Support the Story: Courageous and Resilient
Our lives are filled with hardships, trials, and injustices. Some people endure far more than others.
What stood out to me in this story is the tremendous amount of courage it takes to advocate for yourself. "Keep talking until someone listens" was a quote from our conversation.
The implication here is that not everyone will listen to a story full of a plea for help, it takes immense courage to keep asking when people doubt or refuse to hear.
The other part of their that stands out is how resilient these survivors are. It is incredibly difficult to keep fighting for a voice, for understanding, for what you need, and being resilient as you battle through everything that comes with abuse: mentally, physically, and spiritually is tough. These survivors have resiliency in spades. While the road may be hard, the future is bright.
Working with these survivors has been such an incredibly rewarding experience and I am honored to have the opportunity to capture the spirit of their story in my art. In my work I show two bear cubs, living in a chaotic and unfamiliar landscape. There are hand woven embroidery patterns, which represent intentional actions we take and that are taken against us.
Overall, there is a message of hope, of thriving despite the circumstances. While we cannot always control where were are, we can take action to advocate and fight for a better future.
~ Kelly Lewis