secret life of women

As I descended the stairs to the Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden a natural coolness rose up to meet me. I was actually trying to escape the sun for a few minutes and had no idea that a green oasis was waiting for me 15 steps below street level. I decided to give my body a cool down from the heat of the early morning furnace and take a few moments to really take in the sculpture. This was not my first time down in the garden, I walk through it every so often as part of my regular morning exercise. But since I was not rushing my mind processed what was in front of me a little differently. There are four sculptures of women in close proximity to one another; I have noticed three of them often and now a fourth one spoke up. I found myself roaming between them, conversing without uttering a word, wondering about them, thinking about my own life…we start out as girls…innocent, full of questions, not too much to worry about, so much ahead, in a hurry to get there…

Young Girl on a Chair - Giacomo Manzù

Before we blink, we are there. No longer girls, women with responsibilities who love and have losses of all kinds, been lost, found our way, jumped for joy, long for that time before when a band aid did the trick, when someone else took care of fixing it whatever it was, like when we were girls on that chair. We sometimes find ourselves in fetal position as we go within…

  

Crouching Woman – Auguste Rodin

And then out we pop again, refreshed, ready, throwing caution to the wind, taking chances all over again a little more sure this time, we’re free, easy (not that kind of easy!) and in touch with our feminine selves, no excuses or explanations, living large and out loud, wisdom is a lovely friend at our fingertips…

Nymph – Aristide Maillol

Until we put wise on fully, slipping her over our heads around the curves, smoothing out the wrinkles as we stand in our own truth, finally okay with our decisions because we know how to think things through, take our time, hold our hearts. No longer caring what anyone else thinks, is doing, has or has not…

Seated Yucatan Woman – Francisco Zúñiga

Laid back, relaxed…we’re good, good enough, good women in touch with that girl on the chair, living for the now, appreciative of the before and excited about the next.

Perhaps inanimate things aren’t so inert. The men who created these female statues had to pass some type of life into their work, which I believe is what reached out to capture my attention. It’s like that with me and art, if it doesn’t speak to me, I keep moving. And because there’s no discussion today doesn’t mean there won’t be one at some time in the future. I couldn’t help but wonder how many secrets, secrets from their creators and all who have stood before them, each woman held behind her frozen stance in the warmth of the morning. Cool to the touch I bid them adieu. Even if they received nothing from me, the sculptured beings sent me off with more than I came in with. I climbed the stairs from my talk in the garden and barely noticed the change in temperature at the top of the concrete flight. A heavy scent of gardenia lingered there, beckoned from the next garden. When Billie’s voice invited me in to chat, I accepted. Goddess was blessing this child who invites you to…

keep your peepers open!®