Collage, continued
Moon Mother
In this collage, I put out my fears as a mother. How do you protect your children from terrible things? The reality is that you can only try. I use the full moon here to symbolize what you teach your child. You can't stop them from getting hurt, but you can give them your wisdom to light their way.
Penguin Nightmare
A fanciful piece where I have penguins invading the city and a crazy Russian woman waves a chicken over the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I don't know what it means; sometimes I need a mental break from hard truths.
Red Head
Another fun one that I let myself do as a reward for completing several difficult collages. Note that her hair is actually a pair of lips, her earring is a nipple, her neck is a fist, and her fingernails are road cones.
Red Women
I wanted to see women in their power. Hence the military women with rifles, the woman at the hair dryer cleaning hers, and policewoman with her gun. But the other side of their power: women dancing with each other, combing each others' hair, walking after each other; women with children, women distorted by society, starving women.
Remembering
Although the woman is visiting the grave, notice the hand opening the buried casket from the inside. At the time that I did this collage, I was wondering if I had to live with terrible realities in my face all the time. Was it okay to put them away, and still not be in denial? In the end I decided it was okay. Although I can never just walk away from terrible realities and never think about them again, they do not have to define my whole life and who I am.
Running Down the Freeway
This collage sprang up from a nightmare. A woman who just had a c-section runs down a freeway as a semi bears down on her. It still haunts me.
Self Portrait
I love this self portrait. The background is smoke and fire from Desert Storm scenes, her necklace is a loop of freeway with headlights and taillights, her earrings are pink flamingos on blue.