Funny Story! My very first hot flash ever happened on a hair color beauty shoot. Mid pre-production. Zero warning. One minute we’re all laughing, the next minute I’m red, sweating, and questioning my reality. My art director identified it instantly, handed me a cold towel and glass of water and calmly asked, “Is this your first?” It was indeed. At work. On a photo shoot. Of course it was.
And then it really hit. “I’m hot, I’m cold, I’m hot, I’m cold.” But never mind hot flashes! Vaginal atrophy!? Me?! My sex drive was LIVE before the pandemic! Grey pubic hairs appearing after being lasered!? What the actual fuck!? I’m so grateful for my fiancés sense of humor and patience!
I began illustrating the proverbial hormonal roller coaster and mood swings. Literally. When a stray thought makes me laugh until I cry—and then, inevitably, snort—I know it deserves to be documented. Those moments are creative gold and the perfect way to capture and share an experience, preserve a memory, or begin what might otherwise be an awkward conversation.
That impulse to illustrate it all was the fuel behind the Mini Meno Manifesto project. These are hand-drawn, original art illustrations capturing the plethora of symptoms I was (and still am) experiencing.
Running out of space on my sketch table I began folding the illustrations in half. After viewing a nice sized pile, I thought Yass! Zines! And zines were making a comeback! As it really progressed and became more cohesive, I then saw them as a collection with numbered issues, Issue 1, Issue 2 and so forth.
After millions of revisions, paper, ink pens and working titles later, I’ve crossed the finish line. The first piece of the Mini Meno Manifesto project is a “collection” of 13 zine issues illustrating the symptoms of menopause.
This set of bold, graphic black & white illustrations depict the insanely unexpected variety of symptoms in the hormonal heist we call menopause; and the tagline is “Satire, Sass and a (Smidge) of Science.”
A portion of proceeds from Mini Meno Manifesto will be donated to menopause research; because although there is finally some progress, it’s still such an underfunded afterthought. At least there’s now an open and honest dialogue amongst most of the women in my life. And doctors, nurses, specialists & celebrities! We’re all relevant again! Woohoo!
What started as something to share with my fiancé, somewhere between the satirical sketches and the laughter, quickly became my authentic voice. My big picture goal is to grow out a mission-based brand and business for awareness and education. (No one warned me about anything other than hot flashes!) Next up are greeting cards and a coloring book! Keep checking back for new merch and more from the wild world of menopause moments. Let’s all laugh until we cry along the way.
