A New Year of Rest and Protest

Happy New Years!

I hope you had some good rest over the holidays.

I've taken a good bit of time off this past month to hibernate—eating good food, taking walks in the snow, watching an ungodly amount of Bravo TV with a little Severance tossed in between, and slowly filling my cup.

Also in the mix?

polaroids taken on the ‘24 winter solstice

the gooey, golden light in my kitchen this time of year is a dream

Leading the People's March Art: A New Chapter

I recently stepped into a new (temporary!) leadership role for the Portland, ME chapter of the People's March, formerly known as the Women's March. While I’ve done canvassing, protesting, and other activism in the past, this is my first time being on the leadership side of things.

It’s been such a beautiful way to channel the skills I’ve built over the past seven years running a business—sending emails! planning workshops! dream-casting art projects!—and share them with my local community.

And, like anything that stretches you, there have been moments of overwhelm, fear, and uncertainty. I’ve had mornings waking up anxious, wondering, How is this all going to come together?! or realizing I forgot a timeline or email.

AND I’ve had moments of sheer satisfaction and gratitude—finding a classroom inside a local arts college to host a workshop, partnering with local creative businesses, watching strangers become friends while making protest art.

Femmage & Creative Resistance

One of the most exciting parts of this work has been organizing art builds for the march. The premise was inspired by Miriam Schapiro’s concept of Femmage, introduced in her essay Waste Not, Want Not. We used scrap collage materials to embrace the unknown and reject the fascist ideal of "one right way."

Most of our materials came from Pickwick Press, a printmaking studio where artists generously shared test prints, old projects, and other scraps. Seeing those bits of art come to life in protest posters and banners—and then carried through the streets during the march—was deeply satisfying.

Thanks to our partners for the build, Love Lab, we were able to host three art builds for the march (including one dedicated entirely to youth!), created countless posters, made a community banner, and even put together a pop-up altar the night before the march to set intentions over candlelight. The march itself platformed Black, Brown, trans, and disabled local leaders and introduced me (and one thousand other attendees!!) to local grassroots organizations to plug into.

I feel overwhelmed with gratitude, joy, and hope—emotions that now sit alongside the frustration and fear I’ve been carrying about the incoming administration and our collective future.

The Power of Rest in the Creative Process

While I’ve been bouncing between activism and rest, I’ve also stepped away from the studio. Four weeks of no painting!

This period of dormancy is, in itself, an essential piece of the creative process. A time of lying fallow, cultivating stillness, and listening for what’s next. I wanted to name it aloud for anyone else who needs that reminder—creative rest is not something our culture normalizes, but it is vital.

I have inklings of what’s next for my practice, but for now, I’m holding them close—savoring their process and whispers. When it’s time, I’ll share more.

My Mission

With this incoming administration, so much remains uncertain.

But making and sharing our art is a way of practicing resilience—learning to sit with the unknown without letting it paralyze us. More than that, it’s a way of actively meeting uncertainty with mischief and pleasure, care and curiosity.

Art reminds us that we are not alone. It invites us to imagine something different. And, in the act of creating, we practice building the kind of world we want to live in.

Does this resonate with you?

Drop a comment and let me know—how are you caring for yourself during these destabilizing times?

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