The Blue Ladies with Helen Driver and Rosa Weber
’Separate from the Feminine’. Acrylic paint, ink, on paper, 2020
In their piece, Rosa and Helen have centralized the theme of the feminine battling with the masculine. Themes of moon cycles and a symbolic seed of fertility and growth are planted. Whilst there is celebration and explosions of vibrant color, flowers and growth, a moon weeps and the figure is left vulnerable and naked, nursing her womb and heart.
There are phallic mushroom-like arrows shooting from the feminine circles and other shapes invade her space. Her vital, natural energies flow out of her, vibrant and bold and full of life and power – before the they get cut short, redirected, diluted and refracted by the boundaries and systems and walls that society puts around women and girls form birth. For her own voice will be interrupted and diluted and her own blood will be used to shame her.
How has creating art supported your healing journey?
H - Having worked in the creative industry for over 8 years before qualifying as an art & design teacher, I spent my career facilitating other people’s vision. After graduating from art college, I was tentative about nurturing my own creativity in case I wasn’t good enough, so I shelved my ideas and focused on looking outwards for answers and a place in the world.
I lost my mother in 2015 and almost lost my own life after a misdiagnosed gangrenous appendix. After a subsequent breakdown, I began the long journey of going inwards for answers. I found healing through ceremonial practices, some of which I learnt in Mexico and began using art and writing again to express my inner world. I tried hard not to create for an audience, but for myself, which unpicked all the lessons I had conformed to my whole adult life.
Art and writing have become vehicles for me to push through uncomfortable moments of self-doubt in order to realize my intentions. It is a cathartic but difficult relationship which constantly tests my abilities to be expressive and decisive, yet vulnerable.
R – After experiencing burn-out, anxiety and clinical depression in the city, I moved to the countryside to find a way to live and work more sustainably and to build a safe space to work through past trauma. Creativity has become a tonic, to get unstuck, to move the brain... Painting reminds me how to be present, how color can lift mood, how to connect with my inner voice, how to disconnect from my analytical mind. It brings me out of one mindset and into another. Painting requires fresh, experimental thinking. This is the opposite to fixed thinking - a characteristic of the depressed mindset - of which I am always aware and always healing from.
What does it mean for you to roar? Can you share about a time you overcame feeling silenced?
H - I have been working on inner-child healing and building healthy boundaries after some difficult family dynamics. I have learnt that it is OK to explain these boundaries and if people are reactionary, they are not supporting my growth. I have to remind myself that it is not my limitation or fault. This means I am not making myself small any more for other people’s benefit.
There is an intricate process to inner-growth, which may mean that some people won’t follow or support you along the way. As painful as this can be, it’s a worthwhile journey and the right people will be standing behind you giving a fist-pump.
R - I began to roar the moment I started becoming radically honest with myself about who I am, who I was (there are many past versions) and who I want to be. This allowed me to set boundaries with myself, and therefore feel brave enough to set them with others. So the true roar happens loudly within, then it radiates out through intentional action. On a good day, of course. I also believe that - with the privilege of hindsight, therapy, inner work and a small but strong support network - my breakdown was a deeply painful yet necessary part of my journey towards finding my roar and towards self-acceptance. The journey is ongoing.
What prompted your art style?
H - With a background in design and art curating, I love space, balance and graphic elements. I also like working with tactile materials, especially collage. Sometimes when I don’t want to draw or paint, playing with found ephemera can be liberating. Artists, Joseph Cornell and Candy Jernigan, inspired me when I was a child to collect things and later turn them into artworks. Like Cornell, I also work in 3D to create memory boxes and Jernigan fueled my interest in visual journals with her book ‘Evidence’.
I like to be fluid with my choice of medium, but I love a strong narrative. It helps me stay focused on my intention and is hopefully open to interpretation for others to connect to.
R - Connection with color and form through nature and design. Connection with my inner energy through meditation and ceremonial cacao practice. Knowledge of mycelium networks and forest conversations under the soil - the trees have their own languages, their wisdom is in balance with the wisdom of the animals and the elements. The abundance of this natural wisdom nourishes my art, as I surrender to the land and the voice within. For who is more creative than Mother Nature? The earth is full of patterns, light, color, shapes and sounds, that combine with my own narrative, which I then channel into my work.
What advice would you give to artist that want to pursue their craft, but don't know where to begin?
H - I think the hardest lesson is to unlearn what education teaches you; creating to reach an audience. When you are discovering or honing your creative vision, it’s important to discover the joy of experimenting and embracing mistakes without thinking who will be judging the end result. If you are strapped for ideas, a good place to start is Pinterest. It’s a really useful resource to curate vision boards and there is nothing wrong with looking at others for inspiration.
I also like attending workshops and classes to build on my skills and knowledge, while seeing what other people are doing. With lockdown, a lot of artists and teachers have moved to online teaching, which means you can be in the comfort of your own space dressed in pajamas and still learn.
