Marilyn Monroe

2008 mixed media

I'm very definitely a woman and I enjoy it.

- Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962)

With every year that passes, I enjoy who I am and where I am headed...
Being a woman is a great adventure.
Being a woman is a gift...an honor.

Frida Kahlo

2008 mixed media

Pies para qué los quiero si tengo alas para volar...

Feet why do I need them if I have wings to fly?

- Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

Do you have wings to fly?
I do...I have enormous wings which rescue me and dare me to continue soaring into my wildest dreams. The more I use my wings, the stronger they become and the further I am able to fly.

Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco

2008 mixed media

Women's natural role is to be a pillar of the family.

- Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco (1929-1982)

Our natural role can be anything we want...

Women, we are shape-shifters.

We are flexible beyond measure.

Irene Dunne

2008 mixed media

I know all the swear words. I just don't use them. There are worse things in life than being called a Lady.

- Irene Dunne (1898-1990)

My beautiful mother-in-law, Maria Lourdes is a lady.
Her cousin, Marta is a lady.

These women have an elegant spirit, their lives are illuminated in grace and delicate femininity...

These are two of the strongest women I know...
Being feminine, does not equal being weak.
A lady is not always a damsel in distress...

Marina Nuñez del Prado

2008 mixed media

Mi vida es mi obra:
Siento la inmensa dicha de haber nacido bajo la tutela de los Andes que son la expresión de la fuerza y el milagro cósmico así mi obra expresa el espiritu de mi tierra Andina y el espiritu de mi gente aymara.

- Marina Nuñez del Prado (approximately 1910 -1995)

The art of living...
Are you living your life as if it were a work of art?

Estée Lauder

2008 mixed media

I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.
Time is not on your side, but I am.

- Estée Lauder (1906-2004)

Time is about to birth a new year...

What do you dream of for 2009?

Are you ready to work towards your dreams?

Are you able to PLAY towards your dreams?

Eartha Kitt

2008 mixed media

My recipe for life is not being afraid of myself, afraid of what I think or of my opinions.

- Eartha Kitt (1927-2008)

Eartha Kitt...Cat-Woman...

There is an Eternal Feline in every woman.

She is independent and wild.

She is calm yet protective of her own.

She is fearless...

Maria Lidia Tercero de Sacasa

2008 mixed media of my beloved Grand Mother, my Uca

Entonces...

- Maruca Tercero de Sacasa (1918-2005)

Christmas Eve...

I am remembering my beloved Grand Mother who would light up a room with her smile, her grace and her sense of wonder. Uca was all light, all love, all about family -- all of the time.


Uca IS Christmas...thinking of her, I feel peace on earth and a sense of hope for the coming year...

Wallis Simpson, The Duchess of Windsor

2008 mixed media

For a gallant spirit there can never be defeat.

- Wallis Simpson, The Duchess of Windsor (1896-1986)

A gallant spirit...
I love the sound of that...
Every woman I know has a superior level of fearlessness.

My new baby sits on my lap as I type. I still need to have breakfast and nurse him. I am not feeling very gallant at the moment, but rather as if I were in some sort of physical and emotional marathon...and I am grateful for every moment...

Jean Rhys

2008 mixed media

I guess I write about myself because that’s all I really know.

- Jean Rhys (1890 – 1979)

How well do we know ourselves?
What do we REALLY know about ourselves, about others about anything?

I write about myself.
I write to myself.
I write for My Self.

Soujourner Truth

2008 mixed media

And ain't I a woman?...If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it. The men better let them.

- Soujourner Truth (around 1797-1883)

Are we strong enough to turn the world upside down?

Together we are...YES...together we shall...we must...for our children's children...

Lillian Carter

2008 mixed media

If I had one wish for my children, it would be that each of them would reach for goals that have meaning for them as individuals.

- Lillian Carter (1898-1983)

If you had one wish for the future generation, what would that be?

...please be patient

2008 - my latest and greatest creation

I am a New Mom...
I am still writing every single day...
and promise to post new blogs in a near future.

While you wait, why not go back and re-read some posts from earlier this year or from last year...Thank you for your patience.

Sophie Tucker

2008 mixed media

Success in show business depends on your ability to make and keep friends.

- Sophie Tucker (1884-1966)

Do you have the ability to make and keep friends?

