How to dwell on a positive vision for the future? What does "Love and Justice" even look like?
Well, when I started this print I was five or six months pregnant and the weight of parenthood was pressing heavily on my psyche. I looked for quotes which reflected how I was feeling about bringing a new life into this world -- was it terribly unfair to do so? What kind of world would this child inherit decades from now?
I found this quote by the social justice and environmental activist Ocean Robbins (yes, of Baskin-Robbins dynasty and brother to Tim Robbins): “We are moved to deep humility by the knowledge that even as we are blazing new trails into an as yet uncharted future, we are following in the footsteps of a vast legacy of spiritual leaders and social change makers. The struggle for justice is as old as tyranny itself, and the longing for a world guided by love is as old as the human heart. Thank you for joining us in carrying the great dream forward through the next generation.”
I like the affirmation that we are part of a long legacy of those longing for a beautiful world, a position which gives me great hope. So I got to work with a selection of the quote and an image of a child joyfully playing. The floral motif has been something I’ve been combining with letterpress looking type styles, to give it a folk art feel.
Due to my circumstances (I was far from my print studio in Mexico City in order to give birth back in Massachusetts) I was only able to print a dozen or so on a friend’s small etching press in Boston before I went into labor two days later! I had to ask fellow Justseeds member Thea Gahr to finish the print run for me, all the way in Portland, Oregon, for which I’m extremely grateful.
These prints are the remaining edition from our Community Supported Art program in 2016.
