109 Mixed Media - metal, hot glue

It is sadism • It is rage • It is destruction • It is sickness • It is sorrowful • It is brutal • It is disquieting • It is cruel • It is depressing • It is barbaric • It is wild • It is painful• It is bad• It is dispiriting • It is blue • It is downhearted • It is sorrowful • It is melancholy • It is sad • It is miserable • It is heartbroken • It is discouraging • It is mournful • It is unhappy• It is disheartening• It is low• It is heartsore • It is joyless • It is hurtful• It is disturbing • It is weakness • It is harsh• It is tearful• It is violence• It is discomposing • It is exploitation • It is betrayal • It is hatred • It is intentional • It is unlawful • It is harmful • It is suicidal • It is hard • It is bitter • It is unforgiving• It is severe • It is hostile • It is cold • It is hair-raising • It is grim • It is excruciating • It is incomprehensible • It is oppressive • It is agonizing • It is terrifying • It is unbearable • It is corrupt • It is nasty • It is sore • It is degrading • It is upsetting • It is self-doubting • It is terrible • It is nightmare • It is chaotic • It is fearful • It is alarming • It is startling • It is horrible • It is scary • It is agitating • It is chilling • It is immoral • It is shocking •It is terrorizing • It is harmful • It is tribulation • It is emergency • It is dangerous • It is humiliating • It is destructive • It is nonsense • It is disgraceful • It is wrong • It is insulting • It is mutilation • It is assault • It is disaster • It is intimidating • It is denial • It is confusing • It is frightening • It is controlling • It is repetitious • It is deceiving • It is ruthless • It is unbelievable • It is calculating • It is insecurity • It is misery • It is jeopardy • It is menace • It is trap • It is injury • It is death • It is crime • It is sin • It is torture • It is inhumane

–Tulu Bayar

The title of my piece is "White Curtain." Domestic violence is usually hidden. As long as the outside of a home is orderly and well maintained everyone assumes that life within the home is orderly and well maintained as well. White curtains lend an air of tranquility to a house as well as making it difficult to see inside.

–Luana Cleveland

Fall
Oil on Canvas

Huddled and alone, the woman in the painting is meant to represent both the vulnerability and strength that resides within all women.  As the crouched figure looks over her shoulder, we must ask ourselves what lurks behind her, a memory from the past or a more immediate threat? Does the forest offer her solace or are there unnamed evils lurking in the shadows? Whatever the case, she is ready. She is strong.

–Amanda Eisner

Lynn Estomin works in video, photo and mixed media. Her documentaries have been featured at film festivals internationally and broadcast nationally on PBS. She teaches art at Lycoming College. Contact: estomin@lycoming.edu, www.lynnestomin.com  

Trust Your Intuition #1
Digital prints on fabric, quilting, embroidery, beading and found objects

Trust Your Intuition #2
Digital print, found objects

At a time when I was facing major decisions in my life, a friend took me out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. My fortune cookie said: ”The smart thing to do is trust your intuitions.” I kept the fortune on my fridge for years (until I sewed it into this quilt) as a reminder that on an intuitive level, we know when we need to make a change to survive and thrive. We just need to act on that knowledge. Our society does not teach women to be confident, self-reliant or to act on their strengths. As she takes control of her life, the dancer uncurls from fear to freedom.

–Lynn Estomin

Sacred harvest
Terra Cotta
Inspired by Genesis 8:22

Gail Jones

My Loyal Comrade
Oil Paint on Glass

My work is about women's voices being silenced by abuse - emotional, sexual, physical in any domestic setting - in her house, country and world. My words tell stories painted on windows.

Laura Kittle

Wrap Yourself in Her Essence
Shawl of iridescent polyester fabrics, metallic threads

This garment shimmers, with hints of something inside.  This is my concept of the essence of someone departed.  While no longer a tangible person to be touched or held, they are still somehow with us. Between the layers of sheer fabric I have placed snippets & scraps of threads & laces, satins & chiffons to signify the memories & life experiences of this person that shaped who they were.  The garment is a large, irregular (like us all, imperfect) shape that can be used to envelop oneself in the essence & memories of the person so missed.  In so many ways, they still shimmer through & influence our lives, still important, still loved.

Get in Touch with the Goddess
Charcoal drawing/ fabric/ beads/ cardboard/ trim collage

A message from a Tarot card reminds us that women have an inner strength & grace in times of despair.  "Get in touch with the Goddess & she will help you through this crisis" is actually instructing us to tap into that which is already inside us, a God-given ability to deal with whatever we must.

–Ricki Maietta

 “Safe”
Oil on Wood

“I keep my son safe by keeping him away.”  This statement is from a beautiful young mother of two whose eldest son lived with his grandmother to be “safe,” while her newborn son stayed in an abusive home. How do we keep our children physically and emotionally safe?  Where do we draw the line and when do we wake up and realize that our safety is directly correlated with the safety of our children?  We must seriously consider the consequences of our actions and the effects of said actions or in-actions on our babies.  Our sons and daughters should inspire us and motivate us to make difficult decisions – especially when the decisions provide us with a higher quality of life. Take a close look at your loved ones and make sure you are keeping them safe.

–Andrea McDonough

Evidence
Glass, Paper and Found Objects

Mary McMinn, a local glassworker, in collaboration with her mother, author and speaker Patricia Everett of Berkeley, California, created "Evidence", as a reflection on motherhood and loss.  Using glass, paper and found objects they encapsulate the emotional and historic importance of women's roles in the family and community.

Mary McMinn and Patricia Everett

Community Action
Photography

The word prevention makes me think of community.  Prevention can not just come from one person, but must be an effort by many.  Therefore, I decided to ask all of my subjects to participate in this project.  Just as every individual is responsible for the prevention of domestic violence, I asked each person to add his/her personal touch to the mat, keeping the idea of prevention in mind. This joint effort emphasizes that preventing domestic violence is everyone’s business.  Whether male or female, teenager or adult, single or in a relationship....we all play a role.

–Lisa Mody McNerney

Untitled
Antique Hand-stitched Table Cloth

I try to stitch in the afternoon.  That is the time of day when the sun shines directly in my window and gives me lovely light to work in.  The afternoon is also the time of day when I need to stop, take a breath, and calm my mind.  While stitching on this particular piece I couldn’t help but think about the woman who first stitched this cloth a long time ago. Did she stitch in the afternoon?  What was happening in her life that she needed to take a step back from?  Did she ever imagine that in the distant future her escape would be mine, too?

–Camille Orelli

Shattered Soul
Pate de verre (cast glass, ceramic fiber mold), lamp-worked glass, copper, stone

Sometimes what we say can cast a stone and crack the very foundation of a person's soul.  We can spend our lives trying to overcome the effects.  Not everyone finds the inner strength to repair the damage, keeping them in a fragile state with no tools to work with.  The bottoms of the small stones represent a collection of negative messages since my early childhood, chipping away at my soul. The figural form depicts woman wrapped in tears shed for the eleven shattered souls.

Shoes  
Digital Print      

The loss of life carries with it the loss of hopes and dreams.  This art piece was inspired by my own loss and grief. Painting the baby items black wasn’t a well-laid plan.  As with many of my art pieces, they seemed to create themselves; I just followed and trusted my intuition.  

It started with painting a baby bottle black. Seeing the transformation of the physical quality of the baby bottle caused me to begin searching and painting other objects.  Painting the soft, colorful, functional baby items felt like the right thing to do.  My pain was in the paint.  I felt connected to the black painted items; my experience of loss had transformed me much as the black paint transformed the baby items. By showing these transformed objects, I am showing and sharing my pain.  

Kim Rhone

Little Dress
Mixed Media

Coming from the dream fantasies manufactured for little girls, Little Dress tells stories of the life that underlies the fantasy. These are  the stories of women who have endured the violence of their husbands, their lovers, and the fathers of their children. It is a collage of the experience of multiple generations—their hopes, dreams, and sometimes survival, and what they became as a result of that experience. Little Dress reveals some of the realities and pain women have experienced, as well as the amazing strength of spirit that can overcome the burden of violence, whenever the voice of the victim is heard.

–Catherine Rios

Fly Away
Acrylic on Paper

This piece was inspired by the strength that I find in women as a collective power. Women as creators of life and nurturers. I gather so much of my own strength and inspiration from all my sisters, not just blood, but my heart and gut sisters.

–Kristina Snook-Kohr

Susan
Graphite

It was an honor to do this portrait of Susan Yasipour.  Her smile lights up her face showing a child who was happy and full of life during her short time here on earth.

I think that black and white can often bring out the character in a person's face, so I used simple drawing pencils to create Susan's portrait.

–Theresa Spitler

Comes The Dawn
Fiber, hand dyed cottons, discharge, shibori, thread work

It starts almost quietly and builds.  You don’t want to notice “it”.
When you do, you want to hide “ it” from yourself, from your family, from all. “ It” finally takes over. But with time and your strengths, with the help of others comes the dawn.  Light spilling over you and over the violence until it is exposed and withers. Remnants remain – a lesson to be aware, to take care and not ever let the darkness overcome the dawn.

–Paula Swett