"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." - Proverbs 13:12
Artist Statement:
This painting shows a fairy sitting in a dark forest who is illuminated by a small sphere of light. This is meant to depict that someone’s inner light can fend off the darkness around them. The setting was inspired by the section of the verse referencing the tree of life. The light represents the girl’s fulfilled hopes and dreams which keeps the darkness at bay.
Artist Biography:
I am currently looking forward to studying at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. I’ve always loved visual, but recently have been doing it less and less. I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to get reacquainted with the medium for a cause as deserving as Cycling For Change. Human Trafficking is a horrifying practice that needs to be eradicated from the world and Cycling For Change works day after day to try and reach that goal.
Observer’s Reflection by Crystal:
After being kidnapped, raped, beaten, bought and sold, and told I would never see my family again, I felt despair. Every time I thought of escaping, I thought of my children. He knew where they lived, and he told me what he would do to them. He took so much from me. My trust, my freedom, my heart, my faith. I worried that if I was ever free would anyone love me? I’m different now. Can I have a normal life after all of this? This piece of art gives me hope. Faith. Healing. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. The best is yet to come. Even in the dark time, I know I’ll make it through
Artist Statement:
The drawing signifies the moment before a weary person rests their back on a resilient tree. The tree offers wisdom and mental fortitude to the person who seeks it.
Artist Biography:
I am an artist and musician based in NYC. I studied at the prestigious LaGuardia Arts High School as a Visual Arts Major and then School of Visual Arts. I like to incorporate both music and art techniques in my process of creating and look forward to continuing to express myself. I hope my piece can speak to people because it is coming from my own thoughts on how it feels to need support in dark times. Cycling for Change is an incredible demonstration of unity and strength in its mission to fight the evils of human trafficking.
Observer Reflection by Hannah Blair:
As a young girl, I dreamed of the many wonders my future would hold. Sexual abuse, rape, trafficking, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress disorder were not possibilities that crossed my mind. But these were the realities of a young, hopeful life shattered. In every figurative way, I died the night I met my trafficker. About three years later, I am still working on coming alive. As a trafficking survivor, I have felt like I had to completely rebuild my life. When a person experiences such a traumatic life event, it shakes their entire being. The thing about human trafficking is that it causes the survivor to truly experience what it is like to lose all control over their physical being and their circumstances. And that is not a feeling that a person can easily forget. Traces of that feeling stay with you, at times encompassing your entire being. The memory of that feeling is the single most anxiety-inducing thing I have ever known.
My process of coming alive over the past few years has been a continual practice in adjusting my lens. As life happens, my thoughts, beliefs and actions must change to keep up with each new set of circumstances. How I saw myself in relation to the world around me three years ago is not how I see myself now. The lens I wore when I first got sober would not keep me sober today; growth is constantly required. Like putting on my new glasses, growth and change is always uncomfortable at first but the pain is necessary if I want to keep up with life. Children around the world know that to tell how old a tree is, you count its rings. Just like the rings on a tree, I am marked by my growth. Surviving trauma is a harrowing process but a relatively simple one; you just have to keep breathing. But learning how to live again after your world has been flipped upside down requires work. It takes time and effort to shift out of survival mode and back into the stream of life.
Artist Statement:
This painting shows that from a tragedy and a broken heart, recovery and hope is possible. Rather than discarding or forgetting the pain, it acts as the roots for a life that can be fully free from the hurts of the past.
Artist Biography:
I am currently looking forward to studying mechanical engineering at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Art has been a way for my mind, eyes, and hands to work together and make my ideas become physical and tangible. I love how I get to use my artistic ability to combat human trafficking, an evil in this world that has targeted and abused the vulnerable for far too long.”
Observer Reflection by Jasmine Grace:
This artwork spoke to me on a deep level and brought memories of peace, joy, beauty and hardship all wrapped up in one. It brought to mind two verses from the Bible. Psalm 1:3 “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither– whatever they do prospers.” Jeremiah 17:8 “They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”;
The person the verses are referring to is a person who trusts in the Lord. Being a survivor of sex trafficking and drug addiction, my Christian faith plays a big role in my recovery. I tend to look through a lens of faith and I’m always looking for God’s hand because I know that He is always working things out for my good and His glory. As I reflect on my entire life, I can see the ways He was working even though I did not know Him until I exited the commercial sex trade and got sober at 27 years old. He was there and He saw me even in the midst of the most depressing and traumatic parts of my life. He kept me alive for a reason and now that I found that purpose, I live to serve Him and do whatever He calls me to do. Life is hard and messy but beautiful and good all at the same time. If I’m not growing then I’m staying the same and I will become less useful for God, my family and my community. Therefore, I do my best to continually seek ways I can improve by dealing with my past hurts, hang ups and shortcomings. Best of all, I get to walk alongside women who are coming out of the same hopeless life I once did and offer them hope. When I empower a sister, I become stronger, she becomes stronger, then she impacts her family for good, and in turn the community feels the positive ripple effect. Together, we grow – differently, but better. When hard times come, we won’t shrink back in fear. We will rise up and continue to fight the good fight. We will grow. We will thrive. We will make positive changes in our world.
Artist Statement:
My paintings symbolizes the impact of hope on a person, showing a figure with a broken heart and a sad tree leaning against the same tree as a person with a happy heart, with their side of the tree full of life. The tree shows the impact of hope on a person.
Artist Biography:
I am presently or looking forward to going to The University of Pennsylvania with an undecided major. Although I dont know my major, I am interested in art as well as the sciences. Art has always been a way for me to express my emotions freely without necessarily using words. I have always been able to use art as an escape from reality. I think human trafficking is an awful situation that needs more awareness brought to it. It is really great to see Cycling for Change bringing more awareness to this awful issue.
Observer Reflection by Jenna McKaye:
Dreams. I had them. I was headed to play college volleyball. I had been working towards it since I was 12 years old. I could see my future. A husband, kids, a home and a career. Then I was trafficked. The man that married me when I was 18 became my trafficker. The shame, the torture, the rapes and the abuse I endured was unimaginable. But God. He was there. He knew His plans for me. (Jeremiah 29:11) I have come to a place of healing where I have found forgiveness for my trafficker and the men that bought and raped me. I’m also thankful. Not that I don’t wish it didn’t happen to me, but I’m thankful because it led me to this work. (Genesis 50:20)
This painting is special to me because it’s 18-year-old victim Jenna and 32-year-old Advocate Jenna. (Jennamckaye.com)
