Coming of Age, tampons, mini-pads, cotton balls, dollhouse lighting and other media, 2008

In my opinion, sometimes an artist’s best, most transformative work can spring from someone getting mad. I found myself annoyed at how men and boys in our culture react with disgust at the barest mention of women’s reproductive cycles. At the time, there were TV advertisements for male maladies of all kinds, aired at all hours of the day and night, and no one batted an eye. But, heaven forbid, if a commercial for feminine products came on, every male in the room would be “EWing” and yelling for the channel to be changed. I thought about how disheartening this cultural message is for young girls as they grow into womanhood and are told – loud and clear – that their own bodies are dirty and a source of shame. I decided to try and make a piece of art that took products that are maligned for sexist reasons – tampons and pads – and make them into something beautiful that would comment on the entirely natural and beautiful biological process of girls growing into women, in a way that was celebratory instead of pejorative.

I made this piece during a time that I was taking art classes at Tarrant County College Northeast in Hurst, Texas. Originally the cake sculpture that you see pictured above was displayed on a shelf beneath a painting of a birthday party with one of the little girls blowing out the candles on the cake – which are, incidentally, dollhouse lights. The piece was displayed in the hallway where hundred of students passed by during the course of the week and it provoked a lot of commentary and discussion. It was the first time that I had ever made a piece of art that caused people to think, reflect, disagree, argue – and I liked it. The teachers also were discussing the piece, and they came to the conclusion that the painting wasn’t really needed; the cake sculpture was better if it stood alone, so that is how you see it above.

“Coming of Age” was one of the sculptures that was later accepted for an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s International Gallery in 2010 called “Revealing Culture.”