100 Years 100 Women
Artwork
Monique Bloom
Carole Epp
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Date:
2020
Description:
Monique has been one of the most influential women in my life, a mentor, a compassionate down to earth badass of a woman, and a radical artist. She is a symbol in my life of the ability to live genuinely without fear, with the utmost compassion and unending wonder at all the intricacies of life and human relationships. She is the most charismatic and beautiful soul i’ve ever met and I am forever drawn
to her like a moth to a flame in the hopes of gleaning some of the passion and hunger she has for a life well-lived. I choose women for this exhibition whose lives are woven with the narrative in mind and who have an impact on me daily rather than more notable women in history or contemporary culture. I want to honour women who may not see themselves as truly influential but who have shaped my life and my beliefs in unparalleled ways.
Dianne Seed
Carole Epp
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Date:
2020
Description:
Dianne has been a whirlwind part of my life for nine years now.
Throughout the most difcult times I’ve had as a mother she has
consistently exhibited the most incredible example of selflessness I
have ever witnessed. She has taught me uncountable lessons from
the schoolbook of hard knocks, and the life lessons she has taught
me and my family will forever shape our interactions with the world
around us for the better. She has taught me the true value of friend-
ship and compassion, taught me to reprioritize life and relationships
for the better. She is a mother figure I didn’t realize I needed at a
time I needed guidance the most. I choose women for this exhibi-
tion whose lives are woven with the narrative in mind and who have
an impact on me daily rather than more notable women in history
or contemporary culture. I want to honour women who may not see
themselves as truly influential but who have shaped my life and my
beliefs in unparalleled ways.
Stacey Abrams
Sugar Jaws Pottery
Medium & Materials:
Earthenware
Measurements:
9.5" x 9.5" x 1.5"
Date:
2020
Description:
I made this plate of Stacey Abrams because she is a woman that I whole heartedly admire and I believe in. After moving to Georgia in 2018, I learned of Stacey and her political platform while she was running for governor. After her loss in that race and the conflicts with voting equality that were made evident, she has been fighting for fairness in the system. I can't think of a better person to represent for this exhibition.
Florence Bracaglia
Sugar Jaws Pottery
Medium & Materials:
Earthenware
Measurements:
9.5" x 9.5" x 1.5"
Date:
2020
Description:
Florence Bracaglia was my grandmother. I admire her for her unyielding kindness, her deep love, and resilience. She was a child of immigrants, raised in the Great Depression. She faced great adversity and discrimination while growing up yet she was the most caring person I have ever known. I have made other work about her, and this seemed like another chance to preserve her memory.
Melanie Strickland, Stansted 15
Charlotte Hodes
Medium & Materials:
Hand painting, cold glaze on ready-made china
Date:
2020
Description:
Melanie Strickland, a British activist and solicitor, is an impressive role model for other women.
On 28th March 2017, upon hearing that a flight was due to depart from Stansted Airport UK with 60 people on board for forcible repatriation to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone, she, along with 14 others, cut through the perimeter fence and physically locked themselves together around the wheel of the plane to prevent it from taking off.
‘In taking action, our goal was to assist people in danger by ensuring that flight didn’t take off so that detained people would have more time to get decent lawyers and to lodge legal papers to prevent their deportation… In the process, we also wanted to expose the brutal nature of the deportation process, especially charter flights.’ (Melanie Strickland, The Law Society Gazette, Feb 6 2019)
The 15 activists were arrested, charged and found guilty under the 1990 Aviation and Maritime Security Act, a terrorism-related conviction.
As a result of their creative and peaceful action, 11 of the 60 to be deported remain in the UK.
As of June 2020, an appeal to clear their names remains unheard.
Melanie and the Stansted 15 are recognized by Amnesty International as human rights defenders.
Carola Rackete, Sea-Watch
Charlotte Hodes
Medium & Materials:
Hand painting, cold glaze on ready-made china
Date:
2020
Description:
Carola Rackete as a female sea captain who volunteers for the German organization, Sea-Watch, is an example and significant role model for other women.
On 12 June, 2019, her ship Sea-Watch 3, picked up survivors from an inflatable boat off the coast of Libya, a country at civil war since 2011. There then followed a stand- off in international waters as her ship was refused permission to dock for 17 days. With her 40 refugees on board conditions were deteriorating and their health was at risk and with this in mind, Rackete docked her ship in Lampedusa, Italy. She was placed under house arrest since Italy had closed their ports to migrants but was released a few days later by the courts.
In her Rackete’s words: Bringing these people to a safe place, after rescuing them, is by the maritime law ‘necessary’…. So we broke a national law by complying with an international one. Their lives come before any political game.
I hope my gesture will lead to concrete solutions in Europe for migrants. Dozens of cities were willing to host these people, and it is they should be free to do so without national governments hindering them...
Behind the Mask
Peter Olson
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain with original photography as iron oxide transfer
Measurements:
11" x 11" each
Date:
2020
Description:
I am honored to show my support for these two inspiring women for this exhibition dedicated to the 19th amendment. My partner Penelope and daughter Skye are truly strong women. They are determined, professional and dynamic individuals who retain their sense of self throughout any circumstance. Generations later, they persist through ongoing struggle.
My work incorporates original photography from museum objects to daily life, connecting the present moment to an historical context. Penelope is on a backdrop of cuneiform, referencing her graphic design profession. She is surrounded by a Duchess from Florence, Skye by Joan of Arc. A portrait of each circumscribes the other, as they are perpetually part of each other’s story. The masks reflect solidarity with the times we are experiencing, and to both of their continued resilience amidst a physically and culturally toxic environment
Self-Portrait with Dolly and the Williams Sisters
Sue Tirrell
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
9" x 12" x 2"
Date:
2020
Description:
Born in 1868 to a wealthy English family, Evelyn Cameron gave up a life of comfort to immigrate with her husband Ewan to Eastern Montana in 1889. When the Cameron’s scheme to raise polo ponies on the Montana Prairie failed, Evelyn turned to her hobby of Glass Plate Photography to supplement their income. She rode hundreds of miles across the prairie, documenting the lives of everyone in her orbit—from neighboring homesteaders and close women friends to itinerant cowboys, shepherds, trappers and traders. Her photos portray the rigors of life in turn-of-the-Century Montana as well as intimate moments in the lives of families and women in particular. This platter is inspired by a self-portrait Evelyn staged with her best friends and neighbors, Mabel and Janet Williams, which was intended to advertise her photography services.
