Warrior Bird Women Series

In this series, I invite the viewer to consider the relationship between the endangered species, the historical female body, and the broader themes of survival, healing, and transformation. The Warrior Women Series is not just an exploration of fragility; it is a testament to strength, continuity, and the power of narrative, both personal and universal.

Warrior Women Series pushes the fabric beyond the hoop, featuring a toile curtain panel cascading freely from a vintage embroidery hoop. Each panel becomes more aged (by dying with tea and grime) as the bird, represented by the head of the bird woman, becomes more endangered. The Ruff is the least endangered, and the Horned Grebe is the most vulnerable. The female bodies are taken from historical and contemporary paintings ranging from Ingres to Eric Fishel. Each bird woman is created with free-motion embroidery on organza fabric. Each warrior woman has a belly full of dried medicinal plants that would have been advantageous for me when I was treated for anal cancer. Threads from the warrior woman are sewn throughout the curtain panel to make subtle connections to the historical scenes found in the toile scene, mostly holding up or supporting the working women.

This series has premiered at the Bromo Arts Tower in Baltimore, part of the show Unraveling Threads” 'Emerge Baltimore - This is Baltimore Too’; It is part of “The Subversive Thread”, curated by Jennifer Chrzanowsk that started at the Westbou Gallery in Augusta, Georgia, and at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD.