Meryl Pataky

Answering the Call of Radical Mothering During a Time of Turmoil, ✏️by @merylpataky , today on @mothermag ✨An excerpt: “A world without Roe is a world I don’t want for my child. I wanted to become a mother (in short) to join in love and creativity with my partner, to experience the world through my child’s eyes, to reconnect with my imagination and to nurture a caring human that will care for others. I am equal parts thrilled and terrified for my child to hold a mirror to me and cultivate the deepest reflection and growth of my life. I have had two abortions, both a choice and an experience along my personal journey towards my son. Most recently, I received an abortion (a “D&C”) as a result of my latest miscarriage in 2020. The procedure was necessary to insure that all tissue was expelled, lest I suffer from sepsis. My first abortion was due to an accidental pregnancy by an emotionally abusive partner at the age of 18. Despite the fact that I am adopted, neither myself nor my mother saw carrying a child to term at that age the best choice for me or my future. My late mother adopted me after years of trying with heart disease. The doctors felt she couldn’t have kids in her condition. She and my father, a teacher and an ophthalmologist, had the means to adopt a baby if they wanted; to any agency, they were the “ideal” couple: young, white, and thriving in the 1980’s middle class. I certainly realize how well things worked out for me—I was given up at 18 weeks by a bipolar teenager who went on to become an addict and a drifter to a safe, loving, and privileged environment. Anti-abortion advocates make the infuriatingly played-out and inaccurate argument that “adoption is the answer.” They will say, “you’re lucky your birth mother ‘did the right thing’ and didn’t abort you.” I happened to be luckier than the hundreds of thousands of children in foster care—I was born white and given up young. But my fate could have easily been like so many raised in poverty by a mother suffering from mental illness and addiction. “The right thing”? The only thing that’s right is what’s right for you.”

@merylpataky ⚡️⚡️

Wow my first Father’s Day. What a trip. I wasn’t expecting to feel the feelings today but I’m tearing up looking at you right now. I feel so grateful and at peace with you. So excited to grow with you Brave. Thanks for letting me be you dad. Also shout out Meryl for everything always!

Well b you made it. What a journey. We are so grateful for you. I promise to be there for the good and the bad. Your mother is so amazing and we can’t wait for you to meet all the wonderful people in your life. To everyone who has been apart of our story or has shared kind words, thank you. The world can be so tough sometimes and your words have made such an impact on us. World get ready Brave Amory Brake is here! I love you so much and can’t wait to see you grow B. Thank you forever for this amazing gift Meryl. I can’t thank you enough.

Had the pleasure of sneaking time in with @merylpataky in her SF neon studio while she & @brockbrake prepare for parenthood. It was an honor to be trusted with art direction, as we discussed cycles and process. Some of the images from our time together accompanied Meryl’s essay, “Pregnancy After Loss”, published by @mothermag ❤️‍🔥 120, 2022. . . . Couldn’t have done it without the ultimate dream team Gaff/AC: Dan Juenemann Art Assists: Stephanie Stokes & Anthony Doyle ✨✨✨✨

Waiting on b. @merylpataky wrote about our journey on becoming parents for @mothermag So proud of you Meryl. You continue to amaze me everyday. Photography by @st.cine

