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Digging in the Dirt The power of therapy and self-exploration to positively affect growth. This piece was inspired by the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on young women and their ability to heal through therapy. For many women and girls, the disruption and stress of the pandemic exacerbated previously well-hidden mental health issues. The pandemic, racial inequities and the political divide in our country weighed especially heavily on teens. Rates of mental health challenges have soared, so much so that the American Academy of Pediatrics recently declared a “National State of Emergency in Children’s Mental Health.” In this piece, the purple cone flower is used to represent young women’s capacity for growth and healing. The lamp illuminates the soil and the dark places where growth emanates from, dark places that must be explored. The blossom sprouting from the soil shows the growth that is possible and life beyond pain, depression and anxiety. With such growth, women naturally become support systems for others, represented by the glowing cone and insects. Fabric, especially knit and crocheted yarns, were used because of the cozy and comforting feeling of the textiles.

Jeanne Johns has been the bookkeeper for Athena Project for the last 5 years. Jeanne grew up in Milwaukee where her creativity was sparked by her father who could build almost anything he imagined. Her perspective has been shaped by her childhood spent outdoors in the forests, fields and lakeshores of Wisconsin. Although her career has mostly been managing environmental and telecommunications projects, she makes space to be creative in her “spare time”. She loves working with fabrics and textiles and enjoys designing and sewing costumes. Her love of costume led her to become a designer in the 2019 Paper Fashion Show (Denver).

Photo by: Brooklyn Astle