Kate Long - Age 58

 

  1. When you came to the workshop what inspired you to come and take part?

    I came to the workshop because I wanted to spend some quiet time in a women-only space. I have no mum, no sisters, no aunts, no daughters: my immediate family is all male, so I wanted a little moment of balance.

  2. What did you receive, get to understand or learn about yourself and your body from creating your art on the I Am Woman day?

    On the day of the course, I felt included and embraced, encouraged and listened to by the others in the group, and it was fun to try different painting techniques and collage. I hadn't done any art since leaving school 40 years ago.

  3. What does it mean to you to have a female body in our modern day world?

    Having a woman's body inspires a range of ideas and emotions in me. Throughout my life, like most of my sex, I have regularly felt threatened in public spaces, and that makes me angry. I am not a lesser person for having a female body! I have a right to move around in public without being intimidated, pawed or pushed aside. But at the same time, I am proud to be a woman because our bodies can do amazing things.

  4. How do you feel about your body today? 

    It took me until my forties before I realised how I appreciated my own body and what a clever machine it really was. Now, at 58, I can look at myself in the mirror without being critical or judgemental. I smile, and my reflection smiles back. Here I am.