Say My Name

I can't even begin to wrap my head around the absurdity of the situation I just found myself in. There I was excited on the opening day of the exhibit called “Her Voice, Her Vision” for Women’s history month amongst the diverse array of artwork created by talented female artists, only to stumble upon my own piece, Liv Love, proudly displayed among the others.

But there was a catch - apparently, the organizers took issue with the name of the series my piece belonged to: The Bloomin Bitch Series. And so I received an email saying that they couldn’t display the paragraph I had written about my piece because it had profanity in it and families would be walking through. That they would keep it taped to the back of the painting for interested buyers but it couldn’t be shown.

Isn’t that the point of art? Especially an exhibit called “Her Voice, Her Vision?”

Seriously, what the actual f**k? It's 2024, people. We should be past the point of being offended by a harmless word like "bitch." And again, let's not forget that this is art we're talking about. Art is supposed to challenge, provoke, and push boundaries. It's a reflection of the artist's voice, their vision, their truth. And my truth just so happens to be a little edgy, a little unapologetic, a little bit of a bitch. So sue me.

I mean, come on. We live in a world where women are still fighting for equality, where our voices are often silenced, our visions dismissed. The whole point of this exhibit was to give female artists a platform to express themselves freely, to be unapologetically themselves. And yet here I am, being told that my art is somehow inappropriate because of a word that some people might find offensive. Give me a break.

If anything, the fact that my piece is causing a stir only proves that it's doing its job. Art is meant to spark conversation, to challenge norms, to make people think. And if my piece, with its bold colors and unapologetically feminist message from the name of the series it’s from, is ruffling a few feathers, then I must be doing something right.

But no, instead of celebrating the diversity of voices and visions on display, the organizers have to censor me, to water down my message by not allowing it to be read openly, to make me conform to their narrow standards of acceptability. Well, sorry, but that's just not how I roll. I refuse to be silenced, to be told what I can and cannot say, to be forced to fit into a neat little box of someone else's making.

So here's the deal. I'm not changing the name of my series. (They actually told me I had to if I wanted the paragraph shown!) I’ll leave it on the back but I'm not toning down my message. I'm not apologizing for being myself. In the future, I'll take my art elsewhere, to a place where it's appreciated for what it is: raw, unfiltered, unapologetically me.

Because at the end of the day, my art is my voice, my vision, my truth. And I refuse to let anyone silence that. So bring on the haters, the critics, the naysayers. I'll just keep doing what I do best: creating art that challenges, provokes, and inspires. And if that makes me a bitch, then so be it. But you know what? I'll wear that label with pride.

And you know what? Now that just made me do some digging about the word bitch and it led me to this article which I loved reading. And it gave me an idea inspired by my muse. If you didn’t know who my muse is he’s Prince and I wrote about that here.

Now I’m busy creating a symbol for “Bloomin Bitch”. I don’t know if this will be the one I land on but I love how it lands so far.

If you want to see my piece live it’s at the Chesapeake Arts Center in the Hal Gomer Gallery for the “Her Voice, Her Vision” exhibit in Brooklyn Park, MD. *ask to read the paragraph on the back of the piece.

Bloomin Bitch - a fierce warrior goddess who has battled through the fires of hell to emerge unapologetically bold, strong, and ready to unleash her creative power upon the world. She's not afraid to speak her mind, stand up for herself, and let her voice be heard. She's a force to be reckoned with, a badass queen who refuses to be silenced or held back. So watch out world, because this Bloomin Bitch is here to slay and conquer all that stands in her way.

This whole thing made me go and dig up this song and listen. Hope you enjoyed this piece and hope you never silence your creativity for anyone.