Being An Alive Woman

I am an alive woman,
Determined to live a long, long time.
Getting older and bolder with each new day,
knowing deep within
The longer I am around the stronger I will become.
And I do not intend to wait around to be free.

I am an Alive Woman, Alive Woman,
Red ruby womb,
All my own, all my own.
With each full moon my powers become
Stronger, freer, wilder, wiser.

I am an Alive Woman
Alive to my strength, Alive to my power,
Alive to the cycles of being a woman.

Determined to have my voice heard
I have emerged body, mind, and spirit,
Loving all of who I am
Being all of who I am.

— Marcia Moonstar

Artist Statement: The woman pictured is my mother, who suffered her share of heartbreaking losses and personal challenges over the course of a lifetime.  Like the speaker in the poem, she met those with courage, staying fiercely and vividly "alive to the cycles of being a woman" and "determined to live a long, long time.

Materials & Techniques: Computer-manipulated photos printed on fabric, commercial prints, cotton/poly and metallic threads, cotton batting. Machine pieced and quilted; images manipulated in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign, using recent and heirloom photos.

Size: 14"W x 24"H