#i will eventually

See, the thing is, I don't consider most of what I make to be finished art pieces. They're not done because I can't finish them alone.

The point of reclaiming slurs, to me, is to find pride in the words. To look your oppressors dead in the eye and say "So what if I am?"

When I make something like my Dyke patch, I think about the times in my life when the label dyke has resonated with me, and I think about the wonderful dykes I have known in my life, and the beautiful dykes I have seen through the internet. I hold all of those people and all that me in my heart together and I choose every single piece of the design to make it feel empowering for them to wear.

And that's exactly it! The patch isn't the art. The art is the act of wearing the damn thing!

The art is the act of reclamation, of empowerment. The art is the act of putting so much time and love into creating a permanence for this label. The art is the act of wearing the label and glowing with pride. The art is the mere existence of this patch I made on another's clothing proving that there's two of us. We are reclaiming this slur. We are fighting for our space in the world. We are here for each other.