It started as a wild impulsive notion on April 8th 2024, the day we watched the dark moon totally eclipse the sun here in Texas: “Let’s have a Menstrual Art Exhibit!”
It was a suggestion that seemed to emerge from nowhere, yet I hollered it over to Katie in the campgrounds after watching this celestial phenomenon, and it was met with a very enthusiastic, “Let’s!”
At the time, Katie was only one of two women (hello Clare, my Red Temple Podcast co-host!) that I knew who painted with their menstrual blood as a profoundly beautiful ritual and womb healing practice. Yet two months to the date of the solar eclipse, we did indeed host a Menstrual Art Exhibit, showcasing many women’s menstrual blood art!
That dark moon – the menstrual moon – passing completely over the sun was the sign: It was time for us as a collective, to come out of the shadows, shed the robes of shame around our menstrual blood, and showcase its beauty, power, and wild majesty to the world!
On Saturday, June 8th, Blood Sisters of The Red Temple presented A Menstrual Art Exhibit in the heart of Austin, Texas, showcasing over 12 women’s menstrual blood and yoni-themed art – women gathered from Austin, the Texas Hill Country, and San Antonio.
Our mission was to create a family-friendly event, honoring the beauty, power, and sacredness of our menstrual blood, while deconstructing the outdated taboo around our primal substance – the very blood of life itself. When the delectable Fiona Robinson, business owner of eclectic home and waxing studio “The Pussy Palace” in East Austin agreed to host our collaborative event, we knew that magic would ensue!
Men, women, and children flooded into the exhibit throughout the day, marveling at the life-giving beauty on display. And the responses continue to surprise us. This was not just an exhibit. This was a passion, a mission, and the start of something that perhaps we can not yet fully comprehend.
Clare Fracassi (Clare of the Solstice) pictured above, created some of her menstrual art pieces together with her mother and children, and had these inspiring words to share about the process:
We are creating a world where many generations in one family honor the red thread that ties them together. A world where the blood of mothers is sacred. A world where menstruation is seen as the life-giving cycle that perpetuates humanity. A world where our children know where they came from. ~ Clare
Here’s a list of our contributing artists, in alphabetical order:
Amelia & Paolo Fracassi, Austin TX: Mother’s Menstrual Blood & Pencil on Paper
Amy Lohr, Austin TX: Menstrual-Themed Art using Acrylic, Crayon, Film Photography on Paper
Brenda Ryan, Austin TX: Menstrual Blood on Paper, Canvas, Wood & Fabric; Menstrual Barbies
Candice Lopez, Austin TX: Menstrual Blood Roses on Paper
Cheney Skerrow, Dripping Springs TX: Menstrual Blood Ankh on Cardboard
Clare Fracassi, Austin TX: Menstrual Blood on Paper & Canvas
Drea Marz, Austin TX: Menstrual Blood & Acrylic Canvas Prints
Dunya Porier, Dripping Springs TX: Menstrual “Zendoodle” Blood on Paper
Emily Michele Berry, Austin TX: Yoni Art on Canvas
Fiona Robinson, Austin TX: Menstrual Blood on Paper; Yoni Art, Books & Steam Herbs
Jessi Bostad, Dripping Springs TX: Live Menstrual Blood Painting on Canvas; Yoni Art on Canvas; Yoni Clay Crafting; Yoni Malas
Journeymai Smith, San Antonio TX: Menstrual Watercolor Acrylic Art on Wood
Katie Limberakis, Austin TX: Menstrual Blood on Canvas, Paper, & Wood
Kelsey Quintanilla, San Antonio TX: Menstrual and Birth Blood on Paper, Prints, Canvas, & Wood; Menstrual & Yoni-themed Copper and Crystal Jewelry
Michelle McMahon, Kilkenny Ireland: Sheela na Gig Lino Print on Paper; Great Mother Figurines Screen-printed on Fabric
Misty Odom, Austin TX: Menstrual Blood on Paper; Blood Priestess Menstrual Pack
I’ve so much gratitude to you all! In the words of our exhibit hostess, Fiona Robinson, “Our first Menstrual Art Exhibit (may be the first ever?!) gave life to what is possible when wombs + artists join creative forces. The exhibit was created with deep care and intention and it was palpable!”
“Ignited” ~ “Validated” ~ “Joyful” ~ “Pride” ~ “Healed” ~ “Connected” ~ “Belonging” ~ “Reverent” ~ “Emotional” … These are just some of the responses we received when asking exhibit guests how this event made them feel.
Being at this Menstrual Art Exhibit brings up feelings of having pride for being a woman … I feel that life force when I look at this art. Like the earth. The fertility. That’s where the baby thrives (in the menstrual blood of the womb). ~ Julie
Katie Limberakis, exhibit co-conspirator, wrote this touching piece below about how creating art with her menstrual blood has transformed her relationship to herself, her power, and her divinity; alchemizing ancestral shame into a blessing.
We’re taking up space. We’re not hiding anymore. ~ Katie
To our delight, some friends were so inspired on hearing about our Menstrual Art Exhibit plans, painted with their menstrual blood for the first time so they could participate. I love this insight from Candice Lopez, who painted these beautiful menstrual blood roses: “Painting with my menstrual blood felt natural like I should have always been doing it … As a woman who is choosing not to actually procreate, I get to still create with it … which is a very cool experience.”
