Shadow
Digital Drawing · Femessence Series · Vulva Art for Radical Self Acceptance
A collective journey of radical self acceptance, worth and opportunity to receive adoration. My intention for this series of work is for increased embodiment and spiritual awareness. It’s an opportunity for women to see, appreciate, accept, and approve of themselves, and realise their power and ability to create — magic, life, relationships, art.
Whilst the subject matter has evoked reactions and conversations around culture, gender specific values, experiences and opinions, this is not intended to be political or gendered. More of a self appreciation and acknowledgement of the spiritual and creative power of the feminine essence. Hence — Femessence.
Acknowledging women’s sacred space and building a relationship with our bodies is a process which can bring you back into alignment and understanding. Simply, I believe we are created to create. By acknowledging our creative centres and power as females, this is a step towards creating the life we desire.
The artwork created is not mine — it’s the beauty of others represented on paper. It was a co-creation and I thank and appreciate every one of the participants in this series for their grace, beauty, vulnerability and bravery.
As an arts therapist it’s not about the end piece entirely — it’s about the process of making the art and the beauty of the journey behind the piece. From the photography, to the conversations, to the displaying of the final pieces and emotions that occur, and the gifts that are exchanged after the work is complete. It’s a forever evolving experience — the start of a new intersubjective relationship.
Thank you to all for joining the experience and being a part of the creative process.
Card 8 · Femessence Series · 2024
Shadow
Age 74 · Australian background · Vaginal birth: Yes



She was seventy-four when she sat with this process. A woman who has lived long enough to know every shade of herself — including the ones kept quietly in the dark. This portrait was made in the spirit of that looking. Of turning toward what had been carried for a long time, and letting it be seen.
“It is safe to look.”
This woman has chosen to keep her story private. Her courage in being seen is enough.
Shadow is the card for what we carry without naming it. What lives in us before we look. This portrait holds that territory with complete reverence.
This portrait is part of the Femessence Women’s Celebration Series — a body of work by artist and arts therapist Caris Pepper honouring the sacred feminine through vulva portrait art. Each portrait in this series is becoming a card in the Femessence Vulva Portrait Oracle deck, coming 2027.
