Angela Kelsey

Tell the Story

Complicated is a good thing.

Filed in Stories :: April 1, 2013

Women say, I’ve said, maybe you’ve said, that relationships between and among women are complicated.

This past Saturday afternoon was the closing of  Jeanne and Nancy’s museum exhibit.

Here they are looking at Jeanne’s cloth together.

I honored Jeanne, who honored Nancy. It was complicated.

And we listened to other women read their essays, and viewed the art they offered. We took turns, moving around the room, reading about the famous poets and singers, the sisters, neighbors, friends, mentors, teachers, mothers and grandmothers  who have inspired us individually and collectively.

Women choked up as they read.  Listeners’ eyes filled with tears.

As I heard women who read about women now gone from their lives, I felt grateful to be reading about a friend who could give me a hug when I was finished, who could know how much she means to me right now.

I was also honored to read on behalf of  Ileana Tolibia, a Miami woman who wasn’t able to be there, a woman I haven’t yet met except through the complicated magic of the internet, a woman who wrote about her beloved grandmother, whose drawings she displayed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a marvelously complicated day.

Filed in Stories

4 Comments

  1. wholly jeanne

    And, as we see in your photo, Nancy isn’t one bit interested in seeing her work in cloth, only in having her picture taken . . . and getting a marker in her hand and a blank page in front of her. Thank you for a glorious experience. Being part of this exhibit . . . seeing the art, hearing the words of women applauding other women . . . spending almost 24 hours with you. Priceless. Absolutely priceless.

  2. Ileana

    Thank you for making the complicated simple and beautiful. Thank you for including grandma in the process. See you soon!

  3. little light

    Complicated, thats a great word.. and it evokes all kinds of emotions. It looks like it was a wonderful exhibit..