oil on canvas; 24×20”

“A single, simple change can have a profound and lasting effect. While the cotton or rayon portion of a tampon is used for just a few hours, the plastic applicator and wrapper can persist in the environment for hundreds of years. Over the course of a lifetime, the average woman may use up to 17,000 tampons—resulting in more than 50,000 individual pieces of plastic waste from just one person. This artwork’s title grows each month, symbolizing the number of plastic pieces I’ve avoided contributing to landfills and oceans since making the switch to a menstrual cup. Recent studies have also revealed that many mainstream tampon brands contain harmful chemicals and heavy metals, raising serious concerns about their long-term impact on women’s health. Making the switch has not only significantly reduced my environmental footprint, but it has also supported my overall well-being.”

ARTIST BIO: Gabrielle Siekman (b.1994), an emerging artist based in Northern Kentucky, earned her BFA in painting from Northern Kentucky University’s School Of The Arts in 2019. Gabrielle grows an organic vegetable garden in her backyard and spends much of her time tending to it, painting the beneficial creatures she encounters there, and making educational videos for her YouTube channel, “Gabby’s Garden.” She has worked on several indoor and outdoor public art projects and murals around the tristate. She teaches painting and drawing courses at Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center in Covington, KY.