Artist Statement
I explore the essence of female power through oil painting. The power that women, and those that identify as being female, possess is a threat to our current social and political structures. Even though women in the United States have the right to vote and own property, they are still systematically suppressed. In other places in the world women are treated as second-class citizens, lack legal protection against domestic violence, are subjugated to child marriages, and are beaten and jailed for not covering themselves. My work examines the mysterious female qualities that these patriarchal systems are so threatened by. These qualities are elusive and keep me on a persistent, passionate journey to find them and put them into visual representations.
All of my work is a reaction to the suppression of the female voice and the power it possesses. As a lover of words and music, lyrics often find their way into my work. This body of work was conceived through visions I experienced while listening to a Cowboy Junkies song titled “Witches”. The narrator/singer is being called by a mysterious voice and is asked to “Come dance in the moonbeams. Ride my winds.” I invite the viewer of this work to do the same.