Andrea & Jessica Interview
WOMXN | NATURE Stories of Rematriation
This piece was inspired by the unique bond of Andi and Jess, as friends, ex-partners, as well as initially rivals. Their story is a powerful one, one of mutual learning, support, and love. As women, society can sometimes pit us against each other. Ideas and rolls are projected on to women and especially our bodies, over sexualizing and commodifying our physical beings. Another aspect that I admire about these two women is the comfort and naturalness they embody in their physical selves and with each other. This piece is about reclaiming the naturalness of our bodies. As well as, reclaiming the innocence of our physical forms and honoring our nature in the natural world. The power of sisterhood is respecting our togetherness and finding solidarity and resilience with Mother Earth.
“There is little in the repertory of religious thought that is more self-damning or deluded than its attitudes toward the body. In traditional religious teaching it is primarily women’s bodies that are the emblems of impurity, depravity, or lust. And to hold such attitudes about the bodies of women is to hold them about our mothers and about the Earth.” ~ Clark Strand and Perdita Finn
Stories Of Rematriation Art
Reclaiming Our Natural Bodies
24X66" (Acrylic on Canvas)
Quotes from our interview:
“Growing up I unconsciously and sometimes consciously have been a participant of competitive social dynamics between women. And in return it causes more hurt and separation, between friends, family, sisters, and lovers. Social rivalry between women, is to me a reflection of how Mother Earth has been treated in the past century by an assumed dominant human race. The way Mother Earth is treated we “own” her so to speak, which is a thought that cultivates separation and entitlement. The idea that we are better or more important is also reflected in the way women treat other women. There is a competition of being better than the other, or a need to be more important, or a disregarding or dismissing of what we believe isn’t ours. This mind set separates the natural connection between people and people and nature. This rivalry is cultivated, supported, and embraced by our human culture. If we believe and live with an equality mind set, then we see we are all needed, important and valued. Working together is better, balance becomes clear, and we can begin to treat the earth as we would ourselves, family, and friends with love and respect.
As women we have been given a very sacred ceremony, that which brings life into this world. Thankful or not, we carry the blessing and burdens of this magic, medicine, and ceremony that is undoubtedly connected to all women and Mother Earth herself interwoven and inseparable. Here is a part of my story: I was in a partnership with another woman and a man and in this relationship many social ideas changed within me. At first, I fiercely rejected this woman, but realized after years about this matter (getting nowhere with my partner) if I opened to her I could in fact have a wealth of love, support, and vibrancy I did not have before. With her in our trio partnership we supported one another, understood each other’s sensitivities, and helped our male companion understand what those were, without hard conflict, there was love, a lot of love present during this time together because that truly was the only way it worked. The isolation and insensitivities I felt before when rejecting this woman disappeared, and in place there was playfulness, a willingness to explore healing and support to approach the though topics that are inevitable in partnership. Our trio-partnership didn’t last long, but the lasting impressions are life changing. The relationship I have with her now is a friendly one and intimate, to me she was the key to unlock and dissolve the social judgments, and conditioned competitions towards women. I embrace her realizing when I set my ego aside, there was a wealth of love that had no bounds, and can penetrate anything. I knew and could feel that together we are better, more powerful, more bonded, and have access to a magic of healing for ourselves as women and Mother Earth. Yes, there is a pressure to move through obstacles because of the engrained social ideologies. I speak from experience that having the courage to face uncomfortable waters with presence and love the insecure feelings, conditioned beliefs and negative judgments dissolve, and in their place the expansive healing fills the gaps. One does not need to let go of their true self, only to be genuinely curious and open for spirit to do its work. Allowing amazing and unforeseen potentials of life creation to unfold, in unforeseen ways. This is how we can connect more deeply with ourselves and Mother Earth and each other, the powerful presence of vulnerability, honesty, and surrendering into the space that is always surround us. Let the energy that created us take the driver seat, and allow life to unfold. Mother Earth does not hide anything away from her people, and I felt that magic when I was willing to explore and let go of an invisible control I thought I had. It is a beautiful thing to keep in mind. She was the key to my surrender and a blossoming love.” –Andrea Lee
How does honoring the nature of your body help you reclaim the innocence of your physical body?
“To me, innocence feels simple, I feel so at home in my body and in the womb of Mother Earth’s body. I would say that it is a journey of reclaiming the innocence of being a woman and deconditioning the conditions that women go through. It feels like an unraveling and a returning. From that place, it feels like a blossoming of creation, whether that is creating life, or providing for a family, or giving to your creativity. Growing up as a young woman there are a lot of ideologies of how you should be as a woman, I had a phase of going into what I thought I was, and then later realizing that was projected from outside myself and not coming from my core being. There is an innate knowing and intuition that is constantly moving through us as women and it feels somatic. It reminds me of this healing I went through recently where I was feeling the pain of being born into a physical vessel. I went through a complete journey of dying and birthing my self, and feeling the pain of stored trauma and also the beauty within it. Through it, I went into the wombs of my ancestors and felt all of the stored pain and imprinting for generations. How when we are in the wombs we are imprinted with everything going on. I also felt the unwavering love of all the mothers and all the wombs carrying us through generations. I had such a healing journeying going through each of those wombs and feeling the everlasting spark of creation and coming out the other side at peace feeling what a gift it is to be alive. So with the innocence piece, it is a continuous unraveling of our birthright to be alive, thrive, and exist, and to move into empowerment. In my life, I’ve felt like a burden, or like I am not fully taking in the breath of life. Healing practices which clear and dissolve my matrilineal trauma have helped lighten the load for me, and reclaim my innocent state of being.” -Jessica G
How do you see respecting relationships with other women helps you find solidarity with the Earth?
“It feels toroidal, connected, and continuous, when I close my eyes I can see the connection between my own body and that of the Earth. The union between masculine and feminine, Earth and Sky. When I feel a connection with my sisters and women, I feel that toroidal field and connection. By rituals with the Earth, when I see my body connecting to the earth, I feel clear and original, vast, and void. In that void is where the creation spark can develop through the heart. The spark within myself is what I saw in Andi, and it felt so timeless and beautiful, and I could see myself in her. Within our relationship, I could also see the contraction, resistance, and story. The more I looked into myself, I found my doubts and fears around acceptance and love. The separation that women have experienced over the ages, there is that deep longing and yearning to reconnect and it is never lost but it must be remembered. When I became more accepted by Andi, I felt we could co-create and tend to each other’s feelings and experiences and need for support. Together we dissolved the doubt and fear and leaned into trust and vulnerability. Then it became a joy to thrive together and there was more than enough to share and cultivate together. Through this relationship, I learned so much about how to communicate, listen, share, and create safety for healing. Through the cultivation of trust and love, we found true beauty, and it made me trust myself more, and trust that my essence is unique and special and that we all have something unique to share in relating. By knowing this we could share this with our male partner. Even though this relationship didn’t last long, I think we all experienced something life-changing, in learning together.
Through being together with Andi, I was learning essentially how to be more with myself. The more I would explore within myself I would know her more. That definitely affected the way we interacted with nature and the world. The honoring with self and the honoring with another. To be at ease in nature and for us both to feel safe was so beautiful. We really took care of each other in a delightful way that made us both feel worthy. This relationship felt like an ancient community with each other and with the land.” -Jessica G