Here we are again. The 10th of the month. The day when we show our take on a picture shared by one of the ladies in our group.

This month Cherish shared one of her pictures, below.

This picture is very soft. I feel that this woman is quite playful with her gesture of covering her face with her hands. Is she being timid or flirtatious. Or maybe she is feeling ashamed, shy – clearly she is hiding from the camera. Or did Cherish ask her to cover her face. The manicured nails stand out for me and even without seeing the face of this woman we know that she is one who takes care of her looks.

This is my interpretation from Cherish’s picture.

Where I am from

I am from carved stones
Intricately designed crosses
I come from rugged mountains
Won and conquered
I am from loud voices
Negotiations seeped in familiarity
I am from dreams
Beauty and hope
I am from war and conflict
Sadness and grief
I am from love and survival
Against the odds
I am from a language
Unique and beautiful
I am from two worlds
Neither here nor there, belonging to neither
I am from certainty
At times uncertain
I am from dances
Expressed with graceful hands
I am from a life
Sometimes so beautiful
I am from a life
Lived and unloved
I am from snowy peaks
Little and large
I am from the voice
That speaks for others
I am from wonder
Of this world’s cruelty and kindness
I am from a land of talent
Poetry and music intertwine
I am from many languages
All mixed into one
I am from checkpoints
At many borders
I am from reasoning
When there is no reason for any of it
I am from a diaspora
Dispersed within
I am from generosity
And from high expectations
I am from watermelon
On hot summer evenings
I am from the sea
Right opposite me
I am from grandmothers
Memories of church, culture and language
I am from all these memories
Within.

Now go on over to Corinna’s blog to see what goodness she has in store for us.

This is real life with all its curves and hills. It’s never pretty. It is beautiful, stunning, at times surreal. It is also raw, emotional and down right challenging.

This is my reality

Real and raw

Beautiful

Exasperating and exciting

Looming on madness

Walking on eggshells

It is the 10th of the month and we are continuing with our Riff On This project with my lovely talented lady photographer friends. This post feels apt following International Woman’s Day on March 8.

The lovely Meghan invited us to Riff on this below image of hers. I feel that it is an image than can be interpreted in so many different ways.

It is a double exposure, inviting us to scan the many layers that is created from the technique that Megan has used here. Her hands are up maybe in surrender or fear. I see some uncertainty here and I feel that all the little lights within this picture represent all the fire that this lady possesses. It also is a symbol of womanhood to me. The different roles we play  as women, the world we need to navigate (sometimes very carefully), the various steps we need to take, the fires we need to light or decide to let burn at a low ebb for a while because of sacrifices that we must make. This past International Woman’s Day came and went by and with it all the “Happy Women’s Day” wishes from everyone. But really, what do these wishes mean? Will they do something for the betterment of women around the world. Well of course we are privileged here in Canada or America to have the lives that we have as women, with choices and the freedom that comes with those choices, but what about the bigger and wider rest of the world. I do not know either how to help better that world for the women who live in it.

I have been thinking a lot about my womanhood, my sexuality and where I have arrived from when I was in my 20s. I love where I am currently, this place where I am free to make decisions, this place where I am not bound totally by my kids, this place where I am creating on a daily basis even if some of it is in my head. I have been thinking also about the Armenian Genocide and the women that were abducted and raped during that time. I am thinking of this especially as we are gearing up to commemorate its 100th year in 2015. This led me to watch a short documentary called Grandma’s Tattoos. It is sad but also it attests to the spirit of women. Women are the ones who sacrifice the most during traumatic times such as war or genocide.  Another thing I watched which really amazed me today about our strengths as women is a TED talk by Maysoon Zayid, it will touch you deeply and you will definitely laugh out loud.

And now to my Riff on Megan’s photo above.

This is from a short series that I am working on with the help of Cassandra, my mirror image from 20 years ago. We are both Armenian and this picture is a result of me wanting to explore photography with projections of images of women during the Genocide. I am still thinking about how to present it, not being sure whether the projections will work for what I am trying to do. It definitely speaks to the fact that when looking at pictures we, the spectators, are so removed from it. Yes, the picture is there and we are seeing clearly what it entails and we feel with it and sigh at the fact that such atrocities or injustice cannot take place and yet we are so apart from it, we see it but we cannot touch what is inside of it.

I liked this one especially as the eyes say so much here. Cassandra’s pose and look and the sad eye of the lady in the projection. So, as I said, I am not sure where this is going. It is definitely a work in progress and I feel like I have to do more for more ideas to come to me. Work begets work and sometimes I find if I push myself and do something that I am not used to it makes me more courageous to move forward with the ideas that I have. For instance, I felt like I was back at school when we did this shoot and it was quite refreshing to be in that space.

Finally, to all the lovely ladies out there, Happy Belated International Woman’s Day. I wish you all the courage and strength in this world.

Now go to my pal Cherish to see what she has interpreted from Meghan’s image. I for one cannot wait to see it and all the others’ too!