Monthly Archives: February 2014

Award-Winning Anger

"HerStory," photo illustration by Mary Gow.
“HerStory,” photo illustration by Mary Gow.

When you’re mad and you know it, make something!

I found tremendous satisfaction from constructing this photograph when I was furious.

Have you heard the saying, “You’re trying to get water from a rock”? I created this photograph to express that pain.

The heart-shaped rock sits on a bed of nails that stick up from a piece of foam core. Red nail polish and red paint illustrate blood oozing.

I titled the piece “HerStory.”

I am thankful this is not a recent creation. “HerStory” was submitted to a juried competition and won an award in 2005.

What have you created from your anger?

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My Biggest Takeaway from Superbowl 2014

Symbiotics, drawing by Mary Gow using Harmonious App
Symbiotics, drawing by Mary Gow using Harmonious App

I found myself exceptionally interested in football in January as the San Francisco 49ers almost made it to the Super Bowl. My biggest takeaway this season is what I heard on the commentary about the Seahawks’ quarterback, Russell Wilson. When he was in high school he told his father his dream was to play football.

Here’s an excerpt from William C. Rhoden’s article in the Feb. 5 New York Times, For Seattle’s Celebration, Russell Wilson is an Unofficial M.V.P.:

When Wilson was in high school, Wilson’s father, Harry, encouraged him to pursue his dreams by asking, “Why not you?” Wilson said the same thing to his teammates throughout the season. “We believed that we could get here,” a euphoric Wilson said after Sunday’s victory. “At the beginning of the season I told our guys, ‘Hey, why not us?’ We wanted to win it all.”

He also acknowledged the historical significance of being the second African-American quarterback to lead a team to a Super Bowl championship. He didn’t belabor the point, but he didn’t ignore it. He simply acknowledged a continuum and moved on.

“It’s emotional to think about all the guys, the great players that have played before us,” Wilson said. “That was our thing. We wanted to say, ‘Why not us?’ We believed that. It was real for us.”
(Read the entire article here).

What’s your dream?

Why not you?

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