Allison Bolah's thoughts

Apologies to Allison for the delay, she sent me this for posting a long time ago but it got lost in my inbox. The rest of this post is directly quoting her:


What does it mean to you to be collaborating with this group of women? How does this project relate to your other artwork and interests? What is significant to you about what it means to be female and experience the rhythm of the lunar cycle?

• I had an interesting (and somewhat contentious) conversation with an MFA classmate about menstruation. He said he wouldn't want to be a woman and have to deal with his period every month. It's funny, I've never 'resented' or wished my period away; I've been working to bring myself in sync with my body, its needs throughout my menstrual cycle, and its connection to the lunar cycle. In fact, when things run smoothly during my period, I take it as an indication that in my larger life, I'm doing well. I think women (very generally speaking) have this built in rhythm that can serve as a metaphor for other things. If there's such a thing as women's culture, this and childbirth might be the root of the symbols that shape it. In my work, I think about language; far from excluding trans-women or other for whom the accepted biology of 'womanhood' is not the determinant of their woman-ness, menstruation as concept not an experience is something we can share between women to elucidate our understanding of other lived experiences.

What would you like to learn or receive from the others?

• I have no idea what I'm doing! (Seriously) I'd love to see how other artist respond to and shape hints, loose parameters.

What would you like to share of yourself with the group?

• I worked in isolation until August 2012; I hope to bring my 'A' game and see my work in conversation with others'. I don't even know what I have to share at this point.

What topics are you researching in preparation for your print?

• I'm pretty certain I'll be working with text, so my research is how to illuminate that text on black paper. I'm thinking of working with silver ink…

How are you interpreting the proportions of dark and light visually and conceptually?

• The silver words will mathematically (loosely) take up 15% of the page

What thoughts or concerns do you have about making something that will be understood in the context of 28 other prints that you haven't seen yet?

• No concerns. Well, maybe that my work will be very plain or unskilled as I'm still getting the hang of things…

What are your hopes and dreams for this project?

• I hope my portion comes out right!!!

Who do you imagine to be the ideal audience for this project?

• I'd love the self-identified women in my life to find personal resonance with the work and and the self-identified men in my life to know a little bit more about the depth and breadth of experiences of womanhood.