Mom Talk: Grappling With Pregnancy After Loss On The Eve Of Mother's Day, ✏️by Meryl Pataky (@merylpataky ), who shares her #TTC journey—today on @mothermag ❤️ ✨An excerpt, below: "This upcoming Mother’s Day means the world to me. It’s just around the corner from my baby’s birthday. Mother’s Day has taken a few shapes over the years. It has transformed from decades of being a really hard day remembering the memory of my mother into an even harder day where that grief was compounded by the grief of lost pregnancies. Now, it will be something very layered, a bit complicated and rich—there is still pain without my mother that grows with the knowledge that she won’t be with me on this motherhood journey. Ultimately, however, there is a lot to celebrate. I’m both terrified and excited. I’m sure plenty of polarizing feelings will follow me throughout this new experience, and I’m reminding myself to try and remain open to every facet. I’ve been thinking back to 2019, just at the start of trying to conceive, and I remember the thoughts and feelings about motherhood I was experiencing at that time. What a different place I was in; I was working on a solo show entitled “Not Long For This World.” The concept of the show dealt with the complicated feelings of becoming a mother in the age of climate crisis. My anxieties at the time dealt with stuff far in the future and outside of my control. The flowers I made were representative of the fragility of childhood, of nature, of the future. Little did I know at the time that these fears of the future would be replaced by fears of perhaps never getting the experience at all. On this Mother’s Day, I am thinking a lot about those who are still struggling to conceive. Since my pregnancy announcement on Instagram, some hopeful parents have reached out asking me to share things that worked for us. I had shared my struggles fairly publicly in the years preceding the announcement, but never anything comprehensive about methods and the things I’ve learned over those years of trying. I’ve held this intention and would like to take this opportunity to share, as a sort of Mother’s Day gift to those still trying." 📷: @st.cine

We’re excited to introduce the mentors who have been making our One-on-One Mentorship program such an amazing experience this year! Monique Ray, Anna Firth, Amanda Rush, Katie Murken, and Meryl Pataky have joined the team at SoEx in mentoring our youth artists, and providing feedback in a dedicated space and positive artists’ community. We’re excited to see the work that our mentors and mentees do together, and we’re enormously fortunate to host such an invaluable educational experience at Southern Exposure. Swipe through to see some of the incredible work done by our mentors–we’re fortunate to have them in our community. Learn more about our mentors: Monique Wray is a San Francisco-based animator, illustrator, and director. She employs bright colors and bold geometry to create expressive, character-first illustrations and animations. Katie Murken (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Alameda, CA, who centers process and multi-dimensional thinking in her studio practice and teaching/community work. She is currently an artist in residence at the Kala Art Institute. Anna Firth (she/her) is a California-based visual artist using traditional drawn animation methods to create gifs and expanded cinema works. Her animations often crowd anthropomorphic stock characters into the video frame and weave the characters cartoonish bodies in infinitely looping scenes. Amanda Rush is a San Francisco-based artist, arts educator, and curator. Her multimedia practice rooted in photography, installation, and performance emphasizes societal concerns and narratives surrounding gender, violence against women, community activism, and collective grief and mourning. Meryl Pataky is a San Francisco based artist of many disciplines and mediums who focuses on the relationship between her own hands and materials, informed by a meditation on the elements of the periodic table. Meryl founded and curates "She Bends", an exhibition / organization that supports women and gender expansive artists bending their neon works through programming like residencies and mentorship in Neon glass working. Alt text embedded @moniwray @tallgrill @__goldrush__ @katiemurken @merylpataky

🔥🔥🔥🔥 Neon bending is, well, for lack of a better term, completely bada$$. We had so much fun @merylpataky bend neon. Meryl is a Bay Area artist with 20 years of experience working with neon. She confounded @shebendsneon , an organization dedicated to building a more equitable future for neon through public education, preservation and programs that foster diversity and sustainability. She Bends and its international network of women and gender expansive people who work with neon push the boundaries of this medium beyond the confines of commercial signage, into the realm of fine art.⁠ If you're interested in learning more about this artform, please check out @shebendsneon . If you'd like to book a live demonstration like the one @WILD_SFBayArea hosted at our studio this week, contact them. They do classes too. And regardless of where you're located, please reach out to She Bends if you're looking for custom neon. Going through She Bends connects you with an international network of skilled, diverse neon artists dedicated to this artform ➡️ [email protected]. Hats off to @WILD_SFBayArea for putting together such an awesome event. We're honored that you held it in our space. And thank you to everyone who came by and #sawitatarchetype 😉 . . . #SheBends #bayareaartist #neon #neonbending #handcrafted #artistry #illumination #lightart #architecturaldesign #AEC #interiordesign #sanfranciscoart #localartist #womeninlight #womeninlighting #womenindesign #fire #glassbending #neonbending #glassblowing #artisan #artist #neonlighting #lightingdesign #lightingdesigner #bayarealighting #sanfranciscolighting #archetypelighting #seenatarchetype

