Her Catalyst: Part 17 of 25

In Part 17, Rebeka has carefully listened to Angelisa and Sharlene extol the journey of touching then requests that she be taken on her own. With her friends’ help to find a positive rather than a reactionary response to her abuse, she develops the idea of a Women At Work drawings series. Angelisa receives her own help to acquire a vehicle then is surprised to be offered a full scholarship.

A peek inside:

Rebeka hesitates a little then opens her sketch pad to the drawing as she says, “It’s still rather rough, but here’s what I’ve done so far.” She turns the sketch pad around to show them.

Sharlene proclaims, “Rebeka, this is really good.”

He looks at it a little longer, even turns it to look at it from different angles, then shakes his head and says, “You’ve done it again.”

“Done what?”

“Captured the essence of the scene and translated it into a two dimensional drawing.”

Rebeka looks at him in surprise then asks, “Um, do you see something more than Angelisa staining a piece of wood?”

“I see a person who cares about doing an excellent job, who’s concentrating on getting it right, and who takes pride in knowing they’re doing it to the best of their ability. In other words, this is a drawing of a craftsperson in the old meaning of the term. Rather than showing someone who is slapping picture frames together as fast as they can, you’ve caught the attitude of Angelisa who wants to make the best picture frame possible so it complements the drawing it will hold.”

“She was really concentrating on it and being very careful with the paint brush.”

He nods his head, “And you’ve translated that into the drawing. She was showing how much she cared about doing her work to the best of her ability and you saw that and this is the result. It’s a beautiful drawing which both of you used your own gifts to produce. It’s a wonderful collaboration, ladies.”

“Thank you, George.” Rebeka pauses then asks, “So what kind of series would this be a part of?”

“I have a part of an idea, but before I say it, I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to be offensive or to bring up painful memories.”

“Do you think I might be having some sort of reaction to my abuse?”

“Not reaction which gives a negative connotation, but a response in the sense of having something positive develop out of it.”

Since she isn’t quite sure she understands, Rebeka simply responds, “Okay,” in a way which she hopes will encourage him to express his idea more fully.

He pauses to think for a little while before he says, “I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m guessing that when you were being abused, you resented being treated as only a sexual object rather than as a full person with your own thoughts, hopes, and dreams. In this drawing, you show that a woman can be an accomplished craftsperson with talent and pride. I’m going to further guess that you would like to somehow show that women are more than sexual objects and that they have intelligence, talent, determination, and pride and can do anything they want to do within their capabilities, just as any man.”

Rebeka nods her head and proclaims, “Damn right I want to show that, . . . but how do I do it through drawings?”

“Draw portraits of women in various jobs and show that they take pride in what they do. . . . I was going to suggest Sharlene as a brain surgeon, but it might not be appropriate to show her cutting into a brain. Instead show her studying a scan of a brain. Or you can draw Klara as a lawyer in a courtroom and maybe Maria as a restaurant owner with her menu in one hand and serving a wonderful meal in the other. Paula’s a business owner, but I’m not sure how to make that clear with a drawing. I’m sure that if you think about it, you can come up with more women you know who have important jobs they do well and take pride in doing.”

After she stares at him with wide eyes for awhile, she quickly steps close, tightly hugs him, and exclaims, “That’s it! That’s what I was feeling!”