Mother Shipton

2008 mixed media

And now a word, in uncouth rhyme
Of what shall be in future time...

- Mother Shipton (c. 1488 - 1561)

The Once-Great-King would travel for hours on horseback to consult an unassuming crone who had studied with renowned healers in India.

The wizened old woman lived on a cave-like secluded farmhouse amidst herbaceous vegetation known for its medicinal and supernatural properties. She concocted magic perfumes and potions from her enchanted herbs.

The petite soothsayer was in direct communication with the spirit world and the Once-Great-King trusted her predictions and visions with his life and his kingdom.

- excerpt from a story in progress

Ana Mendieta

2008 mixed media

I have been carrying on a dialogue between the landscape and the female body, I believe this has been the direct result of my having been torn from my homeland (Cuba) during my adolescence. I am overwhelmed by the feeling of having been cast from the womb (nature).

- Ana Mendieta (1948-1985)

Twenty-nine years ago, my life was uprooted, never to be the same again. As a six-year-old expatriate, I witnessed my family nucleus gradually fray and painfully unravel in the midst of warfare, confusion and revolution.

For the past twenty-nine years, I have rooted my life in the fertile soils of peace and forgiveness, as the entire planet becomes my Motherland free of borders. With silken threads of spirit, I have woven a majestic and ever growing tapestry of friends and family.

Today I celebrate and honor the past twenty-nine years with gratitude for sculpting me into who I am today...still a work in progress...

- excerpts from my journal

Hua Mu-Lan

2008 mixed media

Nor fear nor love has moved my soul---
Away such idle thought!
A warrior's glory is the goal
By my ambition sought.

- Hua Mu-Lan(approximately 5th c. AD)

Woman, are you a warrior – a peaceful warrior of the light?

What moves your soul?

What are your life's ambitions?

Kay Francis

2008 mixed media

When you live as if there wasn't any future you can get pleasure out of anything. Even out of a bowl of grapes!

- Kay Francis (1905-1968)

Can you get pleasure out of anything?
Try it...today...now...

Mary Parker Follett

2008 mixed media
Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim.

We attain unity only through variety.

Differences must be integrated, not annihilated, or absorbed.

- Mary Parker Follett
(1868–1933)

UNITY through VARIETY – I love that...

Alice Duer Miller

2008 mixed media

If it's very painful for you to criticize your friends - you're safe in doing it. But if you take the slightest pleasure in it, that's the time to hold your tongue.

- Alice Duer Miller (1874-1942)

Do you criticize your friends?

Do your friends criticize you?

If so, the painful question is -- are you truly friends?

Margarita Debayle Sacasa de Pallais

2008 mixed media

...Cada día mi fantasía tenía que inventar un nuevo cuento para complacerlos...

- Margarita Debayle Sacasa de Pallais
(20th century, born July 14th - timeless)

Cuales son tus fantasías?

Que inventas?

Cuales son tus cuentos?

What are your fantasies?

What do you invent?

What are your stories?

Helena Rubenstein

2008 mixed media
There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.

- Helena Rubenstein
(1870 – 1965)
Are you lazy?

Do you allow yourself to have lazy days every once in a while?

I simply adore spending an entire day lounging in my pajamas, what could be more luxurious? I feel absolutely beautiful without an ounce of make-up, without having anywhere to go, without having anyone to see...

Nina Simone, High Priestess of Soul

2008 mixed media

There's no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.

- Nina Simone, High Priestess of Soul (1933-2003)

Who are the heroes and heroines in your life?

Júlia Lopes Almeida

2008 mixed media

Perfumada laranjeira,
Linda assim dessa maneira,
Sorrindo à luz do arrebol,
Toda em flores, branca toda
- Parece a noiva do Sol
Preparada para a boda.

E esposa do Sol, que a adora,
Com que cuidados divinos
Curva ela os ramos, agora!
E entre as folhas abrigados,
Seus filhos, frutos dourados,
Parecem sois pequeninos.

- Júlia Lopes Almeida (1862-1934)

I absolutely adore the sound of Língua Portuguesa.

I find it sensual and rhythmical, seemingly rolling off the tongue, taking all of the time in the world.

What is one of your favorite foreign languages?

Margaret Wise Brown

2008 mixed media

Goodnight room.
Goodnight moon.
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon.
Goodnight light, and the red balloon...

- Margaret Wise Brown (1910-1952)

"Goodnight Moon" was one of my favorite bedtime books as a child.

I still love to read in bed before going to sleep...

What are your bedtime rituals?

Ethel Barrymore

2008 mixed media

You must learn day by day, year by year to broaden your horizon. The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about, the more you have left when anything happens.

- Ethel Barrymore (1879-1959)

What do you love?

What are you interested in?

What do you enjoy?

What are you indignant about?

Sarah Josepha Hale

I have no riches but my thoughts, yet these are wealth enough for me.

- Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879)

What are our riches?

I speak not of any material wealth...

I speak of spiritual wealth...

