Artist’s Statement:
In January 2016, I took a leap. I flew from Portland, Oregon USA to Reykjavik Iceland and then on to Paris a few days later. I am married, but I went alone. I’d never been to Europe before and until that point, hadn’t traveled much internationally. But I’ve always had the itch. I built my trip around a weekend photography workshop in Paris with street photographer Valerie Jardin. I’m a huge believer in cultural travel and lifelong learning. Friends and family had a hard time understanding why I’d go alone. To be honest, I love family trips, but I also love being on my own. I feel that solo travel for women, especially, makes us stronger. And that trip gave me the strength to continue following my dream to see the world. I got my international press credentials in March and have been back to Europe twice since that amazing first leap. At 48, I feel more independent and brave than I felt in my late 20’s. Mixed media and digital collage is a meditative art for me and this series emerged as I was thinking about freedom, travel and the confines of societal “norms” that question women who strike out on their own. My grandmother always wanted to go to Paris and now she can’t due to age and health problems. I wrote the following poem after visiting her. Her words inspired me greatly to turn my dreams into a plan.
Flight to Paris
When the oxygen runs out,
Grandma slurps at the thin air
around her. I’m gettin’ woozy
she gasps.
Then, I never went to Paris,
tremoring hands gripping the empty plastic
tube, the lifeless lifeline.
Don’t wait to go to Paris, don’t
wait for anything.
I’m speeding her home,
the tank having run dry
at a family picnic. In a half
hour or so, she could pass out,
her heart could be strained
and I feel strained too,
somewhere deep inside,
each red light a siren screaming,
It’s over
every green light
wailing,
Don’t wait, don’t you dare wait.
*Published by Red Savina Review
– Gina Williams