Isabella Beecher Hooker

2008 mixed media

My interest in the woman question began soon after my marriage when my husband, a patient young lawyer waiting for business, invited me to bring my knitting work to his office every day, where he would read to me from his law books, and in the evenings I might read literature to him, whose weak eyes forbade his ever using them in the evening. For four years we kept on this even tenor of our way, and to it I owe my intelligent interest in public affairs and a certain discipline of mind - since I never attended school or college after my sixteenth year.

- Isabella Beecher Hooker (1822 – 1907)

Who has been your greatest teacher? I recently gave birth to mine...

Theodora, Empress of Byzantium

2008 mixed media

For a king, death is better than dethronement and exile.

- Theodora, Empress of Byzantium (c. 497-548)

Well, speaking from a personal experience, exile is a death of sorts...and a rebirth as well.

Lorraine Hansberry

2008 mixed media

Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.

- Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965)

What do you think about every day?

Marjorie Stewart Joyner

2008 mixed media

It all came to me in the kitchen when I was making a pot roast one day, looking at these long, thin rods that held the pot roast together and heated it up from the inside. I figured you could use them like hair rollers, then heat them up to cook a permanent curl into the hair.

- Marjorie Stewart Joyner
(1896-1994)

Do you dare to follow through with ideas?

I try to...regardless of what others think or say. I listen to my soul, to my heart, to my body and to my mind...perhaps in that order...

Edith Grön

2008 mixed media

Si bien fue muy provechosa mi estancia en NY, sentía la nostalgia de mi Nicaragua. Me hacían falta desde las brisas del lago hasta el sonido de sus campanas.

- Edith Grön (1917-1990)

What is it about Nicaragua that causes such nostalgia in me? I have not been back to my motherland in months and am anxious to return as soon as possible...

Norma Shearer

2008 mixed media

It is impossible to get anything made or accomplished without stepping on some toes; enemies are inevitable when one is a doer.

- Norma Shearer (1902-1983)

Oh what pointy toes some have...

Lana Turner

2008 mixed media

The truth is like surgery, it cuts, but it cures.

- Lana Turner (1920-1995)

What truth do you attempt to avoid in your life?

Hedy Lamarr

2008 mixed media

I appreciate subtlety. I have never enjoyed a kiss in front of the camera. There's nothing to it except not getting your lipstick smeared.

- Hedy Lamarr (1913–2000)

Lipstick?

I love lipstick and I also love to leave my lips bare and kissable.

Until recently, I had never heard of either pit bulls or pigs using lipstick.

However, I know of a pig that was famous for sporting red glossy nail polish. The pig’s owner had some sort of fetish and would file and polish the animal's hooves with absolute devotion.

Agnes George de Mille

2008 mixed media

The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.

- Agnes George de Mille (1905-1993)

With each new piece I dream up, I take a glorious leap in the dark, trusting the process of creation which is my life force...surrendering to the dance of life!

Rose Knox

2008 mixed media

Every woman, if forced to, can do more than she ever thought she could. In running my business I just used common sense, a man would call it "horse sense."

- Rose Knox, (1857-1950)

I have recently learned that I can certainly do more than what I ever thought I could do. I do use common sense, but I also call upon my GODDESS–SENSE...

Emily Greene Balch

2008 mixed media

Let us be patient with one another,
And even patient with ourselves.
We have a long, long way to go.
So let us hasten along the road,
The road of human tenderness and generosity.
Groping, we may find one another's hands in the dark.

- Emily Greene Balch (1867-1961)

...patient with one another...patient with ourselves

are you patient with others?

are you patient with yourself?

are you walking on the road of human tenderness and generosity?

Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood

2008 mixed media

The glory of each generation is to make its own precedents.

- Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood (1830-1917)

What precedents has your generation made?

Victoria Claflin Woodhull

2008 mixed media

I now announce myself as candidate for the Presidency. I anticipate criticism; but however unfavorable I trust that my sincerity will not be called into question.

- Victoria Claflin Woodhull (1838-1937)

What would you do as President of the United States of America?

Maggie Kuhn

2008 mixed media

There must be a goal at every stage of life!
There must be a goal!

- Maggie Kuhn (1905–1995)

What is your goal?

What are you doing to reach that goal?

Louisa May Alcott

2008 mixed media
I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship.

- Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)

I actually adore thunderstorms with lightening...

The majestic strength of Mother Nature is to be respected, admired, yet not feared, for we have that strength of storms...

Romy Schneider

2008 mixed media

You must not quote to me what I once said. I am wiser now.

- Romy Schneider (1938-1982)

Are you wiser now?