Split-Skirt
Sue Tirrell
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
9" x 12" x 2"
Date:
2020
Description:
Rancher, photographer and English gentlewoman Evelyn Cameron created a commotion in the notoriously bawdy streets of Miles City, Montana in 1895 when she rode into town astride her horse wearing a split-skirt. “Although my costume was so full as to look like an ordinary walking dress when the wearer was on foot, it created a small sensation. So
great at first was the prejudice against any divided garment in Montana that a warning was given me to abstain from riding on the streets of Miles City lest I might be arrested!
After riding into town forty-eight miles from the ranch, I was much amused at the laughing and giggling girls who stood staring at my costume as I walked about.” The rigors of ranch chores, breaking horses and riding for miles across Montana’s rugged badlands demanded practical attire according to Evelyn. “I always ride stride-legged
now & in a man’s saddle & I am convinced it is the only safe way for a woman to ride. On long rides the physical exertion is so much less.” Source images and diary quotes
from come from the book “Photographing Montana 1894-1928: The Life and Work of Evelyn Cameron” by Donna M. Lucey. For additional information please visit
www.evelyncameron.org
Indya Moore
Hannah Pierce
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware
Measurements:
12" x 11" x 4"
Date:
2020
Description:
Indya Moore is a true icon of our time. They are a transgender, nonbinary actor & model who bravely uses their platform for activism. Recently, they have been actively raising money for Covid-19 relief & housing for black trans people. I fell in love with them after their extraordinary performance, inspiring energy & complete vulnerability in the show Pose. While I was painting Indya, I found out that the only actor in the show to be nominated for an Emmy was a cis man in a show starring transgender actors. This plate is a way of saying, I see you.
Ink braids
Hannah Pierce
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware
Measurements:
14" x 14" x 4"
Date:
2020
Description:
When my grandma was little & going to class in a one room schoolhouse, there was a boy that sat behind her and would dip in braids in ink. After a few times or maybe even the second time, she flicked her braids so the ink would slap him in the face. She has always proudly stated, “I don’t take no shit from nobody”. I grew up hearing all kinds of empowering & unorthodox stories from my grandmas, great grandmas & even one great, great grandma. In knowing they lived in times that were so much harder, & even more discriminatory & sexist, it makes their stories exponentially more impactful & moving. Cheers to bad ass grandmas!
An Kyung-sin
Gunyoung Kim
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
9.5" x 9.5" x 1.25"
Date:
2020
Description:
An Kyung sin (1888- unknown)
An Kyung sin is a women and mother who devoted herself to the independence of Korea. She organized the Korean Patriotic Women’s Society when the first Independence Movement occurred and started the anti-Japanese movement by seeking asylum to Shanghai and contacting with the Korean Provisional Government . In the belief that struggles with violence can achieve independence, she threw a bomb to the Pyeongyang Provincial Government Building with the Korean Liberation Army in 1920 upon the visit of the Team of American Congress Men for the Inspection on Asia, letting the word know of the brutality of Japan. When she threw a bomb, she was pregnant. There are many women independence activists who fought for Korea’s independence. However, history has focused on the stories of male leaders and left behind the effort of countless female independence activist. An Kyung sin was one of the amazing women leaders and I am honored to commemorate her on this plate.
Yu Kwan-sun
Gunyoung Kim
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
9.5" x 9.5" x 1.25"
Date:
2020
Description:
Yu Kwan sun (1902-1920)
Yu Kwan sun was a Korean independence activist. She played an active role in the Independence Movements against Japanese colonial rule in South Korea. She was imprisoned because of her participation and support for Korean independence. While incarcerated she continued to oppose the Japanese government and was eventually transferred to an underground cell. She was repeatedly beaten and tortured and died at the young age of 17.
“Even if my fingernails are torn out, my nose and ears are ripped apart, and my legs and arms are crushed, this physical pain does not compare to the pain of losing my nation,” she wrote in prison. “My only remorse is not being able to do more than dedicating my life to my country.”
Now We Listen
Mimi Logothetis
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
15" x 16" x 6"
Date:
2020
Description:
Louise Bourgeois holds a special place in my heart. Her work speaks to me, to a place deep within me, that is dark, and sad, and angry, and hopeful, all at the same time. I had the honor and pleasure of meeting this magical tiny woman at her home in Chelsea in August of 2001, just before the 9/11 attacks changed the world and New York City, forever. She welcomed artists to her home for critiques and discussion in a salon setting. She was interested in all of us, welders, carpenters, painters, ceramic artists. She asked personal questions about our families, I think we all cried at different points, she offered me a bottle to put my tears in. She had her assistant take out all her chipped, well used transferware china so I could educate her on how it was fabricated, she quieted everyone, got their attention, “ SHhhhhhhh... now we listen....an expert is talking, it is time to learn something new.” This piece references her marble sculpture of an ear, and her parents’ work in tapestry repair. It melds my work of thin porcelain, referencing folds in fabric and marble carved drapery.
Power
Mimi Logothetis
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
15" x 15" x 3"
Date:
2020
Description:
I was born in 1970 and was fascinated with the Black Panthers in general, and Angela Davis specifically as a small child. I grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, Haddonfield, NJ, by no means a diverse town, but in those days, I feel the Civil Rights movement was transcendent and my parents were hopeful and encouraging. The seventies felt alive, changing, anything was possible, at least I felt that way as a little kid. Looking back, I realize how much turmoil and strife was rampant in society, the protests, the struggle, the resistance. In light of that memory of those times and reflecting on the times today, I thought honoring Angela Davis felt right. Years ago I found this black power fist afro pick in my backyard, it came up out of the dirt, and I’ve treasured it since and captured it in an image for this platter, along with a very appropriate and famous quote which resonates more than ever.
Green Mirror
Julia Feld
Medium & Materials:
Clay
Measurements:
12" x 12" x 1.5"
Date:
2020
Description:
I was raised by my maternal grandmother and for a long time she was the most influential female figure in my life. She was an amazing person who taught me how to interact with the world and see more than what appears as obvious and simple. Her way of dealing with hard reality gave me strength to become an observant and thoughtful person. I owe her my independence and ability to transform even the worst circumstances into something positive and constructive.
