The work is my first attempt at menstrual blood art. It pretty
much created itself in the sense that initially I hadn't pictured it being
quite like it turned out - I more envisioned protraying myself atop a waterfall
looking down - but as I painted and as the figure began to appear more
to the side of the page and walking along where the waterfall and the water
below meet, I realized this "in the thick of things" portrayal
was much more suited to my mood. Also, to me, the pool of water also
looks like a pool of fire - I found this interesting because I had
very recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about the pseudo-morality
we had both been exposed to as children and the topic of "hell"
came up and about "eternal burning" - I can see that image too
in the picture. Additionally, I like the idea of fire and water meeting,
and the figure walking through where they meet, because I feel that that
interpretation expresses the duality of my Scorpion personality - the internal
conflict/civil war between the best and worst in me, the way that,
much like water will put out flames, or flames will evaporate water, they
can't exist side by side simulataneously or live in harmony.
The blood itself is from the second day of my menstrual cycle, the
picture was completely finger-painted, and I didn't have a Keeper [menstrual
cup] or anything so I used the finger-to-vagina, finger-to-paper method
(I don't know if there's a technical name for the different ways to do
it).
A bit about me: I am 27 years old, I use to live on the Lower East
Side in NYC, but now I live near Lancaster, PA. (I prefer NYC by far!) I'm
halfway through my sophomore year of college, and I have two majors, journalism
and sociology. One day I hope to help people who suffer with drug
addiction (particularly heroin addiciton), either through sociological
or journalistic work, as well as use my powers of the press to call out
injustices and truly stand up for the underdog. I am also interested
in, and beginning to work towards, writing a book on poverty in the U.S.
When I'm not busy with schoolwork, I mostly write poetry, which is
my main creative outlet. I'm also really into astrology and all different
genres of music. Also, I really enjoy spending time with
my friends, who are an eclectic bunch, and also the most loving, supportive
friends a gal could ask for.