Many women have grown up with negative and shameful feelings about menstruation: that it is dirty, disgusting, and something that should not be discussed.
My approach is to affirm menstrual blood as sacred. A powerful substance, it is filled with energy: the power of creation. Menstrual blood is the first pigment. I invest in it my feelings about being female, and about the animal carnality of my body. The initial repulsion evolves into a celebration of these fluids. The body and spirit are then not split off from each other.
In Pagan cultures, a woman's menstruation was considered a cosmic event, connected to the moon and its' cycles and the tides. The only time blood was shed without wounding. This could be a time for introspection; in many cultures, women would isolate themselves, the better to hear one's inner voice.
Tamara Wyndham, has been making art all her life; encouraged by her mother, an artist. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she studied traditional drawing and painting at California State University, Long Beach; and more experimental drawing, book works, and performance at the University of California at Irvine.
Ms. Wyndham has been awarded artist residencies at the Henry Street Settlement, the Kate Millett Art Colony, the Vermont Studio Center, the Mariz Ceramic Workshop in the Czech Republic, Fundación ValparaÃso in Mojácar, Spain, and an artist's fellowship from Earthwatch to work in Orce, Spain.