What are our riches?

Grace Hopper

2008 mixed media

A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for.
Sail out to sea and do new things.

- Grace Hopper (1906-1992)

Where has your ship taken you?

Where do you still wish to go?

What is stopping you?

Empress Matilda

2008 mixed media

I am Henry's daughter, wife and mother; great by birth, greater by marriage, but greatest in motherhood.

- Empress Matilda (1102-1167)

What is truly GREAT about you?

Olympias

2008 mixed media

Before my son was conceived, I dreamt that a thunderbolt fell upon my body and kindled a great fire whose divided flames dispersed themselves all about and then were extinguished…

- Olympias (ca. 375 - 316 BC)

Do you remember dreams?

I have kept a dream journal for years and years.

Our dreams have secrets to tell us...messages to convey...

Katharine Lee Bates

2008 mixed media

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.

Oh beautiful, for pilgrims' feet

Whose stern, impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw;

Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!

Oh beautiful, for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,

'Til all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine!

Oh beautiful, for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years,

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!

- Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929)

Today let us pray for WORLD PEACE...for INNER PEACE...

Aspasia of Miletus

2008 mixed media

...You, madam, wish to have the best husband, and you, Xenophon, desire above all things to have the finest wife. Therefore, unless you can contrive that there be no better man or finer woman on earth you will certainly always be in dire want of what you consider best, namely, that you be the husband of the very best of wives, and that she be wedded to the very best of men...

- Aspasia of Miletus (ca. 465 – ca. 400 BC)

Are we the best we can be?

Do we expect the best in others?

Sultana Razia of Delhi

2008 mixed media

Address me not as Sultana,
for it means merely wife or mistress of a sultan.
I answer only to the title of SULTAN...

- Sultana Razia of Delhi (1205-1240)

What titles do you answer to?

Rabi'ah al-`Adawiyah

2008 mixed media

If I adore You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell!
If I adore you out of desire for Paradise,
Lock me out of Paradise.
But if I adore you for Yourself alone,
Do not deny to me Your eternal beauty.

- Rabi'ah al-`Adawiyah (unknown – d. 801 CE)

Who adores you?

Whom do you adore?

Madame de Staël

2008 mixed media

Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts.

- Madame de Staël (1766-1817)

Our minds never seem to stop.

Meditation becomes a much-needed vacation for our minds, for our thoughts.

Thoughts affect our feelings and emotions...

Are we choosing our thoughts wisely today?

Zora Neale Hurston

2008 mixed media

I belong to no race nor time.
I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads.

- Zora Neale Hurston (1903-1960)

I am the Eternal Feminine...

I am the Eternal Feminine...

I am the Eternal Feminine...

there is something so comforting and reassuring about this affirmation...

Hope Portocarrero Debayle de Somoza

2008 mixed media

...un templo del arte...

- Hope Portocarrero Debayle de Somoza (1929 –1991)

temple of art

temple of culture

temple of expression

temple of light

temple of music

temple of dance

temple of history

temple of HERstory

temple of HOPE

thank you
for being a visionary
for birthing Nicaragua’s majestic theatre,
Teatro Nacional Rubén Darío

Edmonia Lewis

2008 mixed media

Some praise me because I am a colored girl, and I don't want that kind of praise. I had rather you would point out my defects, for that will teach me something.

- Edmonia Lewis (around 1843-1911)

Who do you praise?

Whose defects do you point out?

How are both mirrors?

Queen Lili'uokalani

2008 mixed media

O Lord, Thy loving mercy
Is high as the heavens;
It tells us of Thy truth
And 'tis filled with holiness.

Whilst humbly meditating
Within these walls imprisoned,
Thou art my light, my haven
Thy glory my support.

Oh, look not on our failing,
Nor on the sins of men.
Forgive with loving kindness
That we might be made pure.

For Thy grace I beseech Thee;
Bring us 'neath Thy protection
And peace will be our portion,
Now and forevermore. Amen.

- Queen Lili'uokalani (1838-1917)

A queen’s prayer...

What is your prayer today?

Anne Boleyn

2008 mixed media

And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best.

- Anne Boleyn (1500 – 1536)

How do we meddle?

How do we judge?

Who judges us?

Edna Ferber

2008 mixed media

A closed mind is a dying mind.

- Edna Ferber (1885–1968)

Are you always right?

Are you set

- in your ways

- in your ideas

- in your opinions

- in your beliefs?

Or are you OPEN-MINDED?

Renata Tebaldi

2008 mixed media

I dedicated all my life to music.

- Renata Tebaldi (1922-2004)

To what do we dedicate our lives?

Ann Yearsley

2008 mixed media

Proud Beauty will not own thee! Her loud boast
Is VlRTUE--while thy chilling breath alone
Blows o'er her soul. bidding her passions sleep.

- Ann Yearsley (1753-1808)

Are you proud?

What are your virtues?

What are your passions?

Elsa Einstein

2008 mixed media

No, I don't understand my husband's theory of relativity, but I know my husband and I know he can be trusted.