Unexpected Decision
Julia Feld
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, china paint
Measurements:
11.5" x 11.5" x 1"
Date:
2020
Description:
Before moving to the States where I became an artist, I studied developmental psychology and worked with children at a mental institution. The work of Anna Freud, the founder of psychoanalytic child psychology, was extremely important in my work and my research. She established the link between fantasies and daydreaming as a defense mechanism that children use to escape reality. She was a prolific writer, psychoanalyst and amazing human being who taught the world that every child should be recognized and treated as a unique individual in his/her own right.
In Bed: The Kiss
Kathy King
Medium & Materials:
Mid-Range Porcelain
Measurements:
18" x 18" x 2"
Date:
2020
Description:
Queer female sexual encounters between women is a hard thing to find acknowledged throughout art history. As much the art we see has been researched through a male lens, and only now being reinterpreted through a more diverse community of scholars, it is hard to know the artist’s true intent. Were these women just friends? Sisters? Lovers? This plate is based on the 1892 pastel, “In Bed: The Kiss” by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. At the time, he was spending time in brothels observing sex workers and captured intimate moments, not necessarily involved in sex but conversing and simply being in each other’s company. The tenderness shown in the pastel inspired me to work with this image on this plate – deleting the background and simply bringing the eye to the tender kiss being depicted. A small attempt to turn around the direction of queer women being underrepresented in art – ceramic or otherwise.
Insanity
Kathy King
Medium & Materials:
Mid-Range Porcelain, Copper
Measurements:
24" x 20" x 3.5"
Date:
2020
Description:
Though not a plate, this portrait titled “Insanity” originally depicted how I felt about the political landscape with Trump at the helm in our country. The image in a way haunts me as I had no idea how much harder the future would be. The iconography of a woman with wild hair, restrained by a strait jacket (implemented first in France in 1772) could be from many different time-periods. Women were institutionalized for “hysteria” – a dubious medical diagnosis that covered everything from anxiety, shortness of breath, outbursts of anger, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in the abdomen or sexually forward behavior. So, according to this list, I could self-diagnoses myself right now with female hysteria! With the ongoing racism and injustice towards people of color every day, COVID and the current leadership in our country – this image pretty much sums up this moment in time.
Gardens
Katherine Hackl
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
11.5" x 11.5" x 2"
Date:
2020
Description:
The Gardens plate is in honor of my mom. She is a strong, driven woman of many talents in business and conservation. But she is most at ease, creative and happy in her gardens. I love our strolls together through her endless garden beds as she shares her favorite plants and flowers. She is a fountain of information enthusiasm for the natural world.
Fireflies
Katherine Hackl
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
11" x 11" x 1"
Date:
2020
Description:
The firefly plate is in honor of Marilyn Keating- ‘cuz she’s awesome! Marilyn is an ingenious artist with a clear voice, a great humor and she has never lost the skill of play, adventure and wonder. She is an inspiration.
Alice
Sara E. Morales-Morgan
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, gold luster, varnish
Measurements:
14.5" x 7.75" x 1.5"
Date:
2020
Description:
Alice has been a source of comfort for me for as long as I can remember. In high school, I would repeatedly watch the 1951 Disney film: Alice in Wonderland, to distract my mind during depressive episodes. I've continued this practice to this day. My recurring escapes into Wonderland have inspired my world view and my artistic practice tremendously. From the story and character, to the imagery and many artistic interpretations, it's influence can be found throughout my artwork. Here, I've depicted two versions of Alice reaching for one another through a portal of daises. This imagery mirrors Alice's perpetual journey to find herself...something I too am searching for.
Momma
Sara E. Morales-Morgan
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, gold luster, varnish
Measurements:
10.5" x 10.5" x 2"
Date:
2020
Description:
My mother, Deborah Denney Morales, is one of my greatest inspirations. She is an incredibly strong and loving woman who has ben through so much in her life. She has dealt with substantial illness multiple times, but continues to push forward and be positive. She is always on my mind, and I strive to live by her example.
The Rose Fish
Suzanne Wolfe
Medium & Materials:
Rosenthal Pompadour pattern plate; decals
Measurements:
8" x 8" x 1"
Date:
2020
Description:
Madame de Pompadour was mistress and advisor to King Louis XV of France. She was incessantly criticized by the nobility during her time in court, possibly because of her power and influence as a woman and that she had not been born an aristocrat. She possessed an extensive library, and even printed historical works on her own printing press. .A stalwart patron of the arts, she was particularly supportive of innovations at the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory. The pink ground color, rose pompadour, developed at Sèvres was named in her honor.
On the plate, created by Rosenthal in the Pompadour pattern, she is shown behind a lattice, symbolizing the various barriers she was to confront. The small rococo style monkey sports two pieces created for her at Sèvres, featuring the rose pompadour ground color. The fish refer to her surname, Poisson, while the palace of Versailles hovers in the background.
Every Sentiment Being Was Once Your Mother
Suzanne Wolfe
Medium & Materials:
Noritake Rosemarie pattern plate; decals
Measurements:
8.5" x 8.5" x .82"
Date:
2020
Description:
Rosetta was my mother, born on a farm in the mid-west and surrounded by cornfields. She told me stories about the farm, butterflies, ice cream, and crows. She watched me ride a tricycle in front of my grandmother’s house.
But….
My mother is also MOTHER – the mother. There is not a single sentient being that in the past has not been your mother. If we understand this, then there is not any other living being that should not be treated with love, respect, and compassion.
The Bluest Eye
Patsy Cox
Medium & Materials:
Colored Clay
Measurements:
10.75" x 10.75" x 2"
Date:
2020
Description:
When I read Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye, as a young adult, it was an emotional and visceral journey about race, class and gender that became a vivid and unforgettable image of power structures that continue to exist.
Empress Wu
Patsy Cox
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain/inlay/underglaze transfer
Measurements:
10.25" x 10.25" x 1.5"
Date:
2020
Description:
Wu Zetian was China's only female emperor (683-690). She has been documented as a leader who brought relative stability, peace and prosper to her people. She is the only woman to have occupied China's throne in a culture and time when it was considered an abomination. I find this inspirational.
But for the Grace of God
Russel Biles
Medium & Materials:
Inlaid Porcelain
Measurements:
7.5" x 11.5" x 1" (Diptych)
Description:
Ms. Honey Bruce Friedman(1927-2005) and Ms. Geraldine Garmon Biles (1933-2011) were both strong beautiful redheaded women that I respect and admire. Ms. Honey I knew only from written text and images, while Ms. Geraldine was my Mother. Both women were born poor in the South. Ms. Honey did not know her father and my Mom's dad died when she was young. Their lives took different paths but merged back later in life.
