There are still two days left to submit your topic to me (here)! I’ve received a handful of fun and interesting topics from some great people. I hope that a few more of you will join me for a chance to see your topic illustrated and to be entered to win a matted art print!
"Self Portrait of an Empowered Woman" by Victoria K. Chapman (click to enlarge)
The first topic I received was from Lisa Joy Merrill. Lisa asked me to illustrate “Empowered Women”. I had to stop and think about how I could best represent this. Then, during the power outage we had after the freak snow storm, I had a lot of time to think and be away from all this technology. I looked in the mirror by the candlelight in my house. When I saw my reflection, I realized, “I AM an empowered woman”. I decided to paint that candlelit image of me, the empowered woman. Look in the mirror. What do you see?
Click the image to enlarge it.
I started thinking about how lucky I am having grown up in the place and time that I did. I have been born into a country, into a family and into a time period where I was given the opportunity to be an empowered woman from birth. My parents and teachers fostered my creative thinking and education, regardless of my gender. When I turned eighteen, I had the right to vote. As an adult, I own property and I can pursue the profession I want. I went to college and I have been best friends with men who see me as their equal. All this has created the mindset in me that I am just as capable of fulfilling my dreams and living a wonderful life as anybody else, male or female. I am lucky.
Not all women are so lucky. I sometimes take that for granted. There are still places in the world where women don’t have the same opportunities as men. Where men bully women into submission because that’s the way things are. Women can’t seek out education, they can’t vote and they can’t own property. They don’t even have control over their own health. Perhaps as empowered women, we should make it our responsibility to help other women who are not as fortunate as us.
There are a few organizations who make it their goal to help these less empowered women. I encourage you to take a moment to check them out and consider how you can help.
CARE - www.care.org – “We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.”
Change.org – womensrights.change.org – Change.org has a whole section of petitions just about women’s rights. Please check them out.
Care2.com – www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights – Care2.com covers a lot of causes, but they have an area just for women’s rights issues. There are a lot of articles and petitions for you to learn more and help.
Greater Good Network – Click for More – The Greater Good Network is a series of websites, such as TheLiteracySite.com and TheHungerSite.com, which are dedicated to helping specific causes. In their shop areas, there are “Gifts that Give More”. One such gift allows you to pay $50-$300 to help liberate girls in western Nepal from indentured servitude. It instead allows them to go to school and be with their families.
Do you know of other causes to help women in need? Post them here!
Great work, great message.
Also, I love how you are advocating taking the time to step away from our almost constantly internet-connected world can help see truth we have in ourselves.
Thanks Pam! It truly is helpful to have a break sometimes. This time it was a forced break, but there need to be more purposeful breaks. It helps put the mind in a more thoughtful and creative place.
So beautiful, Victoria! I love the significance of your having created this portrait of an empowered woman during the black-out!
Thanks Lisa! Sometimes it’s so nice to have a reason to stop and do things without electricity. I think that one thing empowered women face is coping with having too many obligations on our plates. A black-out gave us all a moment to stop and not worry about those obligations. It was a comfort knowing that everyone else was in the dark too. We all had to stop.
Wow! Everything about this blog series is so inspiring and soulful. Using creative expression to bring together inner wisdom and resources in the world – such a rare treat! I am so looking forward to other posts in the series…
Thank you for the joy and wisdom you bring to the world…
Thank you so much Shalini! I often think to myself “how can I use my art to help make this world a better place?” I hope this is one step in that direction. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to share something meaningful with others. I’m glad you appreciate it!