Apertura de la Concha
opening of the shell
sharing the journey of the creation process with you
This drawing was started while i was facilitating an arts retreat in Mexico this past spring, alongside many other beautiful and inspiring women. I finished this drawing a few months ago and just recently I have felt the call to share the journey I went on with this piece.
This drawing represents a variety of elements that can be symbolized by the energy of the shell, or la concha in Spanish.
Concha in Spanish means shell and is also a slang word for p*ssy and I found this beautifully fitting.
I decided to have a Spanish title for this drawing, as I felt the cadence of the language accurately represents the energy and movement of the drawing.
I am grateful to have been studying the Spanish language seriously since December, taking classes every week and being dedicated to my desire to be fluent in a variety of tongues. I first learnt Spanish growing up in school but the majority of it did not stick with me.
The first time I went to Mexico in 2020 I spoke almost no Spanish and could hardly communicate with the locals. I used google translate everywhere I went, but back then I had some kind of naive bravery that allowed me to feel comfortable messing up words and trying to communicate with other people. It’s funny how when we are young and have had less life experience, it seems easier to take big risks.
I ended up learning a lot of Spanish just by being forced to speak it in my daily life living in Mexico. At the end of my time living in Mexico, I could communicate a fair bit and had taken some language classes in Guatemala, as well as lived with a local family in the city of Xela.
In the United States we are not taught languages at an early age in the majority of public schooling, (we start too late, usually in middle or high school). Which unfortunately means that the majority of americans, unless they perhaps come from an immigrant family, end up being mono-lingual most of their life.
I want to reclaim the idea that native english speakers can’t learn or become intelligent, multi-linguistic speakers later on in life. The drive to learn a language requires a beautiful sense of dedication that must span years. A desire to know a culture, and a different way of expressing oneself, and a commitment to coming out of your shell.
La Concha is the shell. The opening and the expansion, the stretching of our egos beyond what we think will keep us safe. Expanding beyond our limiting beliefs and doing the challenging thing. As a woman who revels in her shell, I have expanded my capacity to come out of it — to not always hide, but to do difficult things. And the sensations one feels in the body when accomplishing a difficult challenge is so rewarding.
La Concha also represents p*ssy, as i mentioned before —
and I desire to touch on the ways in which sexuality and emotions are sacred, and how it seems that society prefers to remain superficial in its dealings with said topics.
The shell can represent our sexual energy, our love, our thoughts, our dreams, our feelings. They are protected under our shells. Many of us desire to open our shells and allow these beautiful and vulnerable energies to flow. It can be difficult to find spaces where people are truly in touch with their deepest selves, their artistry, their gifts — and can recognize it in others too.
Thus, the artist and sensitive soul must continue to remain brave in their exposure. They must continue to open — even when no one is watching or seeming to notice. This is how we can continue to light up the world.