- Elsa Einstein (1876-1936)

What do we TRUST even when we do not understand?

I trust my intuition...

I trust my dreams...

Kateri Tekakwitha

2008 mixed media
O Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to the entire world, hear me! I am small and weak. I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.

Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my sister or brother, but to fight my greatest enemy -- myself.

Make me always ready to come to you with hands cleansed and eyes straight.

So when life fades, like the evening sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.

- Kateri Tekakwitha (1658-1680)

Today we celebrate the Summer Solstice.
Today we celebrate Mother Earth and all of her bounty.
Blessed are we to live on this great planet...

Christabel Pankhurst

2008 mixed media

It is our duty to make this world a better place for women.

- Christabel Pankhurst (1880-1958)

What does duty mean to you?

How can you make this world a better place?

Agnes Repplier

2008 mixed media

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

- Agnes Repplier (1855-1950)

Are you seeking for happiness?

Where have you looked?

I believe happiness finds us...sometimes, when we least expect it.

Dorothea Dix

2008 mixed media

In a world where there is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do.

- Dorothea Dix (1802-1887)

What needs to be done?

What do we need to do?

Andrea Dworkin

2008 mixed media

Sexism is the foundation on which all tyranny is built. Every social form of hierarchy and abuse is modeled on male-over-female domination.

- Andrea Dworkin (1946 - 2005)

Are we de-sensitized to male-over-female domination?

Often, it can be quite subtle.

A joke.

A look.

Sometimes, even a fashion...

Molly Ivins

2008 mixed media

It's hard to argue against cynics -- they always sound smarter than optimists because they have so much evidence on their side.

- Molly Ivins (1944-2007)

Cynics...

Optimists...

Which category do we belong to?

Are we in a category of our own?

Christine de Pizan

2008 mixed media

Just as women’s bodies are softer than men’s, so their understanding is sharper.

- Christine de Pizan (1363 - 1434)

Women are different than men, yet we are equals.

Why not celebrate our differences?

Ingrid Bergman

2008 mixed media

I have no regrets. I wouldn't have lived my life the way I did if I was going to worry about what people were going to say.

- Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982)

Do you have regrets?

Do you really care what people say?

Who are these people anyway?

Family?

Friends?

Neighbors?

Are these people so important you would risk living a life with regrets?

Life is too short for regrets...

Eva Hesse

2008 mixed media
I try my hand at the most absurd and extreme contrasts. That has always been more interesting for me than something normal with the right height and proportions.

- Eva Hesse (1936-1970)

I adore contrasts, they make life more interesting.

What is “normal” anyhow?

Who decides what “normal” means?

Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea

2008 mixed media

Alas! a woman that attempts the pen,
Such an intruder on the rights of men,
Such a presumptuous Creature, is esteem'd,
The fault, can by no virtue be redeem'd.

- Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1661-1720)

Woman, what do you attempt?

Woman, what do you create?

Woman, what are your virtues?

Selma Lagerlof

2008 mixed media

Strange, when you ask anyone's advice you see yourself what is right.

- Selma Lagerlof (1858-1940)

Whose advice do we seek?

To whom do we give advice?

Paula Gunn Allen

2008 mixed media

Snowflakes, leaves, humans, plants, raindrops, stars, molecules, microscopic entities all come in communities. The singular cannot in reality exist.

- Paula Gunn Allen (1939-2008)

Who is in your community?

Marian Anderson

2008 mixed media

Every one has a gift for something, even if it is the gift of being a good friend.

- Marian Anderson (1902-1993)

What is your gift?

How often do you give your gift away?

Mary McLeod Bethune

2008 mixed media

Invest in the human soul.
Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.

- Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)

How do we invest in our human souls?

Amelia Jenks Bloomer

2008 mixed media

When you find a burden in belief or apparel, cast it off.

- Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818 - 1894)

What burdens must we cast off?

Wilma Rudolph

2008 mixed media

My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion. The potential for greatness lives within each of us.

- Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994)

Who do we believe?

What are our dreams?

Jean Ingelow

2008 mixed media

The moon looks upon many night flowers; the night flowers see but one moon.

- Jean Ingelow (1820-1897)

When was the last time we looked upon the moon?

When was the last time we looked upon night flowers?

Pearl S. Buck

2008 mixed media


I love people. I love my family, my children . . . but inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up.

- Pearl S. Buck
(1892-1973)



I need time alone.
It is not that I am anti-social.
It is just that seeing too many people too often just drains me.

I renew my springs by sitting in silence.
I renew my springs by sculpting, writing and painting.

I love time alone.
I love time with My Self.

Audré Lorde

2008 mixed media
When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

- Audré Lorde (1934-1992)

Do you dare to be powerful?

Why? Why not?

What is your strength?

What is your vision?

Lydia Maria Child

2008 mixed media

You find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make an honest effort to confer that pleasure on others? Half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy.

- Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880)

Are you a cheerful person?