ceremony page	anniversaries	name change

The event took place on September 18, 2004 at the Center on Contemporary Art in Seattle, WA. It paralleled a wedding to publicly display my decision to commit the rest of my life to ongoing creativity. From that day forward, I am committed to being a practicing artist. The performance included Matrons of Art, pronounced vows, a legal name change, a reception, a cake and a honeymoon. The Matrons of Art were women who had heavily influenced and assisted my creative growth to date. The vows outlined creative exploration and growth throughtout the duration of my life (no matter how large or small). The legal name change united my birth name, Amy Ellen Trefsger, with my artist moniker, Flatchestedmama, and has since provided me with a daily reminder of my commitment to the arts.

It's easy to fall behind on creativity. Bills need to be paid, there are dry spells, so many good books, the need for exercise and then there's always matters of the heart that can take up one's time and energy. Providing myself with a boundary of intention keeps me on track. No matter how many rejections letters I receive or bad ideas I may come up with, the bottom line is that creativity has always provided me with a greater sense of self. Looking back, I've been outwardly expressing myself since middle school, why change a good thing.

Many thanks to: Andrea J, Gardner, Sam Trout, Caffeine, Eroyn Franklin, Tory Franklin,, Erin Norlin, Bruce Trefsger, Barbara, Mimi Hudson, Karen Finneyfrock, Maged Zaher, Sheri Brown, Alan Sutherland, Monica Schley, Julie Baldridge, Matthew Parker, Jaime Keeling, Erin Shafkind, Lorraine Drazba, K.D. Schill, Lori DeMarre, Bootsy Holler, David Herbert, CoCA, Don Hudgins, Jim O'Donnell, Mike Sweney, Dino Martini, Mary Guiden, Marianne Goldin, Dawn Cerny, DW Burnham, Michael Sanchez, Dalmatians, Balsa, Chicken, DJ's on trikeS, Chuck Dong, Darrin Wiener, Michelle Wicks-Cypher, Randy Wood, Dan Ayala, Pedro Alexander, Thomas Ring, Debbie Ableson, Mike Klaport, Olathe Poste, GSS staff and all maililng list participants