Diversity Rules Magazine

6 Diversity Rules Magazine March 2015 Tegan James - Con't from page 5 and a large heart right in front. I was so thrilled to have that be my first piece out there like that. And when a friend had called to let me know that it had sold, I was in shock. I cried. Not only had I been 'seen', but I'd been understood. Someone else got me. And took me home. (Laughing) at's what I want others to experience and to feel. Everyone deserves to feel that way, just the same as the next person. JRK: As life happens we are faced with many try- ing situations. You have stated that due to some of your life situations you are inevitably stirred to create darker pieces — leaving your grief on the canvas and thus releasing the sadness from your soul. Can you explain this a bit further? TJ: Gosh, you know, I wrote that shortly after my sister's fiancé passed away. Sometimes, there are just no words to describe the depth of the pain – what I felt to lose a friend who struggled with addictions as I have in the past – to know that I wasn't able to help him – that was hard. And what I felt and still feel to watch my sister go through her stages of grief – that's incredibly heart wrenching. Several years back, I painted a canvas black with a blue swirls and drips that I titled 'Solo'. I was in the depths of my depression, nearing my bottom in my addiction and I felt so alone. It was Christmas day. My children had left to spend time with their father's side of the family. I was liv- ing on my own for the first time, and I was full of fear. I remember my plans were to begin packing away the holiday decorations and clean up the house. I had taken out a bottle of Windex and sat it on the counter. And next I took out a bottle of wine. e rest of that day and night was horrific. e Windex bottle never moved from the counter. JRK: Tell us about your journey in terms of your gender identity and how it is impacting the art that you create? TJ: It seems the more comfortable I am becoming with myself, the more color I am using. I'm creating more body image paintings instead of just abstract work. I painted a large figure last summer – I titled it 'He.' It may not be so obvious to everyone who sees it, but what's included in it are things like the buttons on the tight vest (tight like a binder) are painted on the side that men's shirts typically have buttons on; a rainbow strip on the belt; the skin is greenish like aliens (because that's how odd I was feeling having recently come out as transgender). It's a large figure, bold and bright because I also felt empowered in having discovered this truth about myself. e image is what is typically seen as feminine, which I painted in how I felt my body appeared to the outside world, but I titled 'He' to match what I feel. is painting was displayed in a window gallery during the Junebug Artfest (an annual street art festival that takes place every Friday during the month of June in Metuchen). e art fest takes place in my hometown, so putting this painting out there only a few months after I had come out was a bit scary and overwhelming, yet so very exciting. I received a tremendous amount of support from that. JRK: What are some of the misconceptions about transgender people that need to be dispelled? How is that achieved? TJ: Well, many people aren't aware of the spectrum of gender that exists. For example, there's the far left, which is male. And then there's the far right, which is female. But in between, there's the rest of the spec- trum. And there's a whole world of us out here who fall somewhere along that spectrum. ere's a wide variety of labels to describe each individual, but it all falls under the umbrella term 'transgender.' When coming out as transgender, it's important to understand that we aren't trying to be different people. We just want to be ourselves, whatever that means to us. We aren't going to change personalities or our be- liefs, our morals, etcetera. We are the same people you know, just with a different pronoun, or maybe a new name, a new haircut, a new style of clothing. Some of us may have surgery to alter or enhance our bodies – just the same as getting hair implants, liposuction, breast enlargement or reduction, cheek implants. We all want to look good and feel good like everyone else. Some of us choose not to surgically alter our bodies because we are comfortable as we are. When we publicly (or privately) come out as trans- gender, we aren't' apologizing or asking for permis

• Cover