Ms. Honey is probably best known for her seven year marriage to the satirical genius Lenny Bruce and her success in having Lenny's obscenity convictions overturned posthumously. To me, her personal tragic journey through the darkness and reemergence into the light speaks volumes about the power of love and forgiveness. The love she had for her Daughter Kitty and the forgiveness she sought from her, gave Ms. Honey the strength to overcome her past. Ms. Honey's story exemplifies humanity and is deserving of honor.
As previously stated Ms.Geraldine is my mother. My Mom was a caregiver by nature with a cynical Southern sense of humor. Her professional life was spent caring for and teaching special needs children but mostly she showed them love and they loved her back. No matter how physically deformed, mentally impaired, or emotionally damaged she loved them all. To allow herself to love these children was at times extremely painful because at times that was all she could do. Most painful for her were the last children she worked with, the emotionally disturbed, because the only thing wrong with these children was the result of what an adult had done to them. She is the best in me.
Alice Chalmers, RN
Pattie Chalmers
Measurements:
10" x 10" x 0.5"
Description:
The pandemic created a need for flexibility, limited studio, and
focus on front line health care professionals created a new
expression through drawings on paper that has landed on the
surface of secondhand porcelain plates. The removal of the
physical environment expands the importance of these individ-
uals for me and also in the broader context.
This plate is my “Auntie” Dot, companion of Great Aunt Alice,
two women making a mark on the lives of many, especially
mine.
Dot Stewart, RN
Pattie Chalmers
Measurements:
10" x 10" x 0.5"
Description:
The pandemic created a need for flexibility, limited studio, and
focus on front line health care professionals created a new
expression through drawings on paper that has landed on the
surface of secondhand porcelain plates. The removal of the
physical environment expands the importance of these individ-
uals for me and also in the broader context.
This plate is my “Auntie” Dot, companion of Great Aunt Alice,
two women making a mark on the lives of many, especially
mine.
Emoji Plate
Adam Chau
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
8" x 10.5" x 0.5"
Description:
I’ve chosen to use the internet aesthetics of emojis to try to insight a universal understanding of pro-queer rights, in this case female-affirming couples. I find middle-ground (as a cis-gendered male) in the celebration of the inclusion of same-sex emojis being available and visible in many smartphone systems. Language and symbols constantly evolve and it took time for many companies to include variation in how groups are represented online - I am hopeful in the continuation and addition of marginalized symbols in our ever growing culture.
Emoji Plate 1
Adam Chau
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
8" x 10.5" x 0.5"
Description:
I’ve chosen to use the internet aesthetics of emojis to try to insight a universal understanding of pro-queer rights, in this case female-affirming couples. I find middle-ground (as a cis-gendered male) in the celebration of the inclusion of same-sex emojis being available and visible in many smartphone systems. Language and symbols constantly evolve and it took time for many companies to include variation in how groups are represented online - I am hopeful in the continuation and addition of marginalized symbols in our ever growing culture.
Grace Lee Bogs
Jennifer Ling Datchuk
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
9.5" x 3.75" x 2"
Description:
Revolutionary activist, community leader, and author Grace Lee
Boggs made the struggle for Black freedom her life’s work. She
believed the way to change society was to take responsibility and
create opportunities for others to feel like they are a part of it. She
embraced a philosophy of constant questioning of not just individ-
uals but local ofcials to nationalist governments to a bigger global
picture.
Boggs writes, “People are aware that they cannot continue in the
same old way but are immobilized because they cannot imagine
an alternative. We need a vision that recognizes that we are at one
of the great turning points in human history when the survival of
our planet and the restoration of our humanity require a great sea
change in our ecological, economic, political, and spiritual values.”
Jennifer Ling Datchuk
Mabel Ping- Hua Lee
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
9.5" x 3.75" x 2"
Description:
This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the
19th Amendment that guaranteed American women the right to vote.
In 1920, this did not give all women the right to vote, as Asian Ameri-
can women could not vote until 1952, Native American women could
not vote in all 50 states until 1957, and a majority of Black women
could not vote until 1965.
As a Chinese immigrant, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee was barred from vot-
ing due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act even after the ratification
of the 19th Amendment. Chinese women like her were not given the
right to vote until 1943. At 16 years old, she made history when she
led one of the major women’s sufrage marches in New York City. She
marched alongside other women and women of color, and advocated
that sufrage for women was essential to a successful democracy. In
her essay “The Submerged Half” she urged the Chinese community to
promote girls’ education and encourage participation in civic duties.
She went on to receive a Ph.D. in economics at the previously all-male
Columbia University, the first Chinese woman to do so. Later in life, Dr.
Lee also served as director of the First Chinese Baptist Church in New
York City.
Dr. Mabel Lee died in 1966. In 2018, U.S. Congress approved legislation
to rename the United States Post Ofce at 6 Doyers Street in China
Town, New York City, in her honor.
Rachel Carson
Julia Galloway
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, Underglaze, Luster
Measurements:
9" x 7" x 1"
Description:
Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was a marine biologist, author and conservationist. Her book ‘the silent spring’ explained in-depth the dangerous effect that chemicals, especially DDT, was having on the environment and a variety of species. This publication brought awareness to the public and was a factor in Richard Nixon signing the Clean Water Act in 1972. Rachel Carson has taught me that even just one person can make a huge and lasting difference in the health of the world. I am inspired by her dedication, and trying very hard to follow in her footsteps in my own studio work.
Toni Morrison
Julia Galloway
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, Underglaze, luster
Measurements:
9" x 7" x 1"
Description:
Toni Morrison (1931-2019) novelist, essayist, editor and college professor. From reading Toni Morrisons books and essays, I learned to believe in myself, to make the kind of pottery that I want to use, and that power is strong and delicate. I learned to love things that are difficult and to push into challenge. I learned that I should be ‘all that” and be ‘all in’ and to push. From Toni Morrison I learned what metaphor is, and how to express even the most difficult things through great beauty.