We even had art all the way from Ireland, with Michelle McMahon‘s “Sheela na Gig” lino prints on paper (pictured below). Her most recent body of work has been exploring feminine themes of empowerment, such as goddess cultures, female genitalia and Sheela na Gigs. In her words, “I chose to create a print of this particular Sheela from Ballylarkin, Co. Kilkenny as she has been lying in the basement of the national museum of Ireland in Dublin for years, out of sight. I would like to free this Sheela and return her to our consciousness, to take on the male gaze.” Emily Berry‘s beautiful yoni art on canvas, also complimented the display!
During the exhibit, Jessi Bostad, local artist in Dripping Springs, did some live menstrual blood painting in the vendor room, pictured here below.
Painting with my menstrual blood is a new channel of communication with self. ~ Jessi
Other vendor offerings included yoni clay crafting, yoni menstrual males, yoni steam herbs, and yoni-themed jewelry, as well as some complimentary ceremonial cacao. Below is Misty Odom‘s beautiful display of menstrual blood art and blood priestess packs to start your own menstrual art ritual.
Kelsey Quintanilla, pictured here, a new sister friend we made through this exhibit, came all the way from San Antonio with her menstrual and birth blood art, as well as her three children that were born from this precious blood. Here’s her description of some of her art pieces.
Menstrual Blood on Drum: I spent 2 days bleeding, crafting this drum, and then painting the moon phases on it with menstrual blood. This was my last bleed before becoming pregnant with my youngest baby.
Birth Portal (Labyrinth): Painted with the blood from my recent Free Birth. I birthed my baby at home with NO medical obstetrician, midwife, or doula. It was the most magical experience of my life. I birthed my placenta into a bowl and saved the blood that came with it to create this piece. The Labyrinth represents the passage through labor and postpartum. “Once you enter a labyrinth, the continuous winding, twisting, and turning pathway eventually leads to the center and out again. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has no dead ends or choices to be made. Yet, hairpin turns in the labyrinth disrupt your sense of direction, inducing doubt and confusion. Unpredictable, sudden changes in direction in the labyrinth, parallel, unexpected unwished for surprises that are part of every labor and postpartum. You may begin thinking that you are back where you started or that you are getting nowhere, or that you are moving away from the “end”. In a labyrinth (and in labor), you cannot see how far you’ve come or how close you are to the center or to exiting (or giving birth).” – Ancient Map for Modern Birth. The only way out was through.
And it seems fitting to end with the wise words of Kelsey’s teenage daughter, Journeymai, on the topic of painting with our menstrual blood and exhibiting it to the world: “We’re cool. We’re ahead of our times. We’re being weird, but like, in a cool way … It’s kinda weird, but that’s just because it’s been conditioned to be weird … (This is) like the women’s movement, but taking it further than just equality. We want to be fully seen as who we are.” And our favorite Journeymai moment was when she shared how we made this art, but because this is our menstrual blood, we actually really did MAKE this art! Our amazing body created this beautiful silky substance, the blood of life itself, that is ours to paint and create with! We literally MADE this!
We MADE This! ~ Journeymai
10% of exhibit proceeds were donated to the Days for Girls Foundation. Days for Girls works to eliminate the stigma and limitations associated with menstruation so that women and girls have improved health, education and livelihoods. To date, they have reached over 3 million women and girls with life-changing menstrual health solutions.
I can hear some of you perhaps ponder, Why A Menstrual Art Exhibit? This is my why …
On the Wednesday before our exhibit, as we set up all our beautiful art, Kelsey, a mom from San Antonio, hung her art while her 6-month old baby girl, Aria Rose, was strapped cozily onto her body. Later, Amelia, Clare’s 8-year old daughter joined us after school, to help finish the display. On Thursday evening, my husband and I babysat his little 2-year old granddaughter, Sawyer. And later that Summer, I’d be going home to Ireland to visit my family, including my eldest niece Tara who is 9.
This Menstrual Art Exhibit is for these girls. It is for a future where perhaps, just perhaps, they won’t feel shame, when it comes to their time to bleed. Instead, maybe they will feel like something beautiful and powerful is happening. They may not want to create art with their menstrual blood, but at least they will know that some women do, and that that must mean something positive. Perhaps it means that menstruation is not a curse, but something special, worthy of respect and reverence.
In short, our girls deserve a better world than the one we inherited.
May our girl children grow up to feel it a blessing to be in a woman’s cyclical body.
May they feel great beauty, pride and power when they bleed.
And may society acknowledge it as such.
Is éa ~ It is so
❤️
Clare of the Solstice and I are so passionate about the wild power of our menstrual cycle and the magical potency of menstruation, that we had to go ahead and create a podcast about it! We hope you’ve been tuning into The Red Temple Podcast already! During the Menstrual Art Exhibit, Clare and I recorded interviews with many exhibit guests, as well as fellow blood sisters and co-organizers, about their feelings and responses to this collection of menstrual art on display. The feedback we received was pretty incredible. Tune in for yourself and listen! It’s powerful! It’s emotional! It’s transformative!
This was not just an exhibit, but a movement! The Redvolution is here! This event is hopefully the first of many events of this kind, integral to re-shaping our cultural narratives about menstruation. If you’re interested in hosting your own Menstrual Art Exhibit, I’d love to hear from you! I’m happy to provide any guidance, insight, or support I can. Feel free to reach out on social media or email!
Join us in the Redvolution. In this re-birthing of the New Earth. It is time!
I love sharing resources with my community, so please, if you’d like further menstrual cycle support, inspiration, or resources, visit my Menstrual Cycle webpage, which includes information on how to start painting with your menstrual blood, as well as other menstrual rituals and practices to support your womb journey.
Tied together with red thread.
Forever tethered, in blood, we are bonded.
