The Clothesline Project

I wanted to draw some attention to a very special project and some courageous people. I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in 'The Clothesline Project' put on by Every Woman's House www.everywomanshouse.org , a shelter for woman of domestic violence. What the woman's shelter and other community services have done is put together a traveling display of colorful t-shirts on a clothesline. The t-shirts have been decorated by victims, mostly woman and children, of domestic violence, abuse or sexual assault to give them a voice, to break the silence about interpersonal violence, to offer support and to bring awareness to the community.

I painted a large, rather abstract painting of a clothesline of t-shirts to be used in the display. The painting is a departure of how I normally paint but I wanted it to be graphic in the sense that there is much contrast between the dark background and the variety of color in the shirts to represent victims moving out of the darkness of silence and shame into a place that recognizes each person's value and unique experiences. To encourage people to move to the place of seeing the beauty in who they are outside of violence and abuse. If you find yourself in a abusive relationship or have violence and abuse in your past there are resources to move out of that situation, physically, and in the way you see yourself. This painting is my way of showing support and encouragment and to thank the agencies who are offering help to the community.

The Clothesline Project Display is on exhibit from Oct. 25th until Nov. 15th at The Wayne Center of the Arts in Wooster http://www.wayneartscenter.org/