Willa Cather
Jessica Brandl
Measurements:
10.5" x 10.5" x 1.75"
Description:
Willa Cather wrote many novels with women as the focal point. The regions these novels are set in feel feminine and frame the cultural and social elements that hemm in her female characters. I love Willa Cather most because she wrote female characters with complex inner worlds set in pioneer towns working to survive in what was a man world.
Rebecca Solnit
Jessica Brandl
Medium & Materials:
Earthenware
Measurements:
10" x10.5" x 1.5"
Description:
Rebecca Solnit, a brilliant writer helped me to recognize the power of my own voice and helped me to feel valued as a woman.
Nina E. Allender
Kyungmin Park
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, glaze, gold luster, gold leaf
Measurements:
11" x 11" x 1.75"
Description:
Nina Evans Allender, 1872-1957 Nina Allender was a feminist, a suffragist, and an artist. She had a shrewd sense of humor and an innovative perspective on women. Her drawings changed the course of one of the most important civil rights movements in the history of the United States.
Mary Church Terrell
Kyungmin Park
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, underglaze, resin
Measurements:
11.5" x 11.5" x 1.25"
Description:
Mary Church Terrell, 1863-1954.
Terrell was the co-founder and President of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), and active member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Passionate about racial and gender equality, she also picketed the White House for Suffrage
with the National Woman’s Party (NWP).
Huelga
George Rodriguez
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
10" x 10" x 1.5"
Description:
A voice amplified can unify the voiceless. Sustenance for the masses is an organized endeavor, yet, the fruits of labor are sweetest to those with sweatless brows. So, we say, Huelga! Huelga! Grapes in exchange for farmers rights. A juicy proposition not easily ignored. Heels stay firmly dug into the soil as liberties inch forward. There’s a long road ahead. Si Se Puede!
¡Azúcar!
George Rodriguez
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
11.25" x 11.25" x 2"
Description:
The sounds of Havana permeate the globe. Salsa, Guaracha, Son, Bolero y Rumba. When the Queen of Latin Music sings, the body responds. We dance to the rhythms because la vida es un carnaval. And since la negra tiene tumbao, we continue the conga line from now until the last drum beat. ¡Azúcar!
Alberta Hunter
Alex Stadler
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware
Measurements:
10" x 10" x .75"
Description:
Both Alberta Hunter and Diana Vreeland were adults in 1920. Diana Vreeland was 17 years of age and Alberta Hunter was 25. When women were first able to vote, both came of age in a world where women were denied the vote. Both were active in Paris during the 1920’s and 1930’s. They most likely knew each other. Both lived through The Feminist Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The had active late in life careers well into their 80’s. Although their backgrounds were markedly distinct, they both followed similar trajectories of discovery, independence and self hood.
Diana Vreeland
Alex Stadler
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware
Measurements:
10" x 10" x 0.75"
Description:
Both Alberta Hunter and Diana Vreeland were adults in 1920. Diana Vreeland was 17 years of age and Alberta Hunter was 25. When women were first able to vote, both came of age in a world where women were denied the vote. Both were active in Paris during the 1920’s and 1930’s. They most likely knew each other. Both lived through The Feminist Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The had active late in life careers well into their 80’s. Although their backgrounds were markedly distinct, they both followed similar trajectories of discovery, independence and self hood.
Homeplace I
Syd Carpenter
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware
Measurements:
22.5" x 19.5" x 12"
Description:
The phrase “home place” is evocative of family, domesticity, and
sanctuary. Things are cared for, tended to, valued and shared. Home
places are often women centered places. They occupy real space as
well as emotional and imaginary spaces. These plates use emblems
of the farm, of tilled earth, fences, domestic animals and shelters to
represent a refuge, an ofering of those elusive assurances of a place
to call home.
These references are made accessible through sculptural language
and architectural relationships. Adjacent volumetric shapes, contrasts
in texture, collisions and intersections of line and gesture are em-
ployed in the presence of light. However interpreted, these objects
that are imagined and built by me, a black woman, and account for a
voice in our shared conversation on the act of making, and the intri-
cate connections made in doing so.
Homeplace II
Syd Carpenter
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware
Measurements:
24" x 22" x 11.25"
Description:
The phrase “home place” is evocative of family, domesticity, and
sanctuary. Things are cared for, tended to, valued and shared. Home
places are often women centered places. They occupy real space as
well as emotional and imaginary spaces. These plates use emblems
of the farm, of tilled earth, fences, domestic animals and shelters to
represent a refuge, an ofering of those elusive assurances of a place
to call home.
These references are made accessible through sculptural language
and architectural relationships. Adjacent volumetric shapes, contrasts
in texture, collisions and intersections of line and gesture are em-
ployed in the presence of light. However interpreted, these objects
that are imagined and built by me, a black woman, and account for a
voice in our shared conversation on the act of making, and the intri-
cate connections made in doing so.
Jane Griffith Elliott
Roberta Griffith
Medium & Materials:
Ceramic
Measurements:
11.5" x 11.5" x 0.75"
Description:
Jane Griffith Elliott, a trailblazer with an adventurous spirit, numbered among the first 100 Licensed Psychologists of Michigan. She was a school psychologist in educational settings including Southwestern Junior High, Battle Creek, Michigan. Then, Springfield School District, outside Battle Creek. Ultimately, school psychologist in Southgate, MI for 2000 children, and where she established a private counseling and testing clinic. Early on, she organized, tested and established a program for handicapped children at the Gil Henke School District outside Battle Creek, providing leadership in this area before the State of Michigan funded this educational category. Jane Elliott accomplished enormous amounts of pro-bono testing. She was kind and generous to a fault for family, friends and all people. We traveled, she sewed my prom dress, typed 100 words a minute, wrote wonderful letters to me, and everyone. Jane Griffith Elliott, my mother, an accomplished woman who worked full-time with integrity and love, is inspirational.
Dorothy Day
Roberta Griffith
Medium & Materials:
Ceramic
Measurements:
12" x 12" x 1"
Description:
Dorothy Day, born November 8, 1897, Brooklyn, NY, USA - died November 29,1980, was an American humanitarian, reformer and journalist. She was a founder of the Catholic Worker Movement joining radical social reform with the Roman Catholic faith for social justice and peace. Dorothy became a Catholic Christian, abandoning her youthful bohemian and anarchist activism. She spent her life pursuing social justice via the church on the basis that worker’s had rights to dignity, a union, and that things exist for people in response to Communism and excessive Capitalism. On May 1, 1933, she founded, “Workers’ of the World,” Catholic paper. Then, she bought a building, and admonished people to accept personal responsibility, feed your brother, and that is how soup kitchens started. She embodies much of what we need, a genuine empathy for others. She is a model of authenticity, integrity, and how to live one’s life as a peacemaker.