We learned so much! On Tuesday, the SF Bay Area Women In Lighting + Design Chapter (@WILD_SFBayArea ) brought a fascinating and fun experience to our studio: a live neon bending demonstration by @shebendsneon . Professional neon artist/#SheBends co-founder @merylpataky started by walking us through the general process of neon bending, sharing tips, techniques and facts about the art form along the way. We learned many interesting facts during Meryl's presentation. Here are just a few examples: - The neon signs and fixtures we're used to seeing aren't necessarily filled with neon gas. Neon actually emits a deep red color, and different gasses produce different colors. Neon benders mix neon with other noble gasses or use different gasses entirely depending on the exact color they're trying to create. We probably see more argon in our signs that neon 🤯. - Neon artists work with all the noble gasses, (except, of course radon). - Neon artists typically start by creating a pattern, and they're working upside-down and backwards when they bend. - Most neon signs are not hot to touch (Meryl disspells some common misconceptions related to this in one of the clips--check it out!) - This one really blew our minds: of all the art schools that we have in California, not one of them offers a neon bending program. Think about that. That last point is one of the many reasons that @SheBendsNeon does what it does. She Bends is an organization dedicated to building a more equitable future for neon through public education, preservation and programs that foster diversity and sustainability. She Bends pushes the boundaries of neon beyond the confines of commercial signage, into the realm of fine art.⁠ ⁠ Education is an important part of what #SheBends does. They provide resources and training for artists looking to master the art form and also provide public demonstrations like the one that WILD SF hosted at our studio this week. #seenatarchetype

So. Much. Fun. We are so honored that @WILD_SFBayArea chose to host their first big public event at our studio last night! We had so much fun spending time with this amazing group and were so thrilled that so many amazing people from our local lighting + design community participated in the event! ⁠ About WILD SF: Women In Lighting + Design is a national network that advocates for gender equality within the lighting industry and supports the professional and personal growth of the lighting community's women and their allies. The SF Bay Area Women In Lighting + Design Chapter is new, and they bring invaluable networking, mentorship and knowledge sharing resources to our local lighting community. Show your support for this growing chapter by giving them a follow: @WILD_SFBayArea Thank you to everyone who came by and #sawitatarchetype! . . . #AEC #sanfranciscoarts #sanfranciscoart#lightingdesign #architecturaldesign #sanfranciscolighting #bayarealighting #artlight #lightingdesigner #partnersinlight #partnerinlight #womeninlighting #neon #architecturallighting #decorativelighting #womenindesign #eventspace

@WILD_SFBayArea is hosting a fun-filled evening ft. a live demonstration by @shebendsneon . The event takes place on Tues, 4/12 at the @archetypelightingsales studio in SF's Design District. Tickets are limited. Visit the link in our bio to purchase yours today!⁠ ⁠ About the event: Festivities begin with a 6pm cocktail hour with drinks & canapés generously provided by the event's sponsors. A live demonstration by @merylpataky of @shebendsneon begins promptly at 7pm.⁠ ⁠ About She Bends: @shebendsneon is an organization dedicated to building a more equitable future for neon through public education, preservation and programs that foster diversity and sustainability. She Bends pushes the boundaries of neon beyond the confines of commercial signage, into the realm of fine art.⁠ ⁠ About WILD SF: Women In Lighting + Design is a national network that advocates for gender equality within the lighting industry and supports the professional and personal growth of the lighting community's women and their allies. The SF Bay Area Women In Lighting + Design Chapter is new, and they bring invaluable networking, mentorship and knowledge sharing resources to our local lighting community. Show your support for this growing chapter by following @WILD_SFBayArea and attending the event!⁠ ⁠ --⁠ ⁠ Visit the Eventbrite page in our linkin.bio for more about She Bends, WILD SF, the event and the sponsors supporting it.⁠