A Song For the Hunted

Wolves and women
have this in common.
We have been hunted
without mercy for our wild.
And yet we have never
stopped fighting back.
Tooth and nail.
Fang and claw.

Wolves and Women by Nikita Gill

Artists are not generally collaborative creatures. We are solitary and particular, living in our interior worlds and striving to birth them into the world. And yet, in the right group, we inspire each other to reach further, dig deeper and risk more. Which is why we’re doing it again this year - Abramson and Jovan, pushing and shoving.

Abramson is a powerful voice for justice in the world, and she isn’t afraid to tackle tough topics. She is also a woman of an age (like I am) where we aren’t hoodwinked by artifice and the naïveté of our youth.

A couple of lone gray wolves, we wander together for the month of July asking questions of ourselves and each other.

It’s almost been a year! Holy wow! When Lola shared with me that she wanted to do another show together, I could not have been more excited!
Her love & talents where poetry lives, is one of the innumerable qualities I adore about this amazing human.

We zeroed in on a mutual feeling about woman & wolves. (More on that below!) I was surprised to learn that I had not told her about my tattoo! (More on that below as well!)

JOVAN - Our Collective Wild

ABRAMSON - On the Down Low

"Our Collective Wild" - oil on Yupo, 19.5 x 19.5. SOLD
It is fairly taboo to talk about our wild.

If you're no longer a young woman, it is not only taboo, but also frowned upon, discouraged and likely to cause eye-rolls. Because an older woman simply should not be wild.

And yet...when we allow our wild to ooze through our bodies, into our hips, over our thighs, across our lips, and out of our mouths we are unstoppable. Are we not role models for our younger sisters, our daughters, our granddaughters? Do we want them to go quietly into the last third of their lives? I think not.

"On the Down Low" - mixed media mosaic on wood panel, 12.5 x 12.5.

“A butterfly/wolf tattoo??” The tattoo artist asked me through a confused, yet intrigued facial expression. “Yes!” I answered. I wanted a permanent reminder of the many transformations I have survived and the wolf would be with me always; my protector. And now I understand my own desires to ink myself in this way. It’s much deeper. My most reliable protection comes from within. The symbols I see and surround myself with are mere reminders. I am my protector and I will guard myself as the pack leader protects the others.

JOVAN - The Courage to Be Soft

"The Courage to Be Soft" - oil on wood panel, 12 x 12 x .75. SOLD

The reflex to harden in response to the world is strong. Especially for women, whose softness can be mistaken for weakness, for vulnerability. But there is a difference between softness and weakness. Just as wolves are playful, gentle, soft with each other at times - and yet remain undoubtedly strong, so can we be playful, gentle and soft and yet know that our strength can be tapped at any moment.

It takes a certain amount of courage to show our soft underbellies to the world. A certain amount of confidence in your own fangs, your own claws. But don't they go well with a tutu?

ABRAMSON - The Lone Wolf

"The Lone Wolf" - mixed media mosaic on wood panel, 20 x 16 x 1.

The lone wolf is one that temporarily sets off on its own for reasons only hypothesized. I feel a deep connection to the lone wolf as I’ve come to understand myself enough to know that being off on my own needs no perfect validation. There is so much peace in the stillness of “aloneness” yet we’ve been conditioned to believe there is something terribly wrong. “Why would the wolf stray from the pack?” I believe a break from leadership could be the simple answer! However, perhaps on its alone time, this pack animal/pack leader requires more separation than the other members. Is it for rejuvenation? Perhaps. Could it be as simple as a respite from the constant hunt & hide for survival? I know that I require much time to myself and that there is not one thing wrong with this. I am never truly alone nor is the lone wolf. There is a time and space for all of earth’s creatures and what is needed to survive.

JOVAN - She is Me and We are Unashamed

ABRAMSON - Stealth Power

"She is Me and We are Unashamed" - oil on panel, 14 x 11. SOLD

There are so many women who were raised to hide their inner wolves. Women who were shamed for being tomboys, loudmouths, rebels - or simply for saying "no." How old are we before we speak softly to that inner wildling? How many times do we shush her before we finally crane our ears to listen instead?

She's been waiting a long, long time for me. This embrace is long overdue.

“Stealth Power” - mixed media mosaic on wood panel, 12 x 12.

As we take on & conquer life’s challenges, often it’s best to keep our power on the down low. The world is both chaotic and obscenely orderly, but when you are in touch with that which will see you through, you forge ahead. I keep my wolf energy quietly in my corner.

JOVAN - Beautiful Monsters

ABRAMSON - Kaleidoscopic Kevin...The Kool Dude

"Beautiful Monsters" - oil on paper, 16 x 19.5. SOLD

“If you’re not a beautiful monster, then you’re a villager,” he said”
― Stephen Graham Jones, Mongrels

I have a monster inside. Probably you do, too. It is the thing that makes us wild - lets us take risks, helps us imagine bigger and better and, sometimes, badder. There is a primal beauty to that monster, once you look her square in the eye and remove the veil of shadow and shame.

Not sure about your monster, but I like to think mine is werewolf-ish. Capable of appearing under the right conditions, but not always fighting for control of the steering wheel. She has saved me a time or two. I like knowing she's in there.

“Kaleidoscopic Kevin…The Kool Dude” - mixed media mosaic on wood panel, 16 x 20. SOLD

Kevin isn’t like any member of any pack! No, not Kevin! He was born special…an explosion of all the colors of the rainbow! As he matured, he came to accept his very special role in the animal kingdom. The other wolves were so happy when Kevin came ‘round! They take a break from their regular routines and find the music in the wild. They were partial to psychedelic tunes! They learned valuable lessons from Kevin on how to get the most out of their pack lives. A favorite song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” brought the pack up on their haunches, dancing the way only the wolf can do.

But do not be fooled. Instead, hear the words of Nikita Gill: “Do not fear the night. Instead, summon the wolf inside you and welcome the darkness like it is home.”

Kevin tells us to live and go forth toward our best, most gloriously colorful life!

JOVAN - Armored

ABRAMSON - Leader of the Pack

"Armored" - oil on Yupo, 15.5 x 20.5. SOLD

We often take our walls with us and think we’re free, even though we’re clunking around in a suit of armor that makes life burdensome. Armor, no matter how thin or clear, keeps the air from touching the skin. It keeps aliveness from touching the heart - MARK NEPO

I used to clunk around in a suit of armor. Somewhere along the way, I stopped wearing it. So, yes, I am soft and open and say yes to a lot of things, make mistakes, look foolish, get embarrassed and then get up and do it again. But I feel so alive now.

That's the thing about armor (and fangs and claws and ferocity) - we can always take it out and put it back on if we need to. Just knowing it is there if we need it, somehow, makes it easier to run naked through the forest instead.

“Leader of the Pack” - mixed media mosaic on wood panel, 12 x 14. SOLD

By the golden moon every night,
there seems to be a howl of fright.
As they look up at the moon,
away scampers a lonesome coon.

The biggest one is their leader,
he is the greatest teacher.
He is the proudest of them all,
but will help any who fall.

The howls of the wolf pack will go on,
untill the sun comes up forming dawn.
Then they scamper off to their den,
to wait for the full moon to rise again.
- Liz Manning