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A Women's Place more, and no less, than a loving person who expresses himself or herself through the specific technical media which we have agreed to label: ART. Taking responsibility for that process is at the core of the philosophy of the Woman's Building and of the FSW. "There is an aspect of the process of the FSW which is reflected in its very structure: that has to do with taking responsibility for the world and the environment in which you work and create, according to Arlene. "Judy and Sheila and I wanted something for ourselves, so we made something. If a woman wants to have something for herself within the context of what we have created, then she must put it there herself. That is a difficult attitude, particularly for women, who have been so infantilized in our society, but the fact is, that we are not in positions where we are taken care of in the traditional ways. There is no slot for us to fit into." One of the reasons that one is taken care of in traditional environments is [start of second column] that one agrees to play by the established rules. You surrender to them, you accept them, you rebel against them or you continue to act in accordance with them, although you disagree. But no matter what stance you take, you are nevertheless continuing to be in relation [italicized] to those rules: and ultimately you are responsible for maintaining your relationship to your own oppression. Sheila elaborated on that philosophy. "There is a strong aspect of HUMAN WILL that is involved in a positive change of attitude like that. If you want something, you have to 'will' it to be there: you have to be consciously 'willing' for it to be there. "When a woman comes into the Building, she gradually becomes aware of that. Unless she is dedicated to maintaining a stance either of rebellion or of submission throughout her entire year in the program, she will find that she is able to create a world for herself in which she can live and work and create which is expressive of who she is, as an [start of third text column] individual, and as a member of the community of women she is in. "When a woman can grasp that, she is ready to enter into a position of authority herself. She can choose to remain within the Building, if that feels appropriate for her, or she can move into whatever environment she feels is appropriate. "But what it finally comes down to is that as soon as I hear someone say 'I want...' or 'I wish...' or 'If only...' or EVEN WORSE, 'The Woman's Building should...give...whatever.' and those phrases are not followed by '...and I WILL.' then I know that that person has not had the Feminist Studio Workshop experience. "And most women, most people, are not in a position of authority or responsibility within themselves to be able to do that. As long as that is so, I, and Arlene, and the other women with whom we work, will continue to do what we can." [[boxed]] sunday afternoon he's at the beach with the children those wind-up toys furry as peaches riding the waves like ponies spilling there noises over the sand like candy an ivy plant dances sedately across the pale rug pills reach my fingertips my toes, even my breasts and I smoke loving the poison, the pills sunday afternoon rushes like wind down the road over the tops of the red geraniums in the window box a sweet potato vine tangles green across the desk caresses the pencils I scratch down poens chaotic as that vine my sheets are flowered blue and green like a garden gone mad I touch my scars, dwell on my new body deliberations ended like a final note I curl up in my mad garden and consider the echoes Barbara Abercombie [[/boxed]]
