Social upheaval was front and center in 2020. In many circumstances, the clashes already inherent in our culture were amped up to devastation. We were forcibly reminded that the economic fallout of the pandemic is disproportionately endured by women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ . BUT, the Goddess always rises, and we looked at the 2021 vision of the show with new eyes. In response, we modified our original call for submissions, and invited artists to show us the Goddess “however you perceive her.”
We are beyond thrilled by the response – this show displays an amazing range of gifts and perspectives from artists in many media. For a glimpse of their thoughts, I invite you to reflect on the statements accompanying the art. The curators are very grateful to UMVA for its support and carrying on through 2020, and send our sincerest thanks to all of the artists participating.
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| Susannah - 24 x 24" - mixed media - $850 |
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| Meditations on Being - 30 x 24" - Mixed media - $950 |
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| Broken Beauty I - 22 x 30" - $2500 Donna Gordon |
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| Dread of a Dream Half Remembered |
Dread of a Dream Half Remembered is inspired by the story of Daphne and Apollo from Greek mythology. Daphne, a free-spirited nymph, shuns the idea of matrimony and vows to live a celibate, solitary life in the forest. Apollo becomes enchanted by her, and like many of Daphne’s suitors before, she rejects him. Apollo, bewitched by Eros’s arrow, will not take no for an answer. When Daphne realizes Apollo will catch her, she begs her father, the river god Peneus, to free her from Apollo’s insistence and a life she does not want to live. Peneus takes pity on his daughter, and transforms her into a laurel tree. Though rooted to the ground, Daphne is able to continue a virginal life in the forest she loves. This piece is about the choices a woman makes for herself, and the price that she is sometimes forced to pay for the power over her own life.
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| Yemaya, Protector of Mothers and their Children - Digital - $150 |
Lesley Mac Vane
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| Bronze Beauty - 6 x 4" - Gouache and Ink - $125 |
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Miriam - 24 x 18" - Linocut - $400 |
Joyce Ellen Weinstein
According to the Hebrew bible, MIRIAM took a leadership role in all she did, most especially her essential assistance in helping her people cross the desert, escaping their slavery. The vine stock, in the lower left side of this work, represents the law with its three branches, and the grapes being the righteous souls of each generation. The cup would hold the endless supply of water that sustained her wandering people. Dancing, holding her timbrels, we can imagine MIRIAM leading the women after her. She exemplified and was a model for female empowerment.
Like a caryatid come to life, my sculpted looking BRONZE BEAUTY appears to have the ability to support great weight, be it physical, emotional or psychological. Nevertheless, she is a feminine beauty. Her apparent strength and gorgeous skin tones only add to her empowering demeanor.
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| Mini Icelandic Sheep Woman - Pinky - 6 x 6.5" - Mixed Fibers - $200 |
I like to think of embroidery as means of drawing, but instead of traditional tools to make lines and marks on paper, I use fabric and thread. My works utilize the female nude, transformed -- women with animal heads. This is a form of anthropomorphism known as theriocephaly, and has been used throughout history to represent deities in various cultures. These figures aim to be subversive, yet quiet, and demand an intimate relationship when viewing (which could make the viewer uncomfortable by being so close). The bodies of these figures are soft, saggy, hairy and stretch marked, things every person has seen on their own body.
Yet, unlike some of us, these figures own their new markings and wear them with pride. I use the themes of anthropomorphism, body positivity and humor to showcase the power and tenacious spirit of women, and treat these embroideries as my own little deities. Additionally, these pieces have bright thread drawn patterns on them to emulate tattoos. These patterns are inspired by traditional Icelandic/Scandinavian embroidery and knitwear designs and quilt patterns, and are used to add power to the figures.
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| All is Within Her - 18 x 24" - mixed media - NFS |
Megan L. Williams
My goddess depiction was born out of the feeling that women embody so much, are given so much responsibility, yet are subject to the inequality of a patriarchal society. Figuratively, the female form represents Mother Earth. All the natural world is within and birthed from the goddess. Yet, despite being hailed as creators and the origin of being, the weight of a long history of the systemic silencing of women is born by all of us. The birds represent all the times women’s voices and thoughts have been silenced. They can no longer be contained - and as they burst forth ecstatically, there is a radiant release. All women are goddesses. We can no longer be ignored. We will no longer bear our burden of silence.
