FEATURED in Vibration in Art and Verse
FEATURED in Painter’s Universe
FEATURED in Mixed Media
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Girl, I see
You
I remember—
You
Today,
Know this
You,
me,
we are together
Girl, we are strong

So many reminders today of how we all must think of how strong we are when we join together as equals us all in world, country women, men, children this world conflict focus on important global issues local people you me us hope home creativity trust joy happy life
Love

The Story, American Public Media:
“A Search for Change,” we hear from community organizer Lateefah Simon. She saw her childhood neighborhood destroyed by the influx of crack in the 1980’s. She now works with young people on the streets of San Francisco, focusing on drug problems, people with HIV, and teenage mothers with nowhere else to turn. She’s not out to change a country or even a city or a street. She works to change lives – one at a time.
Look
Listen

National Public Radio,
_Eve Arnold Photojournalist dies at 99
*Photographer Eve Arnold died Wednesday, just a few months shy of her 100th birthday. Arnold is best known for her intimate portraits of both the rich and famous — including Marilyn Monroe, Malcolm X and Joan Crawford — and of the down and out.
“She was very, by nature, on the side of the underdog,” says Brigitte Lardinois, a colleague and friend of Arnold’s and co-author of the book Eve Arnold’s People. “She was by nature somebody who believed that all people are equal.”
NPR.org

Photojournalist Eve Arnold Dies At 99 Photo slideshow link to NPR

http://www.npr.org/

MEDIUM:
graphite and pastel on parchment paper
INSPIRATION:
My portrait today is of a young Afghan girl who was raped by an adult male neighbor. This little girl lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. She could not speak for a week after the rape.

I tried very hard to capture her gaze as I saw it in the video that told me of her story. The mother spoke to the interviewer of the rape as the little girl sat nearby, staring at something in the distance, once in a while glancing at the camera.

I wondered what she was thinking about and feeling while her mother spoke of her assault. This little girl appeared to be as resilient as many of the women in the video who had similar terrible stories of human rights abuses.

I felt a strong need to protect this little girl. The only way I knew how was symbolically. I created this portrait of her because l felt that by doing so then she was safe in my honoring of her memory and my telling her story.

As far as justice for the little girl, in the video documentary it is explained that even though her father went to the authorities they did nothing to bring her attackers to justice.

“For most Afghan women, the promises made following the fall of the Taliban are not being fulfilled. Honour killings are on the increase and women face violence whenever they try to claim their rights. “"If you are a women in some areas of this country, you are not considered human"”, laments Latifa Popal. “"All the legal systems are in favour of men"”. From the video Fear Behind the Veil – Afghanistan.

This video and this little girl inspired me today.

Maybe her dreams will come true…

OUR WAR