Fine arts freshman Jessica “Jessa” Saunders will be featured in “In/Outside Portrait of a Woman.” Untitled by Saunders. Courtesy
Correction: Margarita Akopian’s name is misspelled in the article below.
Creative minds collaborate to host show that empowers women.
By Jerico Magallanes
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The Wednesdays, a group of five young female artists from San Antonio, are hosting an art show “In/Outside Portrait of a Woman” 7:30-10:30 p.m. Saturday at Jerry’s Artarama, 7059 San Pedro Ave.
“The theme is about us as women and representing mental disorders, identity issues, just certain phases that a woman would go through in an average lifetime,” said Jacquelyn Gonzalez, deaf education junior at Stephen F. Austin University.
“There’s going to be a setup, a showcase of each of our art,” Gonzalez said. “Then we have the final collaborative piece which we all worked on together.”
Gonzalez, originally a sculptor, said the collective agreed to use painting and sketching as the only mediums for the show.
Rebecca Gonzalez, leader of the group and sister of Jacquelyn Gonzalez, will be featuring “Indiscernible Screech,” a colored pencil and pan pastel sketch.
“It’s a portrait of a woman and her eyes are muted, blind in a way,” Jacquelyn Gonzalez said. “Cicadas are landing on her, and it represents how you always hear cicadas but never see them. It represents the voices in her head.”
“We had a brainstorming session and we threw out words,” she said. “And we found that what we wanted to say was that ‘We’re a group of women’ and to acknowledge each other’s identities.”
When preparing for the show, the collective worked in a studio to promote a productive work ethic within the group.
The studio, one of the artists’ apartment, reinforces collaboration between the artists, Jacquelyn Gonzalez said.
“We want to feed off each other’s energy,” she said, “and use that to empower each other in a way that we can thrive with each other.”
The group often communicates outside of the studio, sending photos of their work in progress to each other and asking for critiques.
“If you enjoy art, if you enjoy creativity, if you appreciate the arts and you appreciate strong messages,” she said, “then come to our show. We have something to say and it’s going to be great.”
“In/Outside Portrait of a Woman” is a free admission family event with refreshments, food and music.
The Wednesdays, named after the fictional character Wednesday Addams from “The Addams Family,” is made up of Jacquelyn Gonzalez; Rebecca Gonzalez, University of the Incarnate Word fine arts graduate; Margherita Akopian, UTSA fine arts graduate; Nationwide employee Jordan Martinez; and fine arts freshman Jessica “Jessa” Saunders.
For information, call Jerry’s Artarama at 210-366-0719.
