Justified

by Erica Lyn Schmidt

It’s all in your head
Anger is shameful
Fear is weakness
Ignore them (stay quiet)

They've made their home
In my flesh
Sinew
And bone

Shadows and whispers

When I stop to listen
My own voice cries out
A muffled lamentation
As I hold my tongue

Wisdom calls through the veil
Deeper truths from a higher self--

Injustice bore this anger
Violence instilled this fear
They are justified

It is not a noble act
To gild self-betrayal into loyalty
Igniting myself to comfort others
As I smolder to ash

The villain I’ve been fleeing
Was my own dignity
Enlightened discernment
Self-acceptance and worth

I release my tongue
No longer fearing to speak
The ancient demons escape me
And transform me into light

-Erica Lyn Schmidt

Media: Acrylic over Cosclay Polymer Clay on Wooden Panel
Dimensions: 8" x 8" x 1.75"
Ready to Hang: Yes

$500 $500

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Erica Lyn Schmidt

Erica Lyn Schmidt is a fine artist living in Wisconsin, USA. Her primary media includes polymer clay, acrylic, and oils. After spending many years in scientific and children’s illustration, she found her true love of fine art in the genre of imaginative realism.

Blurring the lines between traditional painting and sculpture, her work explores the deeper meaning of life’s experiences through whimsical animals, metaphor, and prose. She loves creating characters that didn’t exist before, like conjuring new friends out of thin air. Sometimes a project takes on a life of its own—in these moments it feels like there’s magic in the room.

Erica has been a staple on the roster of Every Day Original, in several volumes of Infected by Art, and on the Chesley Suggestion List twice in the category of Three Dimensional Art. Beyond her own work, she strives to empower other artists as Community Manager of the artist coaching program Unleash Creativity with Marc Scheff. Her past clients include Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 78 Tarot, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Burpee Museum of Natural History, private scientists and collectors.