When you are ready to create, blank pages can be intimidating, so I sometimes start by creating a mark or paint swatch and build my story from there. Marking a page takes away the foreboding power of a scary white space. If this doesn’t work for you, sketch some ideas down on scrap of paper or journal. You can play with different materials and idea combinations before moving on to canvas, art paper etc.
I like to share my work with a small selection of trusted friends who can offer me insight and honest feedback. It’s a nice way to test the market, meaning you don’t feel suddenly over-exposed if you choose to share your work with the public. If you do feel ready to share your work, you can make your own Pinterest board, use Instagram to promote your vision or perhaps sell your work on sites like Etsy. Start with the pieces which particularly resonate with you and communicate your vision, then grow from there. Your work doesn’t have to be perfect to share it. Sometimes it’s more beautiful and authentic seeing marks and paint strokes, rather than an airbrushed piece, then we know a human did it.
R - Collaborations can build confidence, try teaming up with a trusted friend and doing a project together - that's how The Blue Ladies came to be. Schedule regular (weekly if possible) creative Zoom calls with someone who wants a creative boost too. Mindful motivation and encouragement from good friends can be instrumental in increasing your confidence around your artistic practice. Make sure they’re someone who will nurture your creativity kindly and give balanced feedback, as we can be such sensitive souls, especially around our own creativity. When starting out in your artistic practice, perhaps don’t overwhelm yourself with 'I'm going to do a painting today', try 'I'm going to 10 minutes of drawing today' and see where it takes you. Sometimes you will end up there hours later… Always remember - there is no right and wrong in art, it’s completely subjective.
What is one thing you want women to know today?
H - We are here to celebrate and champion each other. If like me, you have found yourself being sparred against your female colleagues or friends, perhaps it’s time to change the script and find a supportive voice instead. I have altered the way I speak with people. Instead of withholding praise, gossiping or getting jealous of other’s achievements, I try to choose celebrating other people’s success stories and even ask how they did it. I have been rewarded with tips and insights into my own practice and business, which has helped my growth and confidence.
To authentically facilitate this change, my biggest lesson has been - healing comes from within and vulnerability is beautiful. I love Leonard Cohen’s lyric: There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.
R - You have everything you need inside you - it is waiting to be listened to. Your inner voice knows you best and can guide you best, if you are able to get still and calm enough to hear it. Cultivate stillness and calmness when you can, tune in to your inner voice - even if it’s just for five minutes of your day. Trust the niggle, know that you are worthy of your dreams, whatever your life journey has been so far.
‘Identify with the masculine and gather your allies’ Acrylic paint, ink, on paper, 2020
Whilst the central theme still focuses on the feminine, she has two masculine counterparts. They share an eye and subsequently one vision, leaving the feminine divided and disempowered. Through her stark and soulless stare, she weeps a solitary tear.
We see symbols of the divine feminine and goddess again through the circles standing erect on either side of the faces, like pillars of masculine strength. This juxtaposition of feminine and masculine imagery shows the conflict and acceptance of both dualities.
The motifs of the sword and shield and trophy are typically ‘masculine’ and ‘heroic’. Here they are taken on by the feminine in order for her to survive in a patriarchal society. She must fight with phallic sword and shift herself into the meritocracy of the trophy winner. Believing that winning is more important than anything, and that life is a competitive sport. It is these ideas that contributes to break down and burnout later in life. The kings and queens sit on her head – she has helped to raise them up and earn them their crowns as they stamp on her, whilst she is below them, her crown never worn.
About the Artists:
The Blue Ladies are Helen Driver and Rosa Weber. Two lifelong friends, works-in-progress, seasoned failures and mental health awareness advocates. Creative residents at their kitchen tables - always sharing ideas about getting through the day. They collaborate from London and Totnes, UK.
Helen and Rosa both experienced breakdowns in 2014. Their lives - always intertwined - became almost symbiotic as they grew together and later broke together. They believe part of depression is what happens when you reject the narrative of the self and the narrative of the world. It is a rejection of everything.
They had always built imaginative worlds together as children, finding solace in their shared creativity and invented languages. As adults through lockdown, Helen and Rosa began collaborating intuitively and artistically around the theme of the ‘Heroine’s Journey’, which resonated with them because of their own life stories. They encouraged each other to start writing and creating art to explore their experiences.
They followed Maureen Murdock’s ‘Heroine’s Journey’ cycle to create individual artworks for each stage, which they then combined to create collaborative visual pieces. This unified their collective journey, reclaimed their feminine power and offered an opportunity to tell their stories.
The artworks featured were the catalyst for Helen and Rosa’s unified journey towards self-acceptance and creative freedom. They hope to empower others along the way - showing that honest, kind and creative collaboration can help open the path to deeper healing.
Helen Driver is the Founder of The Rising Space
www.therisingspace.co.uk - a place for art, wellness and gatherings.
Rosa Weber is the artist behind RiverSongHeart
www.riversongheart.com – free-spirited animal friends to make your heart sing.
Limited Edition fine art prints of both the images by The Blue Ladies are available to buy.
Please email hello@theblueladies.co.uk to order.