Introduce Yourself : Hi Everyone, by Kujo Ashanti

Hi folks :) Greetings from Iceland. I am currently doing a fun one woman stage show: The Pearls of Pauline - Pearls of Wisdom, Compassion & Joy for Menopausal Woman, which aims to entertain, educate and inspire women to thrive through their menopause and beyond. It is a blend of self-help talks, some inspirational song (mostly American Songbook) and either a live flower arrangement class or a live oil painting.

With the flower arranging I compare the various flowers to the different characters of women and the different care they need. At the end we have a raffle and someone in the audience receives the flower arrangement.

With the oil painting we have a camera on the painting which then shows on a big screen. I compare the layers of paint to the various decades of our lives. Starting white and virginal at birth, then while painting with black gesso I describe how we are programmed negatively with words like "bad girl!", "don't to that!", "stupid girl" etc. Then while that black layer is drying I sing a few songs, the start to paint with transparent colours on the black background (the audience cannot really see what I am painting) while talking about what typically happens to us each decade, until we reach our 50's "and we begin to see the picture!" where I apply white paint that brings out the transparent colours and shows that it is the sun shining through the ocean.

Then I use the spatula to lift of a white sticker which has been hiding an already painted Orca whale and declare "This is you, swimming in the ocean of life!" and then peel off another one revealing the second Orca whale saying "and this is me, swimming in the ocean of life and from now on we are going to have fun!" then I continue to talk about what things we can do to improve our life post menopause and paint in colourful seaweed and air bubbles. Then we have a raffle and one of the audience goes home with a wet oil painting in a pizza box :)

It is a lot of fun but also educational. I had run recently at the Reykjavik Fringe Festival and have performed this in the USA and the UK. I am looking to take the show around the world. I also have a podcast: Menopause Morph which can be found on most podcast sites including iTunes and Stitcher Radio.

I also do some acting gigs when I have the time.

If you are thinking of coming to Iceland for a project or just a vacation, then please feel free to contact me. I can get you a discount on a guest house in the west of Iceland, jut 40 mins from Reykjavik, if you mention Stage 32 :)

LoVe Pauline

It's a great place to network Kujo! And learn! Sent you an invite!