For this installation, I began with the term “hen”. In Scotland, hen is used as a term of endearment for females. I decided to look at some of the changes women made beginning in 1910 through 2010. The “hens” I chose to had some kind of a connection for me.

On Sunday afternoons when growing up in rural Ohio, Channel 11 in Toledo would show old movies and silent films. Mae West and W.C. Fields starred in one of those movies. Mae West began her vaudeville career in 1910 with the help from her mother. She was certainly out of the box for that time period! One of her many quotes is, “Say what you want about long dresses, but they cover a multitude of shins.”

1920 brought about the “flapper”; a woman perceived to do things out of the social norm like wearing short hair, being loud, drinking, smoking and other forms of brash behavior for that time. Clara Bow, a famous flapper, was known for her sex appeal and was a popular for her acting in silent movies. ”The more I see of men, the more I like dogs”, was one of her quotes.

Amelia Earhart brought great adventure to America in the 1930′s with her skilled abilities as a female pilot. Amelia said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”

1940′s brought on World War II and Rosie Riviter, the quintessential female who worked in the factories to help win the war.

In 1950′s, after the war was over, the women were expected to not only give up their jobs to the men who came home from the war, but to go home and be the perfect housewife. Many women did that and found themselves very isolated out in the suburbs, depressed and used alcohol and drugs to ease their pain. I named this hen after Donna Reed.

I recall seeing young women dancers on TV in the 1960′s with their mod apparel and go-go boots dancing to rock and roll. The civil rights movement was also gaining more momentum during this time period. This hen I named Pucci for the modern style of design, similar to the pattern on her dress.

In the 70′s, I saw many images of women working for the Equal Rights Amendment. This hen I named after Gloria Steinem and the work she did for feminists.

Olivia Newton John helped to make popular the concept of physical fitness with her, “Let’s Get Physical” song in the 80′s. This period of time also brought about a push toward building inner strength in the body.

The 1990′s brought about many changes of female involvement in politics, from more women senators than ever in 1992, to Albright, Reno and Ginsberg holding high office positions. Hillary Clinton also became one of the most empowered first ladies of history. In spite of these milestones, some stats also show a plateau of women’s involvement occurring during the 1990′s. This time period also brought to the courts many issues direct involving females like sexual harassment and violence against women. It also marked the period of third-wave feminism which encompassed women of color, non-heterosexuals, low income, and women issues from a global perspective. This hen I named Mary after a local judge in our city.

Millennium Millie welcomes us to the 2000′s with her party dress, rhinestones and sparkles. She marks the beginning of a new time; we all survived Y2K without computers shutting down and causing great disasters.

Ava represents the generation of young women in this 2010 decade.  The young Ava’s are going over the boundaries, and they do not let old considerations hold them back when those considerations no longer exist or simply do not apply.  Ava is a free range hen!

Family Fun Ornaments

Many times we can feel bombarded by all the “stuff” that comes about during the holidays. Listen to Christmas music! Create a holiday feast! Buy this! No… buy that! Buy everything!! Make this! Make that! Bake cookies!! Make the perfect Christmas!
Then the crash/breakdown can occur when reality hits, and we find we have 24 hours in a day, a certain amount of time, a certain amount of energy, and a certain amount of anything.

As a way to put more enjoyment into my Holiday time, I called my sister and suggested we put up Mom’s Christmas tree. Ideas swirled about and gelled into the ornaments shown above.  We made a pretty good start of many of the decorations that will adorn her tree.
Using family photos,  I drew different kinds of bodies to go with the faces based upon the holidays and different family member’s likes or abilities. As you can see some are just plain fun!
A ribbon hanger will be added to these before they are sent off for my nephew to hang them on her tree!  My sister will then add little embellishments to complete!  I hope my family enjoys the love put into each of these.
May each of you enjoy your creative time, and remember to sit still and have a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate to take a little break!

Sometimes simply painting out many images of the same subject matter can be quite enjoyable!  Here are a few of the many!

The cool and crisp days have arrived. Time to pause and reflect on the ways to use time in the coming months.

I’m back … and the studio looked like I had never left!  The days up to the day before leaving for ArtPrize were jam packed with so many little details to do!  Cleaning up was not one of them!  The past two days I’ve been picking up bits and pieces and working on focusing in as to what to work on next.  Will it be paintings? mini hens? paintings of mini hens? or packing for a trip to Boston?  Boston wins and the creativity will continue!  Meanwhile, please check the previous post to check out my Changes in the Hen House installation that was at ArtPrize this year!

It’s that time of year again!  After many hours of studio work and many hours, approximately 12 of setup with my wonderful partner Russell at Huntington/50 Monroe, Changes in the Hen House is on display!!!

For this installation, I began with the term “hen”.   In Scotland, hen is used as a term of endearment for females.  I decided to look at some of the changes women made beginning in 1910 through 2010.  The “hens” I chose to had some kind of a connection for me.

Every so often on Sunday afternoons, Channel 11 in Toledo would show old movies and silent films.  Mae West and W.C. Fields starred in one of those movies.  Mae West began her vaudeville career in 1910 with the help from her mother.  She was certainly out of the box for that time period!  One of her many quotes is, “Say what you want about long dresses, but they cover a multitude of shins.”

1920 brought about the “flapper”; a woman perceived to do things out of the social norm like wearing short hair, being loud, drinking, smoking and other forms of brash behavior for that time.  Clara Bow, a famous flapper, was known for her sex appeal and was a popular for her acting in silent movies.  ”The more I see of men, the more I like dogs”, was one of her quotes.

Amelia Earhart brought great adventure to America in the 1930′s with her skilled abilities as a female pilot.  Amelia said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”

1940′s brought on World War II and Rosie Riviter, the quintessential female who worked in the factories to help win the war.

In 1950′s, after the war was over, the women were expected to give up their jobs to the men who came home from the war, and go home and be the perfect housewife.  Many women did that and found themselves very isolated out in the suburbs, depressed and used alcohol and drugs to ease their pain.  I named this hen after Donna Reed.

I recall seeing young women dancers on TV in the 1960′s with their mod apparel and go-go boots dancing to rock and roll.  This hen I named Pucci for the modern style of design, similar to the pattern on her dress.

In the 70′s, I saw many images of women working for the Equal Rights Amendment.  This hen I named after Gloria Steinem and the work she did for feminists.

Olivia Newton John helped to make popular the concept of physical fitness with her, “Let’s Get Physical” song in the 80′s.

The 1990′s brought about a plateau of female involvement in politics for a little while.  This hen I named Mary after a local judge in our city.

Millennium Millie welcomes us to the 2000′s  with her party dress, rhinestones and sparkles.  She marks the beginning of a new time; we all survived Y2K without computers shutting down and causing great disasters.

2010 is our present-day hen, Ava, named for the connection to aviary.  Truly an adventurous hen who is climbing over the boundaries and forging ahead!

I hope you enjoy my installation and if you are at ArtPrize, stop by and say hello!