Whole Women's Mural Unveiling
Here's my entry of The Fort Worth Whole Women's Clinic Mural unveiling. I painted this mural last year in November in collaboration with Whole Women's Health, Whole Women's Health Alliance (then Shift) & Shout Your Abortion, before the holiday season with plans to come back for an unveiling. With all the new developments happening surrounding women's rights, the organizers thought this would be a great opportunity to celebrate our hard work.The original concept of the wall was to create a piece that welcomes women into the space, but also sends a message to onlookers that in this space Respect, Love, Integrity, & Harmony live. You may read a little more on my initial trip here. Quickly explained, for onlookers this building can be confusing. It's tiny, between a home and a community center. On any day there could be several picketers shouting hate speech at the clinic and people going in and out. If you didn't know what this space was, you already wouldn't have good thoughts about it. The purpose of the mural is to soften this persona. To show that this too can be a space of growth, progression, and a new start. But also when the picketers are gone, it can also be a space of beauty and healing to the neighborhood and by being a contributing influence with a colorful mural may hopefully remove the stigma of the services the clinic provides.
I flew back to Texas to meet again with the amazing staff of Whole Womens for a Q&A and to celebrate with the people that made this all happen. I chose to bring along my little sister Claudia Villalobos to share this experience, but also to assist me with social media and notes. Claudia is definitely a force in her own right. She's a marketing manager full time and owns and operates her own event planning business under Claudia V Designs. Claudia founded a non-profit Seattle Glow Girls last year which introduces young ladies to professional women each month to encourage academic success. Claudia was unveiling her Boston Chapter of Glow Girls on her 34th birthday that week so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to catch up and celebrate each other's success.The event opened with a dedication from Marla, who presented me with a photo of the mural with all the signature of the staff and people involved. I had to bite my lip to keep from crying.
Inside we watched the video made of the progress of the mural. I realized I was in such a painting flurry that I didn't even check my face for the interview. You see me in my as I am, a shy but determined artists, wanting to help the only way I know how; with art. Claudia took live feed vid for facebook and listened to some of the statistics about access to abortion clinics, sexual education, and decoy abortion clinics that make access to the services Whole Women's Health offers difficult to find. Many women are made to feel ashamed and afraid, even forcing women to term andOn a more personal note, this trip was especially comforting as we brought along our mother's ashes to leave at the site. We lost our mother in 2015 and promised we'd bring her wherever we went, that our success was her success, and that wherever we are, she will always be with us. Having Claudia with me really instilled that while I may roam the world painting on things, I have people in my corner and really this mural is all about that; that for the women still battling the stigma of abortion, birth control etc, they too are supported, loved, and cared about.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hZOrol8nVw&w=560&h=315]Sponsored by Whole Women's Health Alliance, Whole Womens Health, & Shout Your Abortion.Here' the Press Release for more info.
👩🏻🎨Angelina Ballerina
I flew back to Texas to meet again with the amazing staff of Whole Womens for a Q&A and to celebrate with the people that made this all happen. I chose to bring along my little sister Claudia Villalobos to share this experience, but also to assist me with social media and notes. Claudia is definitely a force in her own right. She's a marketing manager full time and owns and operates her own event planning business under Claudia V Designs. Claudia founded a non-profit Seattle Glow Girls last year which introduces young ladies to professional women each month to encourage academic success. Claudia was unveiling her Boston Chapter of Glow Girls on her 34th birthday that week so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to catch up and celebrate each other's success.The event opened with a dedication from Marla, who presented me with a photo of the mural with all the signature of the staff and people involved. I had to bite my lip to keep from crying.Inside we watched the video made of the progress of the mural. I realized I was in such a painting flurry that I didn't even check my face for the interview. You see me in my as I am, a shy but determined artists, wanting to help the only way I know how; with art. Claudia took live feed vid for facebook and listened to some of the statistics about access to abortion clinics, sexual education, and decoy abortion clinics that make access to the services Whole Women's Health offers difficult to find. Many women are made to feel ashamed and afraid, even forcing women to term andOn a more personal note, this trip was especially comforting as we brought along our mother's ashes to leave at the site. We lost our mother in 2015 and promised we'd bring her wherever we went, that our success was her success, and that wherever we are, she will always be with us. Having Claudia with me really instilled that while I may roam the world painting on things, I have people in my corner and really this mural is all about that; that for the women still battling the stigma of abortion, birth control etc, they too are supported, loved, and cared about.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hZOrol8nVw&w=560&h=315]Sponsored by Whole Women's Health Alliance, Whole Womens Health, & Shout Your Abortion.Here' the Press Release for more info.👩🏻🎨Angelina Ballerina