Phase III

I decided to carry the Women In Action series over the last Phase of the semester.  Initially, I was planning using some of the photographs from Phase II to create large scale paintings. I thought of using a projector to enlarge the images.  I imagine they would look good as banners/posters.  As I continue to search through my archives, I found more photographs I wanted to share.  I came across a photograph of a plaster cast I had made of myself a few years ago.  I played around with the images, layering some of my favorite prints. over the cast.  I really like what was happening to the torso image, as faces of women emerge from it.

I want to make another cast of myself and make a collage using the images of historical women whose work continues  inspire me.   I also want to show the action of reclaiming the female body as it has been manipulated and abuse my male artists for many centuries, and most currently by corporate media.

While washing the contour of my body I had a great revelation, instead of making a collage on the torso cast, I should project a few images of women who have inspired me to learn and grow.  Women who have put themselves on the line of danger in the name of justice and freedom.  I think it makes sense to manipulate their images in  GIMP before projecting them onto the casts that way they will coincide with my printed images from PHASE II.  Once traced, I will paint them with black acrylic paint.  The main idea:  we embody the ideas and work of these women and all those who worked so hard to contribute to social equity/equality/justice.  These women are the foundation for our victories and continue to give hope to future generations.

I told a few friends about my work and asked if they would be willing to model.  I was delightedly surprised when they agree to help out.  They are also providing me with a list of women who inspire them.

I really enjoyed working with plaster.  However, I realized that although I had made cast of two of my sisters while they were pregnant, working on my friends felt a bit awkward (at least at the beginning).  I felt their of sense of vulnerability, that it made me someone uncomfortable.  As I continue to work, the process became more natural.  I feel this experience brought me much closer to my two friends, as we shared stories about our lives which we had not shared before.  We spoke of our relationships with our mothers and some of our fears as women.  We also share ideas around reclaiming our own bodies and the roles we played in the process of our empowerment.

Once the plaster pieces were finally dried, I realized that time was running short.  I was concern with not being able to transfer the images as I had envisioned.  I made the decision to save the image-idea for another time and instead, choose a few empowering words which I felt worked well with the body casts.  I would like to continue working on the casts at another time.

"A woman is a full circle.  Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform" - Diane Mariechild, author of inspirational women literature. "Mother Wit" and "Inner Dance"








"Woman by birth, feminist by choice" - Guerrilla Girls










"Get up, get up. Don't be afraid.  free yourself fromt eh shados
and fight for your rights". - translation of lyrics "Hima"  by Nawal (Voice of Comoros, Africa)