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| Goddess - 9 x 5" - Casein on Wood - $200 |
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| Underwater - 14 x 11" - Pastel - $400 Norma Johnson |
Underwater - In mythology, mermaids seduced sailors and smashed ships. Thus they incorporate love and rage, and share dual Goddess attributes of Venus and Kali. As my painting shows, mermaids live underwater, but they also have lungs and breathe air. Part animal, part human, both woman and fish, they suggest deep female connections with nature and fertility.
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| Goddess Within - 30 x 30" - digital - $500 master print on canvas 1/25 (limited edition series of 25) |
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| Goddess Posing as a Scientist and Mother - 24 x 24 - digital - $350 2/25 gallery wrap canvas (limited edition series of 25) Ann Tracy |
Goddess Within - I was so lucky to have caught one of my favorite models, Rene, with some off time and we drove up to the Desert of Maine in Freeport. My camera ran out of juice and I didn't have a backup, so I pulled out my trusty iPod Touch to see what would happen with a double exposure.
Goddess Posing as a Scientist and Mother - Also features one of my favorite models - Meredith. This is from my Domestic Considerations series (https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/ann-tracy?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=819869)
This series of work deals with the double drama women have to deal with when they don't get enough help with the household duties from their spouses and children. When so many women had to drop out of the labor market to take care of house and children, I realized I had been prescient in a way.
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| The Uneasy Goddess - 17 x 11 - Archival digital print - $200 |
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| Goddess of the Waterfront - 17 x 11 - Archival digital print - $250 |
Goddess of the Waterfront - She had been waiting so long for her ship to come in. Her ship has finally come in and left and she turns away. Maybe she was expecting something different. Maybe she was looking for love and there was none. Something that was something trying to pass as love. Disguised as love. Her gloved hands bundles beauty within a framework of disappointment and rage.
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| Invocation To Dance |
Dave Wade
In attempting to picture things in a grander scale than normal, we often return to myth and archetype. Since antiquity, and before established religions, the Goddess has been worshipped as the personification and deification for that primitive/ primal force of cyclic change, inextricably identified with fertility and growth, of birth and rebirth, and Mother Nature herself.
She is the heartbeat of the Universe, Goddess of the 3 realms…the Heavens above, Queen of the Deep, and Mother Earth. She is Mistress of the myth of time immemorial, keeper of the ritual of eternal repetition recreated in dance… the circle coming back upon itself… the dance of the dance.
As Stravinsky imagined in Sacre de Printemps or the Rites of Spring, the dancer is performing a ritual, a celebration of the pagan cycle of the divine dance, a sacrifice to the god of Spring to bring forth fresh growth.
The dancer’s hands are outstretched in an invocation, a call to the heavens to bless and nourish... to the roots below and the tree above to grow and re-blossom. The Goddess’ dance is an invitation for the moon and the spirits of the deep, for the sea to return and the tides to rise, covering and erasing it all again in order for a new fresh cycle to begin.
Around and around. . . the Goddess performs her ceremonial dance in a circle round the sacred tree . . .another circumnavigation of cycles repeated endlessly in the ancient ritual of pre-history and futures past.
davewade1@gmail.com davewadephoto.com
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| Threes_30_x22__Graphite_NFS |
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| Rage_4_x9__Graphite_$3500 |
Melissa
Kulig
My distorted self-portraits in Victorian-era costume are drawn from a side of my emotional landscape that I have rarely let myself explore – an angry, contorted, and ugly place. Though drawn in the traditional medium of graphite on paper, they counter the ancient concept of portraiture as flattery and beautiful resemblances. My inner Goddess in this form is honored and respected.
Exploring feminine rage through line, mark, shadow, and form, I discover a certain beauty in the making, and deep emotional connection to the subject, where the mask of perceived acceptability is lifted, and a new, more authentic beauty, in expressions normally suppressed, is revealed. It is my hope that these portraits let me embrace, in a new light, this dark, angry Goddess in myself.
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| Exuberant Goddess_15x13_mixedmedia_nfs |
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| Sun Moon Goddess_15x12_mixed media__nfs |
I celebrate the Goddess in all of us. Dancing, singing, all the things we want to return in our post-pandemic lives, balanced by the reflective and divine.
Original Collages NFS, Limited edition prints available.
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| SacredFlower#1_9.5x10_PaperCollage_$250 |
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| Sunrise_8.5x9.5_PaperCollage_$150 |
The goddess in Sunrise regards the earth with love but she is holding it rather gingerly. She could easily toss it aside if it is not salvageable. The flowers covering the goddess represent the sun she uses to warm / burn the earth and are also proof that life flows from her.
