10/02/2026
TW:SA/DV ... Not my usual content, but stick with me or scroll, whatever you need to do.
I made this intentionally imperfect one for myself. Stay and I'll tell you about the artistic choices.
October is Domestic Violence awareness month. I challenge you to consider that DV doesn't always mean what you think it means. To me it means there was familiarity and what should have been safety, and trust was grossly violated. There are enough cases in the news and cases that should be news that I don't need to drag and name them all. I'm not here to debate.
My perspective is that of women harmed by men. Others have different experiences. All are valid. All deserve justice, but I can only speak from my own space. If you think you don't know anyone who has been a victim, you are wrong. If you think you don't know anyone who's done anything or actually would, you are wrong. Be the person who calls out the suspicious behavior before it escalates. Be the guy who wakes up from a nap and blows the whistle. Be the stranger who stands over the body in a bar so the person who spiked the drink can't drag them away. Be the safe person when no one else is. Yes, it's a risk. I know what I'm asking.
So about my art. Purple, obvious. Hydrangeas, because everyone thinks they are big and strong but in reality they are clusters of tiny, fragile individual florets and the bushes themselves require specialized care. Candlestick delphinium, light in the dark. Black agonis, the messy healing. Painted dried salal leaves, the hardened shell that holds it together, necessary despite its appearance. An obvious hole exposing some chicken wire, for the scars that never quite heal. Some wilted and broken flowers in one corner, for the crying spells that never quite stop; we accept them and go on. Laceflower, for the delicate intricacies of life juxtaposed with resilient roots of its mother plant. Two sunflowers just starting to bloom, because even amidst the pain, life can go on and get better.
It only takes one.
That sentence cuts both ways.
Be the right one.