Lina Bo Bardi
Molly Hatch
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
9" x 9" x 1"
Description:
Designer Lina Bo Bardi built her multidisciplinary career with success as an architect, furniture designer, set designer, and journalist. Bo Bardi was known for design forged in social consciousness and her work was grounded in a responsibility to the everyday. As a post-war Italian émigré in Brazil, Bo Bardi was inspired by the country itself, which led to her designs with a focus on utility and function and a focus on community.
Gertrude Stein
Molly Hatch
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
9" x 9" x 1"
Description:
Gertrude Stein was an American modern novelist, poet and art collector who spent a large portion of her life living in France. Known for her Paris Salon gatherings of artists, authors and poets, she surrounded herself with creatives and became a central figure in the Parisian art scene. Stein is also known for her openly unconventional lifelong partnership with Alice B. Toklas.The quote on this plate is from a recently discovered love poem Gertrude Stein wrote for her partner, Alice B. Toklas in 1940, found in Stein's notebook in 1981— "yes I would and / I do love all you with all me."
Kris Moore
Jane Irish
Description:
Kris Moore is a backbone of VVAW. She has mentored me for prac-
ticing peace since 2005. I’m thinking I wouldn’t be making the art I
am without knowing I was doing it for our shared beliefs. She makes
an efort to be in touch with me, and sees the value of telling a story.
I just think she is the coolest woman I know and I’m proud to be the
same species. She held a crucial role during the VVAW Winter Sol-
dier Investigation 1971.
In January 1971, VVAW would hold a military crimes tribunal, called
Winter Soldier, in Detroit. In this demonstration, the veterans held
their own inquiry, now part of the US Congressional Record, to gath-
er and present testimony from soldiers about war crimes committed
in Southeast Asia.
Jere Knight and Jane Fonda
Jane Irish
Description:
This little painting imagines Operation Raw, 1970. The Quaker story
is told in an HSP Legacies article and also in the story of leader Al
Hubbard. Many of my paintings are based on this information. Scott
Moore, VVAW leader, gave me the picture of Jere Knight (she is the
Quaker woman) and himself. Jere was a leader of Quaker life at that
time assisting the vets with connections to meeting houses and the-
atre groups.
As the 95-mile march progressed, the demonstrators encamped or
bivouacked at Gwynedd Friends Meeting and local farms owned by
Quakers sympathetic to the antiwar cause. Young Quakers and actors
from Philadelphia Guerrilla Theater troupe (actors from the early days
of Peoples Light, Wilma, and Philadelphia Theater companies) per-
formed as villagers in the Pennsylvania towns of Doylestown, Centre
Bridge, Solebury, and Springfield. VVAWs enacted rounding up and
harassing civilians.
Jane Fonda raised consciousness and made art to stop the war. We
are proud for all the work she has done and all that she has endured,
the adversity and her courage.
Chantal Ackerman
Jennifer Johnson
Measurements:
11.5" x 11.5" x 1"
Description:
Chantal Ackerman (1950-2015) A Belgian filmmaker whose Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975, 201 min) is a masterpiece. My plate captures several key screen shots from the film and reproduces them as a feminine, flouncy, filmic border. Much of the film centers on the kitchen and meal preparation, with a powder-blue housecoat protecting better clothing.
Shot with a still camera, the film is constructed from long takes. Documenting domestic and maternal labor, her mother's experience as a holocaust survivor lies just below the surface. Its violent ending argues for the possibility of transformation. An obsessive work, it is preoccupied with how order and repetition keep the unthinkable out-of-mind. 45 years later it is still strikingly relevant as a ground-breaking feminist film. As an artist, I return to it time and time again for inspiration.
Lygia Pape
Jennifer Johnson
Medium & Materials:
porcelain
Measurements:
11" x 11" x 1.5"
Description:
Lygia Pape (1927-2004) A Brazilian visual artist who co-founded the Neo-Concrete movement, my plate is a homage to her 1960 “Book of Creation.” I chose her because of how important this work of art is to me. Composed of 16 one-foot square cardboard paintings, some of them manipulable, the viewer becomes an explorer, discovering the relationships through its rich language of geometry, color, narrative and history. She infused her practice, often political and deadly serious, with sharp humor, like adding her face to a photo of Duchamp's body in “Etant Donnes?”, alluding to the model, his lover Brazilian sculpture Maria Martins.
“The Book of Creation” is such a non-precious work of art, made from everyday paint and cardboard album covers that it seemed just right to use as a plate border. While mimicking a more generic design, it's waiting for an interested viewer to notice.
Widows and Aardvark
Trisha Kyner
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware
Measurements:
12" x 9.75" x 7.25"
Description:
My plate honors the Surrealist writer and painter Leonora Carrington. In her short stories, novels, and paintings Carrington created brash and wild heroines, as well as mystical scenes of women collaborating in rituals. To love Carrington is to love the imagination and to believe in magic. Leonora Carrington lived a long, adventurous life in France, Mexico and the United States. This plate is a re-interpretation of her painting “Aardvark Groomed by Widows." The figure of the widow has personal significance for me. My father and grandfather died when I was in my early teens, and I was raised through adolescence by two amazing widows: Nancy and Vera Kyner. I made this plate in my mother's garage during the pandemic.
Juanita
Renee LoPresti
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware, underglazes, glazes
Measurements:
9.25" x 9.25" x 1"
Description:
Juanita was a registered nurse, watercolor painter and avid gardener. I spent my childhood living next door to her and often would find her in the backyard tending to her beautiful terraced gardens. It was in these colorful gardens (or her flower filled solarium) that we spent most of our time together. She had an incredible nature about her; compassionate and nurturing with the ability to speak what could otherwise be painful truths from a place of love and kindness. She was everything I could have ever dreamed a grandmother to be and will be remembered as the most influential woman in my life.
