Women and Tornadoes Tornadoes When a tornado touches down and makes a path with violent force of power in our direction, we have been taught to head for shelter underground, in bathtubs, or road ditches. We know the violence well, the destruction left behind- shredded homes, shredded lives. Trees debarked, roofs peeled open, lives lost. The tornado cannot help but both belittle and inspire you. I fear tornadoes rumbling toward me like a heavy freight train touching down from the sky. I fear them, yet I'm in awe of their beauty. I often wonder how long I would stand watching a tornado as it came toward me, just outside my door. Would I be caught in its rapture of beauty? Would I turn and flee knowing I had safety within reach? Or would I stand still? Women Like tornadoes, women are beautiful. And sometimes terrible things happen to beautiful women. In our global world women are dealing with "tornadoes" in their lives on a daily basis. Violent tornadoes, deadly tornadoes. Rape, sexual battery, domestic violence, stalking, the brutal effects of war, genital mutilation, acid attacks, child pornography, stoning deaths, trafficked to work in forced prostitution, government discrimination, severe beatings as well as the role of the media and advertising's negative portrayal of women. These are all tornadoes women around the world are facing every single day. Millions of women throughout the world live in conditions of miserable deprivation and attacks against their fundamental human rights for no other reason than that they are women. Abuses against women are relentless, systematic, and widely tolerated, if not explicitly condoned. Violence and discrimination against women are global social epidemics. We live in a world in which women do not have basic control over what happens to their bodies. We live in a world where women around the world are standing in the path of a "tornado" every single minute of every single day. Too many of us are bystanders. Ultimately, the struggle for women's human rights must be about making women's lives matter everywhere all the time. Women and Tornadoes June 2004 Floating World Gallery Tulsa 30% of earnings from this show are going to DVIS (Domestic Violence Intervention Services). www.DVIS.org www.amnesty.org www.womenforwomen.org
			Global Impact 30x9x7, acrylic, collage, bead and wire on mannequin Global Impact Close-up Beautiful Day 40x30, acrylic on canvas Duet 48x24, acrylic on canvas A Woman's Loss 30x40, acrylic on canvas Late Afternoon Pass 48x60, acrylic on canvas Mighty Aphrodite is Dead Life size mannequin with acrylic, collage, bead and wire Mighty Aphrodite is Dead Close-up The Next Day 48x60, acrylic on canvas Taken Away 48x36, acrylic on canvas This Could Happen To You 36x48, acrylic on canvas Trilogy I 24x48, acrylic on masonite Trilogy II 24x48, acrylic on masonite Trilogy III 24x48, acrylic on masonite Do You Really See Me? 36x48, acrylic on canvas After The Storm 30x40, acrylic on canvas Generations of Eve 27x13x12, acrylic, collage, bead and wire on mannequin Generations of Eve Close-up Wicked One 20x24, acrylic on canvas Friday Afternoon 20x24, acrylic on canvas Shocking the Horizon 48x60, acrylic on canvas For No Other Reason 48x36, acrylic on canvas Undone 36x48, acrylic on canvas Almost There 26x48, acrylic on canvas In Full View 36x48, acrylic on canvas Into the Night 48x60, acrylic on canvas One Woman Tornado/The Effects of Domestic Violence Against Women 2004 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas. Donated to DVIS. Underneath It All 60x40, acrylic on canvas