Women are some kind of magic ✨

happy international women's day

“Sometimes I fancy we may one day see her head shoot forth seven stars from where they lurk and her eyes lightning and her shoulders wings.”

—Christina Rossetti

This year, I knew I wanted to celebrate International Women’s Day by sharing a selection of my favorite portraits. Then I saw

Claire Venus

’s invitation to form a virtual daisy chain of female voices and had to join in.

Women have always seemed inherently magical to me. Maybe it’s our connection to nature, our ability to grow, change, and create life from our bodies. I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by some truly incredible women in my life—witches, mothers, and mystics. Women who are doing the hard work to unpack internalized misogyny; who are seeking center in themselves; who are committed to their own growth.

There’s nothing like having a circle of like-minded women to lean on. They are the ones I turn to in life’s trying moments.

The strength and magic of women is a reoccurring theme I come back to in my art. It’s why I so often draw inspiration from goddess figures. I want to show the power these women carry in them, to outwardly represent how they feel on the inside.

It’s actually part of what I’ve loved so much about joining

Substack

: finding an amazing community of women writers and mother makers. Seeing the various ways that we’re all sharing our creativity and supporting one another is truly beautiful. It really brings home that saying “community over competition.”

Next in the chain, I’d love to tag a few of my favorite female creatives here:

Sara Szatmary

Brooke Solis

Jenna Duxbury

Jessy Easton

Georgia

Would love to hear your voices added to this project 🌼

I’ll leave you with this poem I love by Christina Rossetti:

Ten years ago it seemed impossible

That she could ever grow as calm as this,

With self-remembrance in her warmest kiss

And dim dried eyes like an exhausted well.

Slow-speaking when she has some fact to tell,

Silent with long-unbroken silences,

Centred in self yet not unpleased to please,

Gravely monotonous like a passing bell.

Mindful of drudging daily common things,

Patient at pastime, patient at her work,

Wearied perhaps but strenuous certainly.

Sometimes I fancy we may one day see

Her head shoot forth seven stars from where they lurk

And her eyes lightning and her shoulders wings.

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New here? Thanks for stopping by! On this newsletter-blog I share my own short fiction stories and fantasy art, along with glimpses into my creative process and personal reflections. You can sign up with your email address below to become a free subscriber and receive letters like this straight to your inbox ♡

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