What remains is we need hope, action, and time to heal.
Yesterday we had terribly heartbreaking news, again. This time about the shooting in Uvalde, TX where 19 fourth grade children and two teachers were shot and killed by a gunman after he shot his grandmother.
How do we find hope to move forward and heal when time shows that we keep repeating these same heartbreaking events?
When we stoop to pick up the pieces of what remains of the broken bodies of our children we see the truth, we need action. WE NEED ACTION. Only once we have action will we be able to heal. Without action we are just waiting for the next heartbreak to come upon us. Our children, who keep suffering, are waiting for us to take this action to protect them. Sometimes actions are beyond us but this one is very much attainable. We can not wait again for another heartbreak. Now is the time to act. Only then can our children begin to feel safe enough to heal and we all can move forward.
Waiting for another to make the words, 2022, reclaimed bias materials, 13x14x7 inches
I made this piece after sitting in my studio reading about the shootings in Uvalde, TX, reflecting on the countless past shootings of our most vulnerable people, and crying for a while. Hope and rage combine into a powerful force. It was therapeutic for me to make, and feels like an important acknowledgment of where we are as a community. We can not sit by and wait for another to make the words for us. We need to make them. Or the shootings will continue. We need hope to be able to make steps forward into action and change. Only then can we find healing.
Call to Action:
Call or write your local representatives and ask them what they are doing to protect our most vulnerable people against gun violence.
Sign this petition to require universal background checks for gun sales.
Announcing my partnership with Prarie Underground, a local clothing manufacturer, which has started supplying me with remnant materials. One of my art practice philosophies is to be zero-waste and use reclaimed materials whenever possible in the creation of my works. With so much excess in our world, and in the US in particular, why would a creative person use new materials to create artworks unless absolutely necessary? As a result I strive to obtain materials by collection from partnerships with organizations and individuals to make my works which occasionally marries into a social practice element in my work. The materials in my above fibers sculpture, Waiting for another to make the words, are remnant bias received from them. A big thanks to Camilla at Prarie Underground for the support and materials donations!
[Image of Megan Prince fibers sculpture, Waiting for another to make the words, hanging from thumbtacks on the artist’s dirty studio wall. Title for artwork taken from Crazy Horse by Mari Sandoz.]
