When I first began to go gray — I dyed my hair. Like many others before me, I thought I could conceal the salt scattered into my pepper. The unruly gray hairs arrived on the scene fast and furiously. Augh! Hair is my artistic medium; therefore, I began to ponder the creative and intriguing possibilities. Below are images of the first hair drawing I have completed by sewing with my gray hair. Interestingly, some hairs are totally gray from end to end while others are in mid process of changing.
Here is the video of the Durango Diaries panel focusing on artists. I specifically spoke about my ‘hair drawings’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYeuUKIpLEU
“Time Will Do The Talking” is a new hand-sewn human hair drawing created in 2018. It is 16″ x 12″ on canvas.
“No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens” First Lady Michelle Obama.
The title of this exhibition “nevertheless: She Persisted” refers to a phrase by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In defense of silencing Senator Elizabeth Warren, McConnell said, ““Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” Subsequently, the phrase was embraced on social media and became a battle cry for women across the U.S. in 2017. Women did not want to be told — to sit down and stop talking.
The works in this exhibition are grouped into categories to reflect gender-based burdens. These are hardships disproportionately shouldered by women in society. These gender-based burdens include gender-based violence, political inequality and gender-based-poverty. This weight hauled by women can have a palpable physical existence or take on a psychological shape of enormous proportions. Many women live day-to-day hindered by gender-based burdens; yet, they continue to persist.
The goal of “nevertheless: She Persisted” is to raise awareness of gender-based burdens. By fore-fronting gender-based burdens, inequities surrounding violence, poverty and politics and their impact on women can continue to be highlighted and discussed. Ongoing visibility of these issues is a necessity in order for change to occur – whether it manifests in small steps or larger advancements.
I attended the 8th Annual International Conference on The Image in Venice, Italy from October 31-November 1, 2017. I presented a paper titled “Heaviness, Hardship, Heft: Gender-based Burdens in Images”. I also participated in the Pop-up Exhibition at Venice International University. Here are some images from my experience in Venice at the conference.
“Carry This Burden, Now and Till the Moment of Your Last Breath” is on view now at ARC Gallery, 2156 N. Damen Ave., Chicago. It is a wall drawing installation composed of conte on wall, specialty fabric mounted on vinyl. The exhibit continues until September 23rd. 
ARC Gallery
2156 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL 60647
773-252-2232, www.arcgallery.org
info@arcgallery.org
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas * Heaviness, Hardship, Heft
Opening: Friday, September 1, 6:00-9:00pm
Spoken Word Performance: 7:15pm
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday, August 30 – September 23, 2017
Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday: 12 – 6 pm; Sunday: 12 – 4 pm
ARC Gallery presents Heaviness, Hardship, Heft, an exhibition of works by Rosemary Meza-DesPlas.
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas presents a series of artworks reflecting gender-based burdens. Weight hauled by women can have a palpable physical existence or take on a psychological shape of enormous proportions. Fluctuating states of poverty, violence and politics encumber women on a daily basis. Feminine onus is heightened by entrenched patriarchal institutions and reaches a crest during political unrest and instability.
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas is a Latina visual artist, writer and spoken word performer. She has exhibited at the Koehnline Museum of Art, Art Museum of Southwest Texas and the New Mexico Museum of Art. Ms. Meza-DesPlas has exhibited internationally at Hoxton Arches Gallery in London, Yorck Studios in Berlin and LuXun Academy of Fine Art Gallery in Shenyang, China. In 2017, she presented spoken word performances at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, NM and at the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto, Canada. She is a featured artist in Of Note Magazine (where art meets activism), The Gun Issue, Summer 2017. In October 2017, Ms. Meza-DesPlas will be presenting an academic paper titled Heaviness, Hardship, Heft: Gender-based Burdens in Images at the Eighth International Conference on the Image, Venice International University, Venice, Italy.
ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit gallery and foundation whose mission is to bring innovative, experimental visual art to a wide range of viewers and to provide an atmosphere for the continued development of artistic potential, experimentation and dialogue. ARC serves to educate the public on various community-based issues by presenting exhibits, workshops, discussion groups, and programs for, and by, underserved populations.
ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation is sponsored in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, City Arts, the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Chicago Community Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Ravenswood Bank, the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, our members and ARC angels.
ARC Gallery is an internationally recognized exhibition space that has been an integral part of the Chicago art scene since its inception in 1973. Founded during the women’s movement as an alternative to the mainstream gallery system, ARC is one of the oldest co-ops of its kind in the country. As a non-profit, woman artist-run cooperative, ARC continues its feminist tradition by providing exhibition opportunities for professional and emerging artists working in all media based on excellence of artwork, without discrimination toward gender, race, age, class, physical/mental ability, sexual, spiritual or political orientation.
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This artwork reflects symbolic gender-based burdens. Weight hauled by women can have a palpable physical existence or take on a psychological shape of enormous proportions.
This is the post excerpt.
My official website is https://www.rosemarymeza.com/ – I started this blog when my current website was under construction. This blog served as a temporary archive of exhibitions, artworks, poetry and spoken word performances. 
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas 