 |
| Woman with Tool I, 1987. Oil on canvas, 48x48" (Please forgive the blurry old slide scan.) |
People with tools -both actual and metaphorical- tend, shape and repair our world. That is but one reason I portray women with tools. I strive to depict female characters as active, aware and engaged with the work essential to cultivating and sustaining society. So,it isn't altogether new for me to portray women with tools -within and beyond the domestic sphere. Indeed, some of my first figurative work out of art school was of that subject. (For example, Woman with Tool I of 1987.) Though most of these images are positively inspired, some arise from the anger I feel encountering persistent prejudices about the capabilities of women our culture today.
In the spirit of Kathe Kollwitz (one of my artistic heroes), I have sometimes referenced the capacity of tools meant for cultivation to be used as weapons.
 |
| Whetting the Scythe, 1905. Kathe Kollwitz |
Political events of 2016 brought to mind the Furies of Roman mythology: avenging goddesses of the underworld. I portrayed the ongoing efforts of women to achieve equality in our society with degrees of both fatigue and determination in Second Wind I and II. These "Furies" arise from the dark earth with heavy labor ahead.
As I worked on those images, I envisioned a pared-down version of that commitment to work -and if necessary fight- for justice. Sickle I, Sickle II, Sledge and Mattock were the result.
The Hands On series was born, and from there the prospects grew. Gray Areas of 2018 evoked the divisiveness of contemporary culture. There may be some true blacks and whites in these paintings, but the gray of graphite prevails.
Hammer & Bell alluded to the rallying folk song by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, "If I Had a Hammer". Calls for justice and freedom ring out in this diptych of 2018.
In a more humorous vein, I "painted the town red" in slightly different dimensions than most of these art works, typically 14x11".
 |
| The Town, 2018. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 11x22" |
In a truly celebratory spirit, I went on to create Spectrum in 2019. Most of the models for this series are artists from the Pattee Canyon Ladies' Salon drawing group in Missoula. All of them are artists in one medium or another. Though these images hardly qualify as portraits in the traditional sense, I hoped to honor each of these women with vivid colors, and array them in creative camaraderie.
 |
| Spectrum, 2019. Graphite & oil on wood panels, each 14x11"(11x100" overall) |
In 2020 the Hands On series continued with tools of domestic labor.
 |
| Planter 2020. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11" |
 |
| Weeder, 2020. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11" |
 |
| Shears, 2020. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11" |
 |
| Cleaver, 2020. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11" |
 |
| Source, 2020. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11" |
 |
| Mender, 2020. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11" |
During the Pandemic I made a couple of paintings to honor hard-working teachers who continued to serve their students under difficult and changing conditions.
 |
| Teacher: Chalk, 2021. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11' |
 |
| Teacher: Primer, 2021. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11" |
My experience with this series exemplifies a transformative power of art. Inspiration may come from outrage, but with time and deeper investigation, something joyful can emerge. I embarked on Hands On in 2016, and six years later, I see no end to it. The ideas keep coming, along with willing models.
Many thanks for the contributions of Carla Bissinger, Julie Chaffee, Nancy Erickson, Julia Galloway, Kristi Hager, Amy Martin, Indigo Millar, Leslie Millar, Lisa Simon, Martha Swanson, Linda Tawney, Janet Whaley and Agnes White.
The Hands On series makes the simple, yet significant assertion that given the right tools, woman can do anything.
 |
| Tabula Rasa, 2019. Graphite & oil on wood panel, 14x11" |
A page devoted to the Hands On series appears on my website:
