across at least, and the folks on Facebook have been immensely kind and supportive.

so, that's it... it is alive. please help spread the word. i am very thankful.

the "Changing Woman" project

about 2 years ago i started to brainstorm a project. if you are one of my old followers, and are with me on Facebook, you may remember. it was one of the many ideas i have everyday, but it sounded more "real", and more in touch with my life plans to use art as a tool for transformation. it was called Changing Woman thanks to a valuable suggestion from one of my dearest collectors and friends, and it would be about women empowerment and awareness about women's issues. the most important: i wanted it to be an absolutely positive project, and, although it would deal with sad stories, it would not show victims, but warriors. women who had to deal with a lot of stuff just for the fact of being women, and fought, and won, and are here today to be examples that we can change things only by believing in ourselves and not being what the system wants us to be.

so, the seed of the "Changing Woman" project was planted.

after a period of a huge transition in my personal/artistic life (2 years, to be more exact), and now that i feel strong enough and see all the things i was longing for more and more palpable, i think that it is finally time to push the start button. so in the last months i have been slowly putting on paper everything that i want the project to be, and the project matured, and i thought that i would need a bit of money to make things the best i can. so at this moment i am preparing a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the project so it can be as beautiful as all the women that will be represented and helped by the project deserve. :)

i want to draw 21 portraits of women. women that, against all odds, never showed conformity with being victimized or lower their heads and obey to a system not exactly designed with them in mind. women that suffered rape, abuse, domestic violence, self-esteem problems, discrimination, neglect, and all kinds of things that we have to constantly battle against just for being women.

and i want the portraits to reflect their experiences, and make them look like real role models to be looked at.  because we need these examples. we need them to keep going and fighting for a better world. we need them not only to show us that a different life is possible, but also to raise awareness about what it is like to be a woman in our world. believe me, there's still a lot of people out there thinking that we have achieved everything we needed in matters of equality and justice. but there is still a lot to be done.

all the artworks will be displayed in an art show, and limited edition prints will be produced from each one. a book will be designed and published, featuring each one of the portraits and their respective stories. i also plan a "behind the scenes" video that will feature all the models testimonies, as well as my creative process. simultaneously, i also want to keep a Tumblr site featuring artworks by artists from all over the world on the theme on women empowerment + women's rights.

all the proceeds from the sale of prints and books will be donated to an organization that works for the protection of women.

you could be one of my "Changing Women", or maybe you know somebody that could. i want to hear/read your story and see your face. you could be of any age, color, country, race, body shape, beliefs, background. you just have to have a story to tell: how being a woman has been impacted your life, for good or for worse. your struggles as a woman in the nowadays society. a story of neglect, abuse, injustice, and how you have overcame it. you should be willing to provide me with high resolution reference photos of yourself (later), and to record a testimony of your experience in video. i will choose 21 models/stories to become beautiful and inspiring art portraits and be featured in the project. send me a photo of yourself and your story please.

if you are an artist and would like to collaborate with the "Changing Woman" Tumblr, just send me your artwork, a brief bio, and a link to your portfolio so people can know more about yourself and you work. i want to feature one artist a day.

all to the address pattyariel.art[at]gmail.com  with the words "Changing Woman" on the subject line.

here's the project logo. after a lot of studies i finally decided for the butterfly. i tried to overcome my thing with butterflies but there was no escape. sounds the most appropriated for a project involving women. i then created a butterfly with a Native American flair since the project's name was inspired in the Navajo myth of the Changing Woman.

i hope you get involved. it is going to be beautiful. things will really heat up as soon as i launch the Kickstarter campaign, but even if i do not achieve my goal i will find a way to get things going. maybe in a more challenging way, but alive. as our spirit of transformation.

i think it has started. :))