The concept of A Decorated Woman was born one night after staring at an antique dress form that I have owned for over 40 years. The dress form was called Hilda because it was written on her 1900 wool Sutro Bath bathing suit that she was wearing when I acquired her. Over the years, I had decorated Hilda as a sculptural installation for holiday fun, making social or political statements or often solely for my own amusement. When Hilda wasn't dressed for an occasion, she was used to hang jewelry on for functional purposes. Among the baubles I had attached to her were military and police badges. The night I dreamed A Decorated Woman, I had just finished reading a book on Artemisia Gentileschi, the extraordinary 17th century painter and rape victim, and as I looked at the dress form, I wondered what decorations Artemisia and other women should receive for their struggles and achievements.

When I woke the next morning, A Decorated Woman was fully formed with the "what" and "how" and Artemisia would became my first "who".  A Decorated Woman would be a portraiture series honoring women through portraits using my extensive jewelry collection to compose them. Names and stories began to appear both through dreams, then research, about women who have broken barriers, achieved firsts or took a hard stand for justice against the prevailing tide; women who fought for human rights and equality. 

Portraiture is an intimate process. I studied each subject for weeks, sometimes months and put myself into their lives as a close friend.  As I researched I found many common traits between them and me. Like me, they are outliers; rebels and risk takers who ultimately couldn’t follow the rules laid out for them. Their origins, means and experiences vary but they all arrived to the same place – advocates for humanity who followed their own inner voice and vision.  As I composed each portrait, I layered in elements and symbols that represent their individual journeys and lives, sometimes 10 to 12 layers just to create a small piece of jewelry, a hat, handbag or dress.  When the viewer looks closely, some of these details can be recognized but looked at from a distance, create a different scene.  It felt as if I was channeling as I composed their portraits, they became part of me and using my personal jewelry makes me a part of them. 

The women in A Decorated Woman are not always obvious choices because their history or life story has been skewed by historians or the media. I know several of the women personally and their public image does not match the person or their societal contributions. The list of brilliant and achieving woman overlooked or mischaracterized by society and the history books is seemingly endless. 

Even though the series is focused on women, their contributions are larger than gender, nationality, religion or creed. Like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and other men whose names we know and admire, women must become and remain part of the historical memory. First, we must become aware. This work is only a seed in the larger collective effort.

My hope is that these women give all women the platform to dream, to know they can be and do anything they choose.  They can become leaders and take part in the decisions that affect them personally as well as all humanity