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| What We Can't Have_.14_x14__encaustic on metal, found objects_300.00 |
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| Willing to Testify_12_x36__encaustic,fabric_450.00 |
strout3@gmail.com - www.annetrout.com - 207-318-1830
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| Untitled_Wood, plastic and bottle_12x12, 26'' H_2019_$1000 |
krystaldebac@gmail.com
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| Breastplate_18_ x20__oil on panel_$995 |
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| Summer_24_x24__oil on panel_$1,200 |
Diane Dahlke
Summer - The statue in this painting is a goddess disguised as an ordinary young woman. Though made of stone, her face and features are soft, rounded, and a little plump. She stares out at us with confidence, Merging, appearing, disappearing among the grapes, she blesses us with the joys and wonders of summer.
dianddahlke.com dhdahlke@maine.rr.com
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| wonderwoman#2_36x36x66__aluminum wire, stone_2500.00 |
Being a sculptor/painter/photographer and a farmer establishes a deep connection for me between my labor, nature, and the continuum of positive human energy experienced by process and communicated through art. As a sheep farmer I have a life-long practice and a particular opportunity for careful observation. As a sculptor, I build structures to contain and communicate ideas, responses, and emotions. I find the slow quiet process of building a work is soothing and affirming. Deeply interested in traditional basket-making, my structures are often vessels with interior elements. Working with wire connects my sculpture to the fencing across my farm.
Wonder Woman 2 is actually my second sculpture of this theme. The first was titled Wonder Woman Magic Carpet Rider. It sold in 2020 and was approximately the same size. I had built it while caring for my husband as he underwent treatment for Lymphoma in 2015. It expressed the Goddess I wished to be and how ungrounded I felt. A patron who saw the piece at June LaCombe’s Hawk Ridge Farm called after the show asking to purchase it, and upon learning it had been sold asked if I could make another. I agreed but pointed out that another one would never come out the same… and it didn’t. Instead, I was surprised by the Covid 19 angst it seems to contain.
"He is the true artist whose life is his material." Henry David Thoreau
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| Winter's Greens 1_18x24_oil on canvas_$1050 |
My initial reaction to the pandemic was rage: at my canceled trip to Spain; at the administration's inept handling of the crisis; at the politicization of common-sense health measures; at my husband's need to flee Portland for our summer farm in Sedgwick on the Blue Hill Peninsula. For us, it was the right decision. Infections rates were, for a time, lower, the grocery store didn't feel so much like the DMZ, chopping wood became a meditation. My rage didn't exactly subside, but being out in the natural world helped damp it down. After a summer of painting small watercolors (I felt too overwhelmed to haul my plein-air oil-painting rig around) I didn’t know what I was going to do once cold weather forced me to confront the studio. And then in early December I met the goddesses, a giant ledge of ancient boulders festooned in greens of every shade, draped in mosses, lichens, ferns, and tree roots. Smack in the center of downtown Blue Hill, they were an unexpected oasis in the midst of a very dark winter. I instantly knew I wanted to paint them, and so began the journey out of the darkness.
8 Flower Farm Lane Sedgwick ME 04676 through October 15 21 Chestnut St Unit 401 Portland ME 04101 October 15-May 15 2022 207.615.8915 www.leslieanderson.com leslie@leslieanderson.com
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| Goddess_16x20_inkjet print_$300 |
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| Savage Beauty_ 50x38_mixed media_$1000 |
My two images originate as photographs of street art. Both involve the female image that has been attached to public walls. The vertical image entitled Savage Beauty is a peeling poster of a female in a compromising and sexually degrading position. The poster has been tagged with red spray paint, worn its way through sections of its backing and a MOMA access pass to a Savage Beauty exhibition has been posted on it. I added the duct tape, the blue paint and wrote the phrases “I’m Here” responding to the “Nobody Was Here” portion of the poster. The Guggenheim Museum provides the background and the female figure stands as an abused and tortured contemporary caryatid. This image embodies the “Rage” dimension of the show’s title where the female form is both exploited and abused.
Ironically, at the other end of the emotional spectrum my second image celebrates the female figure as inspirational and worthy of adoration. The taped photograph is at the very center of a large mural depicting an Indian goddess. Here the tone and execution honors the sanctity and beauty of the eternal feminine mystique. Serenity and wisdom pervade the image. The eyes embody insight and express purity. The Goddess image reflects the “Love” aspect of the show’s title and is a startling counterpoint to “Savage Beauty”.
