"Unmuted: Art is your Voice"

In the piece, the burden basket over the figure’s heart represents the burdens we carry in our own hearts for one another. The people flowing out are depicted in an array of clothing colors, skin tones, and body types. Yet, they all walk together in support of one another. They are led by a woman to showcase women’s traditional and contemporary role as community leaders.

In Cherokee culture, the fire pot symbolizes our eternal flame that was carried from one village to another. Therefore, my homage to Cherokee women is further developed through the depiction of the central figure of the piece–a woman, surrounded by fire, bursting forth with passion. The volume of her cry is marked and melting.

She holds a paintbrush, a symbol for the arts, as if holding a war club. Against all odds, she chooses art over war. Her message is that art is transformative and serves as an outlet for not only pain and trauma, but joy and celebration. She is physically covered with design elements such as a feather shawl, tattoos, and jingle dress earrings that reference talented Cherokee artisans and other women who inspired this piece. As a means of connecting myself to this lineage, I have given the central maternal figure my own tattoo designs, thus becoming part of the piece myself.