𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕.

𝑂𝑘𝑎𝑦 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑖 𝑘𝑜.

I'm glad to have joined the advocacy embroidery workshop last April 2021 facilitated by Karolina and PINSAN.

It was inspiring to listen to the stories of the women in the group and be empowered together by creating different advocacy embroidery artworks.

So even if I'm out of practice and just really celebrating small wins (like being successful in doing a lot of different kinds of stitches), here's a gentle reminder to myself.

 Always.

𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎.

- 𝑅𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑜, 𝐾𝑖𝑏𝑜̄ 𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜

This wasn't my first time to play with clay (i made my smol trees from air dry clay last December hehe), but it was my first using one that is meant to be fired. Preparing the clay before it can be shaped and molded requires preparation and a bit of strength, tbh. 

While we were working on our pieces, most of us encountered challenges on our pieces because cracks were forming and some parts were falling apart. 

So, it was only natural that this line struck me during the feminist pottery workshop a couple of weeks ago by Reine under Kibō Studio.

As a clinician-in-training and someone who uses different forms of art mediums for self-care (and hoping to encourage my future clients to do so too!), that was really comforting to hear and to be reminded of the metaphor that clay may be akin to our lives. That we can still shape our lives the way we want it to be despite all the pains and hurts we've experienced. 

In my journey of healing and coming to terms with things that happened and I have done in the past, I actually found myself drawn towards art that is more tactile. That's why i love embroidery, and well, doing mixed-media now! I realized that maybe it's because I was lacking a bit on my felt sense and I needed something more tangible than simply drawing and painting when expressing what I feel and what I think. 

So, here's my 'tactile' piece and a reminder to all women about our body autonomy, that we are the ones who can make choices for our body. Here's a gentle reminder for me too as I come to terms with decisions that I made to honor that. 🙂