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. :))