Lesa
Renee LoPresti
Medium & Materials:
stoneware, underglazes, glazes
Measurements:
9.25" x 9.25" x 1"
Description:
Lesa is an entrepreneur, exemplary cook, and mother. Working in a male-dominated industry, she left a secure job to build her own business focused on creating diversity in the workplace through job placement and recruiting. Incredibly supportive of the LQBTQIA community; she creates equal work opportunities to dismantle gender stereotypes in her field. Lesa is the most gracious woman I have had the pleasure of knowing first hand; it was with her encouragement and support that I had the confidence to leave my job to become a self-employed ceramic artist.
Erykah Badu
Roberto Lugo
Measurements:
10.75" x 10.75" x 1"
Description:
Erykah Badu is an American singer-songwriter, record producer
and actress. She has been dubbed “the first lady of neo soul” and
“the queen of neo-soul”. Baduizm, her first album (1997), won com-
mercial and critical success, and earned Erykah Badu popularity at
the time and helped establish her as one of the emerging neo soul
genre’s leading artists.
Harriet Tubman
Roberto Lugo
Measurements:
10.75" x 10.75" x 1.5"
Description:
Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, c.March 1822 – March 10, 1913) was an
American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped
and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved
people, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists
and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil
War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years,
Tubman was an activist in the movement for women’s sufrage.
In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia, only to return to Maryland to rescue
her family soon after. Slowly, one group at a time, she brought relatives with
her out of the state, and eventually guided dozens of other enslaved people to
freedom. Traveling by night and in extreme secrecy, Tubman (or “Moses”, as she
was called) “never lost a passenger.” After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was
passed, she helped guide fugitives farther north into British North America (Can-
ada), and helped newly freed enslaved people to find work. Tubman met John
Brown in 1858, and helped him plan and recruit supporters for his 1859 raid on
Harpers Ferry.
When the Civil War began, Tubman worked for the Union Army, first as a cook
and nurse, and then as an armed scout and spy. The first woman to lead an
armed expedition in the war, she guided the raid at Combahee Ferry, which
liberated more than 700 enslaved people. After the war, she retired to the family
home on property she had purchased in 1859 in Auburn, New York, where she
cared for her aging parents. She was active in the women’s sufrage movement
until illness overtook her, and she had to be admitted to a home for elderly Afri-
can Americans that she had helped to establish years earlier. After her death in
1913, she became an icon of courage and freedom. —Wikipedia
Storme' DeLarverie
Mac McCusker
Medium & Materials:
Red Earthenware
Measurements:
14" x 11" x 2"
Description:
Stormé DeLarverie reportedly threw the first punch at the Stonewall
rebellion. She was a performer and bouncer at the Jewel Revue and
spent her life protecting and fighting the “ugly” in the world and pro-
tecting others.
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and
recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower
Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969,
which is widely considered to be the single most important event
leading to the Gay Liberation Movement and the modern fight for
LGBT rights in the United States.
Miss Major Griffin- Gracy
Mac McCusker
Medium & Materials:
Red Earthenware
Measurements:
14" x 11" x 2"
Description:
Miss Major is a transgender activist fighting for equality for transgen-
der individuals especially transgender women of color. Her famous
quote has become the motto for Black trans lives.
Miss Major served as the original Executive Director for the Trans-
gender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project, which aims to assist
transgender persons, who are disproportionately incarcerated under
the prison-industrial complex. Grifn-Gracy has participated in activ-
ism for a wide range of causes throughout her lifetime, including the
1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.
Captain Vernice Armour, USMC
Jessica Putnam- Phillips
Measurements:
7" x 7" x 2"
Description:
Vernice Armour is the first African America woman pilot in the USMC
and the first African-American woman combat pilot in the entire US
Military armed forces. She served two tours in Iraq flying the AH-1w
Super Cobra attack helicopter providing close air support during
operation Iraqi Freedom.
“Do what average people do, you’ll have what average people have.”
—Capt. Vernice Armour, USMC.
Captain Kelsey Casey, USMC
Jessica Putnam- Phillips
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
10" x 10" x 2"
Description:
Kelsey Kasey is the first and only woman AV-8B Harrier pilot. She
recently deployed with Marine attack squadron 311 in the Middle East
as part of as part of Special Marine Air-Ground Task Force. Providing
ground support to US and allied troops operating against ISIS and
other terrorist organizations in the area.
“I don’t think I’m better than anybody else ever,” she said. “I’m very
good at failing but I don’t give up after I fail. Just don’t give up. It
might take way longer than you thought, it might be really, really
hard but anything that’s worth it is going to be hard but it will be
worth it.” —Capt. Kelsey Casey, USMC
Paige Willett & Gerald Brown
Amanda Schneider
Medium & Materials:
Terracotta
Measurements:
7.5" x 7.5" x 1.75"
Description:
This work celebrates two women and close personal friends of mine—Paige Willett and Gerald Brown. With these plates, I contemplate ideas around safety and what we put in place to make us feel secure in relationships. This object is a replica of a lid for a bear canister—a bear-proof food storage container used by backpackers. The interior surface of the plate reads the words Sweet and Savory—code words we use before talking about bad days to establish consent for receiving information and maintaining respect for each other’s emotional labor. There are two nearly identical plates—one for each woman. However, each individual plate represents both women in equal parts. This demonstrates the ways in which the development and maintenance of healthy, secure relationships increases the potential to replicate themselves within our ever-expanding and evolving communities.
Paige Willett & Gerald Brown 2
Amanda Schneider
Medium & Materials:
Terracotta
Measurements:
7.75" x 7.75" x 2"
Description:
This work celebrates two women and close personal friends of mine—Paige Willett and Gerald Brown. With these plates, I contemplate ideas around safety and what we put in place to make us feel secure in relationships. This object is a replica of a lid for a bear canister—a bear-proof food storage container used by backpackers. The interior surface of the plate reads the words Sweet and Savory—code words we use before talking about bad days to establish consent for receiving information and maintaining respect for each other’s emotional labor. There are two nearly identical plates—one for each woman. However, each individual plate represents both women in equal parts. This demonstrates the ways in which the development and maintenance of healthy, secure relationships increases the potential to replicate themselves within our ever-expanding and evolving communities.
Dolly
Mallory Wetherell
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, Hand-painted Underglaze, Gold Luster
Measurements:
8.25” x 7” x 1”
Description:
I chose to pay homage to the Great Dolly Parton because she is a cultural icon. Her poetry and
philanthropy have given her the ability to connect with individuals across political, religious,
and social barriers. I admire how Dolly is – and has always been – unapologetically true to
herself. Not only is she multi-talented and timeless, but she is smart, hard-working, and
hilarious. No doubt, Dolly Parton has made the world a whole lot brighter. That is why
(although she has many amazing quotes), I chose to include her words, “The way I see it, if you
want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain” on this plate commemorating her.
