Artist: Jen Gilson
Title: I show up. For them all.
Media: Oil
Size: 12x16
Price: $400
Artist Statement:
A powerful and influential woman has the capacity to be fully present with someone, offering a safe and supportive environment where emotions can be expressed without any judgement. There are a lot of layers to a woman that can show up to others like that. That woman has not had an easy path. Because of her struggles, she has empathy toward those suffering, and can hold space for their experiences. This woman depicted in the painting represents the woman that I've been refined into. My struggles though years of infertility, and figuring out my identity while in the chaos of motherhood, have expanded my capacity to show up for others. I have learned to extend my arms to unnatural lengths to carry the heavy loads of all those around me. There are little arms who tug at my knees in excitement, friends who crumble into my arms in despair, and family members who have cast a shadow of patterned behavior into my life. Women have a heavy load to carry, and we all grow our capacity to handle more every single day.