Let's Make Art Together

We’ve all heard the story of how the caterpillar goes through a metamorphoses in which they undergo an intense growth process to come out of it’s cocoon into this magnificent butterfly.

artists, anonymityDanielle KolachikApril 20, 2024artComment

Assignment # 85036 - I AM Your Mother

dKay thoughtsKayLyn BocciaApril 16, 2024motherhoodComment

dKol on grief

It’s just shy of a year since my mom died. In January 2023 she went to the ER due to random bruising all over her body. She jokingly said she didn’t get into a fight to deserve the appearance of such. Two weeks after she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Four months later she became too weak and we lost her.

I have found an array of support along my journey but I recognized today that I have another space to grieve. I suppose I always knew The dKol la femme Project could be an outlet but it wasn’t until today that it felt like the right time to actually lean into the community that was built to share these exact life experiences.

grief, storiesDanielle KolachikMarch 26, 2024The dKol la femme Projectgrief, cancer Comments

Art Supply Drive

We are planning for a new event for you all and need help preparing for it. We are asking for several volunteers to set up collection bins for donations of art supplies in our community.

artists, Community, donate, volunteerDanielle KolachikMarch 23, 2024art, share your artComment

What Inspired The dKol Art Project

“I decided to photograph elements of this painting. Going in close and getting intimate with the details of the paint and the strokes felt like home. And it quickly came to me that mixing these two mediums, paint and photography, was exactly what needed to be done.”

artists, dKol la femme's voiceDanielle KolachikMarch 4, 2021art sale, Therapeutic PhotographyComment

Alone Together: Michele on Suicide & Trauma

Meet Michele, she’s still mourning her dad’s loss, 20 years later. She speaks on the rawness of the array of emotions she deals with on the daily. As a social worker, you can see how her professional and personal lives overlap as she shares her experience.

Community, Inspiring People, suicide, suicide awareness, trauma, #alonetogetherDanielle KolachikFebruary 28, 2021Suicide, support, grief, #alonetogetherComment

Guest Artist: Christopher Fisher on Loss

The internet found “us”. He introduces himself as- Christopher Fisher, a photographer, installation artist and curator. He earned his M.F.A. in Photo, Video and Related Media in 2005 from the School of Visual Arts.

He creates art out of loss. And each loss drives him into something deeper every time.

He comes to The dKol la femme Project to let us know he sees our mission and wants to find a way to participate in the artist in residency we have here. We will share more on that in the future but for now we wanted to spotlight Christopher.

Delays

What comes to me is the word delay. Much like at an airport or a detour going home, we get impatient in the hold up of time and quickly think of how it’s an inconvenience to us getting to our next destination. We feel anxious, rushed, antsy, and sometimes angry. It’s about how it affects us and how it forces us to pause. Being forced to slow down and face the things that are out of our control.

#alonetogether, dKol la femme's voiceDanielle KolachikJanuary 21, 2021Comment

Boundaries

I have to admit that learning to set boundaries came to me at time when I felt least equipped. From what I account of that time period in particular came with lots of ups and downs and constantly feeling like I was being tested. Once I set one, I’d be challenged to be stronger and tougher at the next go around when someone was trying to take advantage of me. The tests came often, and then they became more spread out. What felt like mastery had been accomplished, another situation would pop up to challenge my skills yet again.

dKol la femme's voiceDanielle KolachikAugust 17, 2020boundaries, Empower women, empowermentComment

Enough Is Enough

This isolation is destroying us. It has diminished our ability to receive the emotional support we get from our family, friends and professionals that help keep us balanced.

#alonetogetherDanielle KolachikJuly 26, 2020#alonetogether, isolation, support, pandemicComment

Let's Be #alonetogether

During these times we want to be "alone together" with you! Here at the Project we have put together some suggestions on ways that you might find interest in participating in our movement. We really HOPE to hear from you all. Participate in our call: There are two parts to this. 1-Be a participant in our group discussion and 2-Be in our audience

#alonetogetherDanielle KolachikApril 2, 2020#alonetogetherComment

Pregnant During A Pandemic

A PANDEMIC?

Really? I mean they say when you make plans the universe laughs, but a pandemic? I mean, come on.

Anxiety has been something I have struggled with my entire life. In recent years it’s gotten worse. Most days it’s very manageable .. aside from the darker days. But right now, all I feel is anxiety. It is rushing back like a wave in the middle of an ocean during a tornado and I am the little lifebuoy that doesn’t stand a chance.

This time is extremely stressful and scary for everyone (especially those who work on the front line who I THANK endlessly everyday).

But, I am pregnant.

the dKol la femme project: I'm still here, can you hear me?

How do we define trauma? It’s a mutual understanding that trauma involves a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. But the embodiment of trauma and its specific impact can vary significantly from person to person. For Jenna, trauma comes in many forms.

abuse. alcoholic households. grief. substance addiction. loss. rape.

Reading all of those traumatic events outlaid in a sort of laundry list does not allow for the complexity of it all to sink in. Re-read this list and realize that all of this happened to one person.

Events & Merch

We have been busy in the community the last couple of months and have several upcoming events planned over the next few. So we wanted to jump on and give the blog some love and update ya’ll.

Event: First Friday 07.05.19

We will be at the First Friday PK: Red, White & Brew on July 5th at Eastman Park in Poughkeepsie! We are excited to announce that this will be.our first public appearance and we are thrilled to be doing so at this amazing local event.

eventsDanielle KolachikJuly 1, 2019The dKol la femme ProjectFirst Friday, Eastman Park, Poughkeepsie NYComment

dKol & Lyrics

Happy by P!nk

Dammit, these lyrics make me really angry at myself. They’re honestly carved into my being and I have been stuck here for so freaking long that I feel the line “I don’t wanna to be this way forever” so damn much.

Guest Artist: Trisha Hughes of Medicated Like Me

The road to vulnerability is a long one. Not static. Not easy. Not without cost. Not without the brilliant dichotomy of beauty & tragedy. The shedding of skin. Transformation. Losing oneself to an identity you may have spent years building & the subsequent unexpected grief that accompanies that loss. As the former you clings, wails, weeps & gnashes her teeth, desperate to subdue the old you. You are no longer her. You cannot be. But the new you, this brittle, damp, weakling who startles at most everything, can this really be you?

Inspired by: Sam Smith + Ryan Fluger

PHOTOGRAPHY IS THERAPY. We are making headway people! Through an array of multi-media therapeutic formats, one person at time.

Topics

archivesDanielle KolachikApril 1, 2019

Inspired by: Talia Favia + Dermot Kennedy

We have BIG plans on how we’re bringing a team of creative artists into the project. And watching this choreography set into motion to THIS song. WOW people. Stellar example of how interpretative dance infused with powerful music expresses emotions.