2 things: Alt-Space and No Make-up week

Hi, internet. I have some things to share. It's been a while.
You like my artwork, yes? Of course you do. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this. So, first off, here's a picture.

This picture is currently hanging in Snow College's Humanities building, along with a variety of art from other students. The student gallery here, known as the Alt-Space, has been empty up until now. It was sad. One thing that's happened since I spoke to you last is that I got a job. (YAY!) I'm gallery assistant, and helping hang that space each week is my primary duty.
So, finally, the first show is up, and we actually will have a schedule and expectations of people for the rest of the semester. This one is something I put together haphazardly and last minute. Adam (the professor I'm assistant to) didn't have any submissions that would be ready in time for this week, so I just went around begging anyone who I knew that did art to bring a piece to the gallery last night and hang it. The turnout was underwhelming at first, but enough people showed up by the end that we were pretty much set. I think the space has been filled pretty nicely.
My piece, "Do Mormons Have Horns?" was put together in roughly 6 hours. For the first little while I was trying to get a skin tone with red, yellow and blue spay-paint, but it was cheap stuff, and after enough dripping causing me problems, I gave up on that idea, redid the big stencil, and only spray-painted the black. The color was added after with chalk pastels. It was a fun experiment, and it was nice taking a break from my usual feminist themes. (I'll have an Alt-Space solo show all in that vein later in the semester.)

Second thing. Zoetica Ebb has drawn my attention to the fact that this week is No Make-up Week in her latest blog post. It officially runs from the 20th to the 25th, but I've started to observe the occasion already. Today, I did not wear make-up. I will not do so at all this week.
I think, in order to really feel the effects, it was necessary to do this on a Sunday. Part of this whole being comfortable in my own skin thing has to do with being comfortable about how God made me, and being happy with him for it. Usually, I consider wearing make-up and dressing up on Sunday to be a sign of respect. It shows that going to church isn't an everyday thing, but rather an important weekly event. Today, I decided that not wearing it was a sign of respect for myself, and therefore it was respectful of God as well.
This morning, I showered, put on my favorite dress, did my hair, and that was it. The only thing I did make-up wise was get rid of the mascara that had rubbed off below my eyes and hadn't been fully removed yet. I really didn't want to. Wearing a pretty dress helped.
I used to not wear make-up at all. In the beginning of High School, it seemed like a silly thing, a waste of money. But my skin continued in that prepubescent stage of irritating blemishes. I ignored it, accepting it because all of us had skin like that. My sister Katrina, after seeing my yearbook picture my freshman year, made me put on foundation just to see what it looked like. I've rarely gone without it since.
There have been times, yes. If I'm not leaving the house, for one. I usually don't wear make-up on Saturdays. Also, during the summer I had to awaken at the unholy hour of 5 A.M. to get ready for work if I wanted make-up and hair to look decent, so I just went with the mess, then spent the whole workday hiding in the back room.
But back in High School, in the later years when I started wearing the stuff, I would sometimes be late to school because I didn't want to go without make-up. I've worn it nearly every day since classes began again here at Snow. It's become my face, and I have a hard time going without it.
I think the thing that struck me most about Zo's post, the thing that made me want to join in, was the pictures of her face that it included. I mean, she's probably the prettiest woman in the world along with being a great photographer, so it's hardly fair to go by pictures of her to judge if this is a good idea or not. But it they were so clean and happy and adorable.
I can't stand pictures of myself without make-up. I don't let them get taken. Heck, I generally just don't love photos of myself. But this week, I'm going to try and get more comfortable in my own skin. I'm going to make sure I don't think of anything as part of myself I don't like, and instead, I will think of everything as a part of who I am. Good or bad doesn't matter. I like who I am. Sometimes I don't love every inch, but this week, I'm going to try. On that note, here is a photograph I took of myself sans make-up.

Have a lovely week, internet. I'll be seeing you.