Liberty Collection

This piece is clearly inspired by the Statue of Liberty, though reflective of the frustration I feel in the United States missing the mark to fulfill that promise of liberty for all.

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) was a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States. The project was first proposed in 1865, and after many delays, the statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886. The tablet she holds is inscribed with the United States Independence date, and a broken shackle and chain lie at her feet as she strides forward, in recognition of the recent abolition of slavery. She is a beacon to immigrants arriving by sea, also to those seeking freedom around the world.

• Libertas, liberty personified, is the Roman equivalent of the Greek Eleutheria. 
• Eleutheria, meaning freedom, is a term for and personification of liberty, a byname for the goddess Artemis. 
• Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and wilderness. 
• Parrhesia means to speak freely and boldly with risk for doing so. It implies not only freedom of speech, but the obligation to speak the truth for the common good, even at personal risk. In rabbinic Jewish writings, parrhesia is associated with the “ownerless wilderness,” indicating open communication in places that are public, or belonging to no one, open to all. 
• Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun), Helios the sun god, is invoked with the wearing of a radiate diadem (solar crown).

The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McClain (which happened in Aurora, Colorado where I had just recently moved from), and so many others that it feels like an unending stream (sometimes a river) of preventable tragedy. But it’s worse than that. It’s the result of, at minimum, a lack of care for the lives of people of color; and frequently worse, the exercising of white supremacy and privilege. 

I am a middle-aged white woman and I have some amount of privilege. I strive to bring my talents and voice to aid the cause, without detracting from those on the frontlines. For those who would say that racism is a thing of the past I would share this uncomfortable observation: I have spent most of my life experiencing that all men, and most people, are at least a little bit racist. Family, friends, lovers, coworkers, bosses, and neighbors; hanging out thinking everything is cool and then they say something: stupid, ignorant, hateful. If they were overt, I would discuss and argue with them, curious as to how they got to this place. Less overt I would try to correct them in their language. To no avail in any case. I felt as though I should separate myself from people like this, but who would be left? Today I, having found people who are not (or less) racist (I hope), endeavor not to associate with people like that at all. I no longer have the patience for it. I admire those who can continue that dialog. I believe that we all have a lot more work to do, more than we realize.

Black Lives Matter is working inside and outside of the system to heal the past, re-imagine the present, and invest in the future of Black lives through policy change, investment in our communities, and a commitment to arts and culture.

The Bail Project is a national nonprofit organization that pays bail for people in need, reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence.

MAUT Designs on Threadless — Liberty Collection

UPDATE: This blog entry was originally published July 2022. You can shop new items from this collection here: Fearless Women Collection