Why I Choose to Speak as a Beading Artist

As a businessperson, it’s difficult to express my true sentiments. But as an artist, this is where I thrive.

For a long time, I’ve been trying to find balance, constantly asking myself: Is this too much? Is this enough? Is this going to destroy what I’ve built for so long? But if you know artists, you know that one thing we’re especially good at is intuition. Our ability to create from the heart. I like to call myself an artist of love. And when you create from the heart, you can never be wrong. The heart is never wrong. It’s when you ignore it that confusion and conflict take hold.

Over the past month, the businessperson in me has felt hesitant about what to say, what and how to write, what to post, all out of fear. I’ve shared a few things over the last six months, but not enough, says the artist in me. And after what I’ve witnessed in the past two weeks, I can no longer be tactical or diplomatic about the current state of our country.

I’ve been advised that this is not good for business, that it could backfire, that it could even be dangerous. But if I’m not brave during the moments when bravery is most needed, can I truly call myself an artist? I don’t think so. Now more than ever, we need writers, poets, journalists, photographers, teachers, therapists — people willing to speak the truth about what is happening in the United States. What we are witnessing is not normal.

Fear is being used as a tactic to intimidate us. Remember that there is a small group working against the many. We are far more powerful than they want us to believe.

If you can’t join protests or rallies, know that your voice still matters. Your likes, your shares have power. Repost reliable sources only. We are being inundated with misinformation every day, and it has damaged our country so much. We are living in two realities, unable to see one another clearly.

Even small acts of kindness carry immense weight right now. I am a dreamer. I love this country, and that is why I’m heartbroken, but I’m not giving up on it. I believe in the American spirit, and I know there is nothing like it in the world. We will move through this, but only if people like you and me stand up and speak up for what is right.

Sincerely, Alejandra G.

And since I haven’t been able to fully put into words how I feel, or what others might be feeling as well, I want to leave you with a beautiful piece of writing from Toni Morrison:

“I am staring out of the window in an extremely dark mood, feeling helpless. Then a friend, a fellow artist, calls... he asks, ‘How are you?' and instead of ‘Oh, fine... and you?', I blurt out the truth: ‘Not well. Not only am I depressed, I can’t seem to work, to write; it’s as though I am paralyzed, unable to write anything... I’ve never felt this way before…' I am about to explain with further detail when he interrupts, shouting: ‘No! No, no, no! This is precisely the time when artists go to work... not when everything is fine, but in times of dread. That’s our job.' I felt foolish the rest of the morning, especially when I recalled the artists who had done their work in gulags, prison cells, hospital beds; who did their work while hounded, exiled, reviled, pilloried. And those who were executed... this is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”