The Needs of the Soul
Vision Statement
The book by Clarissa Pinkola Estes is the inspiration for the self-portrait: “Needs of the soul”, oil on canvas, 60x80 cm, 2022. Estes, a writer and a psychoanalyst, analyzing the fairy tale "Ugly Duckling" states that the goddess who rules the soul's needs is the goddess of female self sufficiency. She gives birth, crouching on her heels, teaching women loneliness. The skulls on her skirt rattle similarly to snakes and rustle like rain. Souls need food: air, night, sun, trees, or just words. They need endless piles of books, colors and forms to not to die of longing and hunger.
As a woman-mother-artist I try to reconcile different social roles that I need to perform, although it is very difficult. However, I do not want to give up any part of myself. It is my world. Women in the load of everyday responsibilities often forget about themselves. We take care of the house, the husband, children, and we relegate our own needs to the background. But our souls do have needs. We cannot forget ourselves. We are important.