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Gina Luna Josephs
The Goddess is pregnant with the planet Earth and yet she is brokenhearted. She holds her heart in her hands for all to see; the heart just torn away in this moment of agony. Her pleas are for peace but instead she shows us that she is left with an empty black catacomb in her chest and a heart that bleeds bright red droplets. Her anger has turned into grief for the planet and for the animals that human beings destroy incessantly, not realizing that this kamikaze behavior is the path towards certain doom in a future not far away.Original and truly one of a kind! Hand sculpted in professional stone clay, hand painted with gesso and pastel, embellished with vintage jewels and fabric, rubber snake, vintage decoupage butterflies, vintage flowers, acrylic wigs, driftwood from Maine.
Gina Luna Josephs is a self-taught Italian/Brazilian artist and mystic living in Maine with her beloved husband and adored cats. Her work has been published multiple times in fine art magazines. Gina Luna began sculpting professionally in 1999. She is passionate about creating original art inspired by all that is beautiful and magical in the natural and spiritual worlds.
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| Sharing of Sustenance_30x10x10_wood_$7900 |
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| Arms Around It_30.5x33.5x8.75_wood_$10,900 |
Goddess represents birthing/creation energy, nurturing, supportive of all life…not just human life, but ALL life reaching far into the Infinite Cosmos. This is Love. When we do not act in accordance with the respect She deserves, She will Rage.
Arms Around It encourages us to open our arms wide and expand our minds into the vastness of the infinite Cosmos. Once we can do that, then maybe we will be able to understand how sacred this tiny speck of planet is…and begin to act with deep respect to it and all life.
Sharing of Sustenance, whether it be food, water, medicine, knowledge, technology...is an important human action. This is not about letting others become dependent on the help offered, but rather to be empowered to prosper on their own. The symbolic interpretation of the carved images on the 'body' of the sculpture, which is designed to be turned, like a Prayer Wheel, reveals the Mother Figure handing nourishment to the Children, teaching them how to grow the food, and they in turn, passing the knowledge along to the next generation.
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| Mannequins |
Alice Wilkinson
These two mannequins in a fancy mall are the plastic idea of perfection. They are definitely non-human, but are presented as an ideal, something to work toward, if plasticizing oneself can be considered work. As shown by these two, the artificial often overcomes the real in our minds. They are certainly not goddesses, but who or what is?
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| The Goddess Arises |
I created The Goddess Arises with the intent of asking audiences an age-old question: Do we forgive and accept the wrongs of others, does this act lead the world on a path of healing, or will it only prolong the pain of human suffering? In all honesty, I have yet to come up with a righteous and concrete answer, however I continue to create work such as this, to make sense of the brokenness of human existence, and to make sure that my viewers will spread this message throughout their communities and the world at large.
I was born in Portland and raised in Cumberland Maine. I studied at Green Mountain College in Poultney Vermont, and graduated in 2015 with a BFA in Fine Art. There, I met students from all over the world, and I learned of the controversial and grave issues which permeate global societies. Upon graduating, I settled in Portland Maine, due to its rich artistic background. In the past few years the population of Portland has changed, with an influx of immigrants settling in the city. While the arrival of these new citizens have brought multiculturalism to Portland, issues of discrimination and bigotry have grown across the American nation. In this ever increasing turmoil, I have begun to make art that speaks for societal change, as a way of eliminating forms of exclusion, bringing to light the importance of harmony and peace for all humanity.
(207) 400-2691 www.norajeanferris.com nj@norajeanferris.com
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Goddess Calendar |
Andrew Chulyk
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Sleight of Hand_36x36_mixedmedia_$2000 |
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| 5 Masai Women from Kajiado Standing in the Sun 9" x 12" Oil on canvas, 2021 |
I was able to meet these particular women and spend time with them where they live. It is a celebratory painting paying homage to them and our brief shared experience.
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Terpsichore_9” x 13“_Woodcut on Paper_$50 |
Thor Smith
I want to create an image that captures how music and dance brings joy to the soul. I want the viewer to feel that bliss as the dancer leaps through the layers of cool colors and mixing-up the musical notes. For a brief moment forget the past unprecedented year with quarantines, lockdowns, masks, isolation, politics and social issues that slowly grinds our tender spirit to a bloody pulp. Who better than Terpsischore, the Greek muse of dance and music and maybe a little help from Dionysus.