Laura Ashley

2008 mixed media
We don't want to push our ideas on to customers, we simply want to make what they want.

- Laura Ashley (1925-1985)

What do we want?

What do we REALLY want?

Do our wants change from day to day?

Amy Lowell

2008 mixed media

They took dead men's souls
And pinned them on their breasts for ornament;
Their cuff-links and tiaras
Were gems dug from a grave;
They were ghouls battening on exhumed thoughts;
And I took a green liqueur from a servant
So that he might come near me
And give me the comfort of a living thing.

- Amy Lowell (1874 – 1925)

It was the middle of the night...
...or perhaps early morning, before dawn.
I heard her voice as clearly as if she were in the room with me.

“Estan vendiendo mis joyas... / They are selling my jewels...”

It was not the first time I received messages from the dead.
It was not the first time her adult children betrayed her.

Josephine Ruffin

2008 mixed media
We need to feel the cheer and inspiration of meeting each other, we need to gain the courage and fresh life that comes from the mingling of congenial souls, of those working for the same ends.

- Josephine Ruffin (1842-1924)

Congenial souls refresh...while others drain and stress...

Floricelda Rivas Aráuz

2008 mixed media

Hay que vivir como en todo, actualizado. Vivir leyendo, dando vueltas junto con el mundo, no estar viendo que el mundo da vueltas, sino meterse en ese movimiento, si no te quedás, como el que quedó esperando un bus en la parada y lo vio partir. Si uno sigue así, se hace viejo, yo, en ese sentido, sí me siento jovencita.

- Floricelda Rivas Aráuz (1947-2007)

How do you live your life?

Greta Garbo

2008 mixed media

There seems to be a law that governs all our actions so I never make plans.

- Greta Garbo (1905-1990)

What are your plans for today?

Are there days where there is no plan, no agenda?

Are you spontaneous?

Judy Garland

2008 mixed media

Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.

- Judy Garland (1922-1969)

How does one become a second rate version of another?

Do you echo other people's words and opinions or do you have a mind of your own?

Marlene Dietrich

2008 mixed media

Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.

- Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)

How many secrets do you keep?

How many secrets have you betrayed?

How many secrets have you burdened others with?

Alice Paul

2008 mixed media
I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end.

- Alice Paul (1885 – 1977)

Describe your little stone in the great mosaic...

Malvina Reynolds

2008 mixed media

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.

There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

- Malvina Reynolds (1900-1978)

I love this song, the message...

Pearl Bailey

2008 mixed media

A crown, if it hurts us, is not worth wearing.

- Pearl Bailey (1918-1990)

What crowns do we wear?

Who crowns us? Family? Friends? Society?

Are these heavy crowns? Do they hurt? Are they worth wearing?

What stops us from removing them?

Mourning Dove Christine Quintasket

2008 mixed media

...everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence.

- Mourning Dove Christine Quintasket (1888-1936)

What is your purpose on earth?

What is your mission in life?

Oriana Fallaci

2008 mixed media

I leave shreds of my soul on every experience.

- Oriana Fallaci (1930-2006)

Where do you leave the shreds of your soul?

Empress Carlota of Mexico

2008 mixed media

All food they give me contains poison and I am starving.

- Empress Carlota of Mexico (1840-1927)

How do we poison ourselves through thoughts, words, actions?

How do we starve our souls, minds and bodies?

Leonor Fini

2008 mixed media

I paint pictures which do not exist and which I would like to see.

- Leonor Fini (1908-1996)

What pictures do you paint in your dreams?

What colors do you find within your dreams?

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

2008 mixed media

Love grows by service.

- Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935)

How do you serve?

How do you love?

Who do you serve?

Who do you love?

Vivien Leigh

2008 mixed media

Life is too short to work so hard.

- Vivien Leigh (1913-1967)

If we are doing work we LOVE, then it does not seem very hard...

Sor María Romero Meneses

2008 mixed media

La oración es para el alma lo que el aire para los pulmones.

Prayer is to the soul what air is to the lungs.

- Sor María Romero Meneses (1902 – 1977)

Prayer requires neither a priest nor a church, much less an audience.

Prayer can be an action...and a silent conversation between the Divine and us...

Ruth Whitman

2008 mixed media

Bearing a baby, writing a poem; both enter into life as beings not quite my own, but nourished by my blood and my milk.

- Ruth Whitman (1921/22-1999)

Who or what do we nourish into life? A child? A pet? A garden? A dish? A relationship? A book? A painting?