The Scarlet Cord: Branded

Behind the Artwork

Branded - Part of The Scarlet Cord installation

Branded, Livestock branding markers on canvas, 25½ x 25½ inches, 2014

Reproduction featured at Macy’s of Rivertown in Grandville

Traffickers refer to the group of children they control as their “stable.” Within their stable, children are tattooed—marked like livestock—and herded into a mechanical and emotionless existence. However, if loving individuals help restore these children to a safe place, the children can thrive again.

FACT: One in three runaways will be approached by a trafficker within 48 hours (Manasseh Project).

The Scarlet Cord: Tethered

Behind the Artwork

Tethered - string art for The Scarlet Cord installation

Tethered, Mixed media on plywood, 44 x 48 inches, 2014
(Approximately 700 nails and 600 feet of string)

In India, a teenage prostitute’s baby cries while tethered to a post by a thin scarlet cord. No one is allowed to touch or talk to the baby. Her trafficker’s goal: create the perfect sex slave—a child desperate for affection. Similarly, by using manipulation and deception, pimps enslave American children with a thin psychological tether.

FACT: Cybersex sells children as young as six weeks old for sex to customers in the US (Women At Risk International).

The Scarlet Cord: The Story

Behind the Artwork

Wounded - Part of The Scarlet Cord installation

Wounded, Multi media on canvas, 58 x 96 inches, 2014

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, and forgotten by everybody…that is a much greater hunger. Mother Theresa

A thin red cord holds Jenny captive.
The last time Jenny saw her dad she was seven.
Divorce emptied her.
Her cries—no one hears, no one answers.

An older boy tossed her an easy—“I love you.”
She unsuspectingly gets into his car.
The new boyfriend receives a finder’s fee.
Jenny’s worth: $3,200.

Her owner names her Sugar Baby and says, “I’m your daddy.”
She’s groomed by her new daddy, her innocence stolen.
Pornography fuels the business, and fantasy demands the young.
Like most, she is thirteen.

Driven to meet daily quotas, Jenny and her body surrender.
She feels filthy—outside and in.
No one looks her in the eye.
“Unwanted” tattoos her heart.

Her door swings thirty times a night.
With each click of the lock, her young mind tangles.
Fear dictates.
Abuse braids the scarlet cord and tightens Jenny’s tether.

©2014 Watercolorbypamela – All rights reserved.
(The Scarlet Cord is based on a composite of true stories that have been shared in the news or in reports, while others are original stories. A model and pseudonym have been used.)

FACT: There are nearly 2,400 human trafficking victims in West Michigan (Manasseh Project).

Courage Ablaze at Cornerstone University

General

Forbearance - watercolor painting from the Courage Ablaze seriesCourage Ablaze will be a focal point at Cornerstone University’s Global Awareness Event. The Courage Ablaze collection depicts Congolese women and children living in West Michigan who have endured unspeakable trauma with the spirit of true courage. Artist Pamela Alderman and Pastor Kizombo Kalumbula will discuss the Courage Ablaze collection and the plight of the Congolese people at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 12, in the Student Union.

The Courage Ablaze installation will be on display at Cornerstone University from February 9-16, 2014.

Courage Ablaze was previously displayed at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel at ArtPrize 2012 and was voted in the Top 100.

New Home for ArtPrize 2013 Wing and a Prayer

From the Heart

Wings of LifeWing and a PrayerWings of HopeWings of Love

Since ArtPrize, I have been diligently searching for an amazing location for my ArtPrize Wing and a Prayer installation. A friend suggested that I check with D.A. Blodgett – St John’s Home, a place for troubled youth, to see if they had any interest.

The morning before meeting the director, I spoke to an eleven-year-old from the St John’s home while he was waiting for a school bus. His eyes lit up when he saw some of the work that I had brought. Although our interaction was brief, I suddenly knew that St John’s Home was the right place for Wing and a Prayer.

St John's Home

The young boy has probably weathered a lot of turbulent winds. But if Wing and a Prayer could help rekindle his wonder and hope, then all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into work was worth it. And maybe in a small way, Wing and a Prayer could help bring hope and healing to some of the other children with broken wings.

As I left St John’s, this Emily Dickinson poem came to mind:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Many thanks for your support. I’m so grateful. We plan to hang the work in the next couple of weeks. But because of the fire code, the 4,000 paper birds won’t be part of the installation. The Wing and a Prayer series, however, found an amazing location—and hopefully will continue to give hope flight.