Blog Art Project!

As I've been thinking about what I want to do with this blog, the idea for a project has been forming in my mind. (Any thoughts on the nature of the project are welcomed, by the way!)

The Body Art Project:
I want to make pieces of art that help promote a positive body-image in others – art that helps people be more accepting of themselves and more able to see themselves as worthy, and art that portrays REAL bodies. I think everyone deserves to feel positive about and happy with their body, no matter what their body looks like.

I envision the process for creating a piece of art for this project as follows:

1. Someone emails me a photo of themselves.
2. I create a piece of art from it and post it on the blog.
3. I contact the subject of the artwork and get their thoughts it.
4. Depending on the subject's comfort, post their response along with the artwork.
5. Optional: if the subject of the artwork is interested in owning the piece they appear in, buying it from me is totally an option.

I'm not sure to what extent I want input from the subject - if someone wants to mention their favorite color, or a motif they like, or a way to crop the image, I would take those into consideration - but ultimately the creative decisions would be up to me. (If someone wanted me to do a piece with the express purpose of purchasing it, I would possibly (probably?) talk to them about having more input on the finished piece.)

In my head, I envision mostly creating nude depictions of the human body, but in reality, that might not actually be the case. I know that self-acceptance usually happens a little bit at a time, sometimes only a body part at a time. So if someone sent me a photo of a part of their body that they ARE happy/comfortable with, I think that would be worth painting, regardless of whether that means an art piece of someone's hands or right shoulder blade. Similarly, if someone wants to participate, but isn't comfortable being nude, I would definitely be up for discussing how to include them in a way they were comfortable with. Also, I don't plan on identifying the subjects of the paintings (unless they want me to).

I want to paint variety and I want this project to be inclusive – different genders, different body types, different ethnicities, different walks of life, different ages.

Why paint pictures of people? What do I get out of it?
Working on this project would be beneficial to me because I'm still working on my own self-image and body positivity issues on a near daily basis, and working on these pieces and engaging in the dialogue that they create would help me in my own journey of self acceptance.

I want to paint these pictures because I've always enjoying depicting the human figure in my art. I want to paint these pictures because I want to fight body-hate and body-shaming. I want to paint these pictures because making art is what I'm good at and it's my mirror to reflect the world back at itself.

Interested in participating?
Send me an email at bodypaintblog@gmail.com. :)

Introductions, introductions

Mission Statement

The purpose behind the creation of this blog is to promote body positivity in whatever way I can. To some people, that means being comfortable with their weight. To someone else, that means being comfortable with the size of their breasts or the width of their hips or the prominence of bones under their skin. Or the amount of body hair they have. Or scar tissue left over the past. There are a myriad of reasons why someone might think negatively about their body, but I think everyone would benefit from and SHOULD have a positive body-image, regardless of what society holds up as the ideal.

(A person's self-worth shouldn't depend solely on their physical appearance, people are obviously deeper and more complex than that, but in today's celebrity-soaked, shiny, plastic pop culture, I think it's easier to be overly critical and negative than positive.)

Important: I want to state outright that I don't intend to deal only with issues that involve women and fat acceptance. Although those are particularly relevant to *me*, I want to move beyond that and use this platform to help *everyone*. It might take a little while for me to develop a more balanced representation of bodies, but I want people to know that that's the goal I'm setting for this from the get-go.

I intend to post: art of bodies, art of bodies that I've made, this and that from Tumblr, overviews of books that deal with body image/self worth, quotes, and input from friends who want to say something. This isn't an exhaustive list; it's merely what I've thought up so far.

About Me

My name's Mary. I'm a recent college graduate with a bachelor's degree in painting, a minor in English lit., and a strong interest in feminism and body positivity. I struggle with self-esteem and body-image issues due to depression and polycystic ovarian syndrome and I will be the first to admit that I'm still working very hard toward having a positive view of myself.

I make no claims about knowing what the hell I'm doing with this. I just know that I feel compelled to try and do something - for all of my friends who are critical of their beautiful selves, for all the people who get ridiculed for not fitting the norm (whatever the hell that may be), for all the people who have spent years hating their bodies, for everyone who is comfortable with themselves but could use a little reminder that they're awesome, and for myself.

Although this isn't a blog strictly about weight, I think this message is still fully applicable. And makes for a good first post. :)

(Image borrowed from http://thatpurplehat.tumblr.com.)