Rebirth Project
About Rebirth and Photo Release
What is Rebirth?
Rebirth is a painting series about reawakening as women. Rediscovering and reclaiming our bodies and how we would like to express our intimate and sexual selves as mature(ing), experienced women. Desire, attraction and desirability, intimacy, self-love and affection, freedom of expression and rejecting shame are all themes I’d like to explore. After having children, or after various life experiences including aging and change, in mid-life there is often a reawakening of self and identity and sexuality. Discovery of who we are and how we feel about ourselves often includes accepting our bodies and expressing sensual and sexual parts of ourselves that have renewed or reignited. Partner dynamics, relationships and desire shift and are rekindled; new or long term commitment can be rich playgrounds and take on new meaning. Our relationships evolve and grow as our relationships with ourselves change and shift. There is an exploration into deeper sexual connection with a partner or by ourselves. I want to normalize and express these parts of life for women past the youth of their 20s and portray them as worthy, dynamic, powerful beings with strength, dignity, knowledge and a magnetic sexuality.
I would like to hear from women to see what resonates with them around the themes of Rebirth and accept photo submissions for potential paintings. Nude, or not, nudes as defined by the model. The images for this could be clothed, partially clothed, nude, suggestive, affectionate, loving, sexual or even just portraying our bodies in accepting, appreciating or neutral ways. Unapologetically expressing themselves and enjoying their bodies, or exploring their own power, mystery and beauty. I’m also interested in the self- objectification of ‘selfies’, where the individual in the position of power and the gaze is her own.
The final pieces might be small and simple or large, layered and include symbol and pattern. I’m hoping to be led by my own vision but also the images and experiences of those who share and I expect the project will evolve.
Archetypally I’m not looking at the maiden or mother or even the crone/wise woman, but the lover or enchantress, the priestess who knows and uses her power in an embodied, grown way. If we’re talking poets and philosophers, in the Innocence/Experience process, we’re definitely doing Experience now.
Submitting:
Thank you for sharing your photos, stories and experiences with me for the purposes of this painting series. As an artist I value your contribution. I appreciate that you are willing to share your intimate moments to be created into new artworks. While I aim, as an artist, to represent myself authentically and honestly and paint from a place of curiosity and personal experience, I want to also draw from the similar thoughts and experiences of others and allow my projects to have a wider scope. My perspective is uniquely my own, but I believe we are usually not alone in our life experiences. I have opened this project to submissions to allow my work to draw on the experience of women who resonate with these themes. Any painting series becomes a participatory artwork when people submit their photographs and records of themselves and experiences to be represented in painting. Thank you.
By submitting photos, you agree to the following:
- The images will be saved by me (Amanda Greavette) to my personal electronic library. The photographs won’t be shared or made public in any way, they’re strictly for my personal/artistic use as inspiration or reference for paintings.
- The photos may or may not be directly used, but I equally value the photographs I don’t use because they represent a scope of experience, which I try to reflect in my paintings. I often create composite layouts and draw inspiration from all the experiences shared with me.
- If your photos are used, please understand they may be altered or have content added or edited, while trying to stay true to the original image/experience.
- The final paintings will be part of my series to be exhibited, shared publicly through various media and available for purchase. The paintings and images and prints from the paintings are my artwork and I own full copyright, and the right to make reproductions from them.
- You must own the photographs or have gained permission from the photographer to share them and be used to create new artwork.
- I do make every attempt to respect the model/participant’s privacy and dignity, and always attempt to represent them in a respectful manner. The model will remain anonymous unless you express in our correspondence that you would like to be tagged etc
- At this time prints aren’t planned, but please know that prints and paintings are purchased to hang in all kinds of environments, including public, business and private home settings.
- Models who would like to purchase a painting based on their photo references will receive a 20% discount, or receive a small free paper print of the piece.
If you would like to submit please email me images or send via DM.
To share via google drive, upload file to your google drive, select the Sharing options and choose ‘anyone with link can view, or anyone with link can edit’ and then add amandagreavetteart@gmail.com to the shared people list.