{"title":"Melissa Porter - I’s, My’s \u0026 Me’s","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca name=\"_euggrbfcmfc1\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 style=\"margin-top: 24.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"\u003e\u003ca name=\"_euggrbfcmfc1\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-top: 24.0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; page-break-after: auto;\"\u003e\u003ca name=\"_euggrbfcmfc1\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eAn exercise in taking up space, embracing authenticity, and refusing to play small. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eThere is something strange about becoming sixty. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eYou reach an age when the world begins to look through you. Women become less visible. Less interesting. Less desirable. We are expected to quietly move toward the edges—to make room, to become background.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eBut what if becoming invisible to the world creates an opportunity to finally become visible to yourself?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eI’s, My’s \u0026amp; Me’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003e is a body of work about that contradiction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eMy work questions identity and value through distorted beliefs, fragmentation, collage, and self-portraiture. This new body of work is larger, more physically assertive, and more vulnerable than anything I have made before. The scale is intentional. After a lifetime of learning how to make myself smaller, I wanted to make something I could not hide behind.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eFor much of my life, I was a supporting character in the lives of others.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI became who and whatever I needed to be. I learned to anticipate, accommodate, please, and adapt. These were survival skills, and for a long time I mistook them for personality.\u003cspan style=\"background: #B6D7A8;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eIt wasn't until my divorce in 2016 that I seriously considered a question that seemed almost embarrassingly simple:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eWhat do I want?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eYears later, I have a better answer to that question.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eNow I am asking something harder:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eWho do I want to be?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in;\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eWho am I when the people, roles\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eand expectations that once defined me no longer do? Who might I become if nothing is preventing me from becoming her except myself?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"alchemist","title":"Alchemist","description":"\u003cp\u003eMelissa Porter\u003cbr\u003eAlchemist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003e40\"x40\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eEncaustic Collage\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Melissa Porter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52838973407463,"sku":null,"price":3500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0673\/3506\/1735\/files\/Alchmist-MPorter.jpg?v=1792096073"},{"product_id":"liminal-space","title":"Liminal Space","description":"\u003cp\u003eMelissa Porter\u003cbr\u003eLiminal Space\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003e30\"x40\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan 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