Born and raised in historic Saratoga, New York, Thor studied art in Indiana, worked as a commercial photographer in Chicago and Dallas before settling down on the banks of the Androscoggin River in Lewiston. Thor’s time as a commercial photographer and experience as a painter influences his unique style of woodcut prints. He draws inspiration from pop culture, music and Soviet era propaganda posters.
https://ntx575studios.wixsite.com/website Etsy.com/shop/ntx575 instagram.com/ntx575
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| Persephone Returns from the Underworld |
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| My Goddess is rooted in the Earth |
Persephone was the beautiful and beloved maiden daughter of Demeter, the Grain Mother and source of earthly abundance and well-being. In Greek mythology, when Hades raped and abducted Persephone into his dark realm of the underworld, Demeter was devastated and chose to withdraw her gift of life to the earth. In Demeter’s grief and anger, the earth’s crops withered and died and all life became threatened. Persephone triumphed and for 6 months she spent receiving and initiating the deceased into their underground realm. During the 6 months she spent on earth, spring and summer, Persephone and Demeter celebrated their reunion and life and vegetation were renewed. The myth represented the rise of patriarchy and loss of choice for women. In pre-Greek myth, Persephone chose to enter the underworld to initiate the dead.
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| Awakening |
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| Flow Portrait No. 9_9x12_acryliconpaper_$120 |
Becky Chase
My piece is a portrait of an ageless woman overcoming silence. Her throat, the source of goddess vitality, bursts fire engine red amongst a backdrop of mature neutrals and delicate pastels. Fire melts away the shackles of feminine restraint; she vocally razes to a status of distinction, so to speak. Her facial features are purposefully ambiguous and distorted; the viewer is challenged to imagine the shape of her mouth and the limitless impact of her voice.
Becky Chase is a Maine-based painter and illustrator who began her artistic practice as a serious endeavor in 2011. Becky’s painterly works are mainly in acrylics, often exploring color interruptions between bubblegum pastel and dour neutrals, using fluid shape and defined, repetitive line work. Her watercolor landscapes additionally take on a minimalist style while emphasizing the availability of negative space. She has displayed her art all over Maine in recent years, including at New Fruit’s Moon Show and Float Harder. In 2015, Becky also published the popular adult coloring book Downeast Daydream: A Maine Coloring Vacation, which was featured in Maine Today and Downeast Magazine. Some of her work is inspired by spending summers on an island in Maine and her roots as a ninth-generation Mainer, with her sixth great-grandfather Ezekiel Bradford settling in Turner in 1782.
chase.rebecca@gmail.com www.twinfawnmedia.com
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| Eye of Ra |
Amy Bellezza
The Cat Goddess Bast, the daughter of Ra, was the original Eye of Ra, a fierce protector who almost destroyed mankind but was tricked with blood-colored beer which put her to sleep, stopping the carnage. She represented playfulness, grace, affection, cunning and sexuality, with the heart of a predator.
In Ancient Egypt, to harm a cat was a crime. Cats, upon their natural death, were mummified and offered at Bast’s temple. Cats protected crops by killing the vermin that ate away at the grains. Egyptians would hunt with them and keep them as pets.
My Cat-Goddess, Winchester Franc Eloise “Winnie”, is a Savannah breed and descended from an African Serval. The Serval was poached in Ancient Egypt and kept as an exotic pet. She is defiant, fiercely independent and rebellious but also very active and playful. I have had to take things off the walls because she leaps up, and pulls them down.
To me, Winnie represents female power. She answers to no one but at the same time, she is such a joy to own (or does she own me?) Along with cats, I link all women with Bast and the true feminine power.
amybellezza@gmail.com amybellezza.com
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| Arising _ 14.5 x 18.5" _ MixedMedia Monotype _ $200 |
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| Nike_Encaustic Monotype _ NFS |
Kristin Onuf
“Arising” is a unique print depicting a possibly divine figure in the midst of a turbulent maelstrom of color, form and mark, evoking the anger that now engulfs our political and social culture. Can we identify? Can we temper the raging storm, emerging as “Nike” with an expansive, triumphant love? Can we begin to celebrate our shared humanity?
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Most of the work in this show is for sale, please either contact the individual artist or email umvaportland@gmail.com for contact information.
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