ENTRY DESCRIPTION
From my project: Everyday Aerialists: the strength and empowerment of women.
This is a collection of my photography and the corresponding personal stories and quotations donated by my students and fellow instructors. They are combined and presented in three main categories: 1) Strength & Empowerment - the first pose that they felt strong and empowered in; 2) Scary & Liberating - the first pose that they felt scared to attempt and felt liberated after accomplishing; and 3) Joy - the pose that currently brings them the most joy to do. Two additional stories emerged during this project, a pregnancy and a recovery from cancer - these are included in the collection.
This project celebrates these everyday women as I see them: strong and soft, powerful and graceful, brave and vulnerable; which is what the aerial arts have allowed us to feel and embody. We all hope that bringing these extraordinary everyday stories to life empowers others to step out of their comfort zone to find the strength and confidence that was there all along, just waiting to be uncovered.
About this pose from the aerialist: “This is a very powerful pose that shows both strength and grace in the air. I love to add it into aerial sequences or performances
whenever possible because it carries a “wow” factor that gives the illusion that I am suspended in air. Athletic build in the female body isn’t always taken too kindly, and a well-meaning family member of mine once told me “women shouldn’t have muscles.” In the moments when I struggle to embrace that part of my identity, I am reminded that it is my physical build that allows me to achieve poses like this one.”
AUTHOR
Heidi S Erickson, PhD, MS, CHC, CWMF, is a Renaissance woman: Scientist by day, Artist, SCUBA diver, and holistic health coach and instructor (mindfulness meditation, yoga, aerial acrobatics, energy medicine, CancerGuide, food as medicine) by night/weekends/days off. Feeding my right brain creativity fosters my left brain creativity....its all about balance. My artistic point of view is inspired by my vocation and avocations. I received my first camera at age 6 and was fascinated with macro. I have been a scuba diver the majority of my life and feel at home at and in the ocean where all my stress is carried away. My soul is in the Caribbean, where I first learned to dive as a child. My spirit longs to fly with birds and explore the cosmos. The molecular pathologist/epidemiologist/cancer researcher in me is drawn to patterns and the small things to be discovered...on land, in the body, and underwater. The holistic health instructor in me is captivated by persons, life milestones, and individual and societal stories. And, above all else, I am obsessed with capturing light! I hope that when you view my artwork that you too will be carried away...even if just for a moment. – Heidi
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