X Rated

It's been some time since I last wrote. I have my ideas, but I've just been a bit lazy about it.

A friend once told me that whenever I told stories, I told the 'X-Rated' versions and not the PG-13 version. She wasn't refering to them being pornographic, but being uncesnsored with my way of sharing who I am and how I have experienced life. So often, we censor our 'ownness' and tell the world watered down versions of who we are. We paint the 'clean' image of what we want others to think of us so as not to be judged. Yet in doing so, we build a prison for ourselves and block intimacy from forming. We close off our beautiful spirits and don't give others the freedom to show off their own.

With my Little Girls, I attempt to do the same. I know I am being honest to myself as an artist. I am not trying to imitate others nor to create them just for fun. They are a real part of who I am. My Little Girls have always been present in me as if on the tip of my tongue, my brush, waiting for me to show up to the canvas and be brought to life.

The piece to the left is titled Roberta Ball Comes Home from the Ball. This piece is a portrait of my friend of 25 years. Together, we have been fortunate enough to share many life experiences. We have seen each others light and darkness.

May you go out into the world and give your family and friends and maybe even strangers the gift of you.