Following a diagnosis of muscular dystrophy which left her reevaluating every aspect of her life, Gems, at the age of twenty-eight found her mental and physical health inexplicably deteriorating.
The mother of two was left wondering how she was going to confront the radical changes this diagnosis would bring.
A true, ongoing story of immense bravery, this artistic memoir details her journey to becoming a self-portrait artist on a mission to spread a message.
Documenting the triumph of creativity over darkness, this is one woman’s journey to the centre of herself, where she finds not only inspiration and the strength to flourish, but a new outlet to share her life’s purpose through the power of creativity.
Following a diagnosis of muscular dystrophy which left her reevaluating every aspect of her life, Gems, at the age of twenty-eight found her mental and physical health inexplicably deteriorating.
The mother of two was left wondering how she was going to confront the radical changes this diagnosis would bring.
A true, ongoing story of immense bravery, this artistic memoir details her journey to becoming a self-portrait artist on a mission to spread a message.
Documenting the triumph of creativity over darkness, this is one woman’s journey to the centre of herself, where she finds not only inspiration and the strength to flourish, but a new outlet to share her life’s purpose through the power of creativity.
I'm one that could always do without colorful language but am also quick to acknowledge that certain lives and situations dictate the use of it if it represents an author's truth of who they are, what they're writing about, seeking to depict, and if its use authenticates their life. I may wish it were different but it's not the language itself but the root cause of its use I would hope that I was enabled supernaturally to fix! To lift the author up into a different life where the heartache, the discomfort, the hurt, the pain, all of the things that lead to crude language's necessity would disappear and be no more. However, in the pages of "We are all a Beautiful Mess," we discover the author isn't in need of rescuing. She has rescued herself. Through her example may we all learn that we are not stuck if we find an outlet that brings us closer to a life of freedom where we are capable of expressing ourselves fully, thereby flying free from the cages of all that binds us. Our bodies might be incapable but our spirits are willing us to soar!
There are those people within our society, I included in what I'm about to say, that shy away from nakedness in hopes of following ancient days of etiquette and modesty that, for us, is to be praised. A shying away from so as not to encourage such things as pornography and idolization of bodies that seem to be present everywhere we turn within this modern age.
However, nakedness should not be so shunned or turned away from as to inhibit ourselves from the wonder of who we are. The artform that God created when we were made. That He blessed and called good. Especially when a body has been tortured by physical ailments. Some seen while others are not. From silent illnesses to those that cause our bodies to whither away, each body is still worthy of being celebrated. Each body houses the essence of us. We are our bodies but more so we are what transcends them.
The photos that Jemme shares with us, coupled with her words, are power-filled. Some require captions to understand while others speak for themselves. After all, art is in the eye of the beholder, and not every piece needs to be dissected but instead to be understood. Within the understanding are layers of speech. Not all speech is made up of words but of sounds and nuances and guttural noises that were never meant to be deciphered but felt.
In Jemme's body of work, within her words and photographs, are self-portraits of substance, tiredness, depression, loneliness, repurposed into love. A desire to crawl out of one's skin turned into acceptance and owning each facet. May we all be fortunate enough to find inspiration from Jemme, the story that continues to unravel yet is being woven together perfectly through her own hands, and do our best to follow suit. We are all more than what afflicts us. Within each of our stories, there is indeed a beauty to be found within the mess.