RBG
Mallory Wetherell
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, Hand-painted Underglaze, Gold Luster
Measurements:
9.75” x 9.5” x 1”
Description:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg seemed like an obvious choice when thinking about this particular
exhibition. For decades, she has been a steadfast advocate for the advancement of gender
equality and women’s rights. She has become an icon for women empowerment. And while
the Notorious RBG is known for her bold and brave remarks, I also love her because she has the
innate ability to tastefully disagree. She’s classy – not nasty. For God’s sake, the amazing
woman uses fashion (a jabot) to dissent. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a fighter and a true inspiration.
Marsha P. Johnson
Hope Rovelto
Medium & Materials:
Screen Print 4 Color Process on Paper
Measurements:
12" x 12"
Description:
This year more than ever, we must protest against the brutality towards Black and Brown folks especially Black Trans Lives. “Sadly, 2020 has already seen at least 26 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. We say at least because too often these stories go unreported -- or misreported.”- HRC. We must remember what we are fighting for as we present ourselves in rainbow colors on Pride day, it was a riot against police brutality among LGBTQ+ Marsha P. Johnson stood up for her rights in the gay liberation movement. We must give power to the people, Vote 2020.
Shirley Chisolm and Kamala Harris
Hope Rovelto
Medium & Materials:
Screen Print 4 Color Process on Paper
Measurements:
12" x 12"
Description:
Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman in 1968 to be elected to the United States Congress, and was nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties. Without Shirley Chisholm, I don’t know if we would 52 years later see the first Indian/Jamaican American to ever be nominated for high office of Vice President of The United States. Representation matters. Vote 2020
Memory of You
Ahrong Kim
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware, luster
Measurements:
9.5" x 9.5" x 3"
Date:
2020
Description:
My greatest source of inspiration is my grandmother. She was the personal seamstress for the vice president of Korea before the outbreak of the Korean War. She was well known for her ability to produce sophisticated clothes and for her attention to detail and flawless stitchery. Growing up beside her, I watched her, equipped only with her hands and a sewing machine, gracefully transform fabrics of every texture and color into elegant garments.
I can still recall the musical hum of my grandmother’s sewing machine while I played—scribbling on paper, coloring the walls with waxy crayons, and making abstract sculptures with rubber clay. We would take long walks together through picturesque landscapes of my hometown. At the top of a hill, we would sit and look at the village below; its vibrant yellows, reds, and blues changed with the sunrise and sunset. Those textures and colors inspired an essential part of my work.Inspired by those memories, the use of textures and colors grew to be an essential part of my work. As a ceramic artist, I often express my influence in the form of layered slabs that are detailed with stitching and vibrant colors. It is reminiscent of traditional Korean patchwork, woven together from various fabrics. Everyday I use the memories of my grandmother to make my work different and unique.
Best Gift from You
Ahrong Kim
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain, plaster, acrylic paint
Measurements:
8" x 11" x 4"
Date:
2020
Description:
My greatest source of inspiration is my grandmother. She was the personal seamstress for the vice president of Korea before the outbreak of the Korean War. She was well known for her ability to produce sophisticated clothes and for her attention to detail and flawless stitchery. Growing up beside her, I watched her, equipped only with her hands and a sewing machine, gracefully transform fabrics of every texture and color into elegant garments.
I can still recall the musical hum of my grandmother’s sewing machine while I played—scribbling on paper, coloring the walls with waxy crayons, and making abstract sculptures with rubber clay. We would take long walks together through picturesque landscapes of my hometown. At the top of a hill, we would sit and look at the village below; its vibrant yellows, reds, and blues changed with the sunrise and sunset. Those textures and colors inspired an essential part of my work.Inspired by those memories, the use of textures and colors grew to be an essential part of my work. As a ceramic artist, I often express my influence in the form of layered slabs that are detailed with stitching and vibrant colors. It is reminiscent of traditional Korean patchwork, woven together from various fabrics. Everyday I use the memories of my grandmother to make my work different and unique.
Shirley Hunt: Viola da Gamba and Cello
Stephanie Osser
Medium & Materials:
Porcelain
Measurements:
11.5” x 11.5” x 1"
Date:
2020
Description:
My friend Shirley Hunt, a talented musician, who plays Viola da Gamba and Cello, is my inspiration for this “noteworthy” women’s portrait. In Shirley's own words, "Music is like magic. It has the power to connect us with the divine, and with the infinite beauty of nature. Music can console us, and it can bring us joy. Its reach extends beyond borders, and beyond the limitations of time and space. They say that music expresses what words cannot – I agree. It leads us to understand and believe that we are all one, even in the darkest of times. Shirley performs throughout the Northeast with Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Emmanuel Music, and the Cramer Quartet. She is also a frequent guest performer at the Musical Instrument Collection of the Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston. To learn more about Shirley and her music, please visit
www.shirleyhunt.net or follow her on Instagram @shirleymirley. Check out this short clip she made specially for The Clay Studio to show the difference between the cello and the Viola Da Gamba https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=I5ggymFKu5w&feature=emb_logo
Suzanne Pemsler
Stephanie Osser
Medium & Materials:
Stoneware
Measurements:
12” x 12” x 1.5”
Date:
2020
Description:
My friend, Suzanne Pemsler—a talented lyric-coloratura soprano/puppeteer, is my inspiration for this “noteworthy women” portrait. Suzanne brings the color and excitement of Opera to the concert stage in tours with PUPPET DIVAS — life-sized puppets of opera characters that she creates for performances in the US, Italy, Israel, Norway, England and India (by invitation of the Indian government). She also does many month-long Artist-in-Residencies in New England, Montana and Louisiana. Her unusual performances of music/opera/puppetry began when the Boston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs invited her to create an outdoor Puppet Theater for “Summerthing,” a Summer Arts Program. Soon, she was commissioned to make puppets for public television, and her frequent concerts were entitled: International Song with Life-Sized-Puppets. Suzanne was called “The Pied Piper of Opera" in a Christian Science Monitor two-page centerfold, and she was recently honored by the Massachusetts Puppet Showplace Theater noting 4,000 spirited PUPPET DIVAS events.
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