Author: WomenandMyth

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Altared Spaces Art Exhibit

Altared space–Barb Lutz

ASWM member Barb Lutz, whose work is featured on the page Myth and Living Rituals, had first  gallery showing of her unique earthen altars (“shamanic creations of sacred space”) in Madison, WI, in May.

These are words and images from Barb Lutz’s art show, “Altared Spaces,” which ran concurrent with the recent ASWM Symposium in Madison, where Barb also presented, and RCG-I’s annual “Gathering of Priestesses and Goddess Women.”

One entered the exhibit experience, which was dedicated to the Earth (“we will not forsake you!”) through a “Hall of Ancestors.” These words welcomed visitors:

You are entering sacred space.. . . You are entering the culture of a very special Tribe of Wimmin who honor and love the Goddess and who Follow the Wheel of the Year (the Seasons of Nature), the Wheel of Life, as our Life.

“Our religion is the Wheel. Our language, Ritual. Our tribe, Dianic….Goddess…. Amazon!”*    

Each elaborate display was visual and silent.  Barb chose not to add written explanations to the altars, instead inviting people to “simply and deeply experience them as an opportunity for an intimate conversation between each of us and Her. “

Barb had this to say:  My work as an altarist, ritualist, and creator of sacred space is done within the culture of my People, Goddess wimmin, in our Mystery School in North Carolina, the WOTY program, rituals, and other venues.  These altars are about my relationship to Her, from their conception to manifestation to the completion, when the dirt and sand and other natural items are composted in our garden or made use of in other altars and sacred spaces.

My inspiration is Nature, the temples and science and art of ancient Goddess cultures, my foremother’s such as archeologist Marija Gimbutas, other artists and researchers, my Priestess, and the wimmin I Circle with, who are also Nature. 

 

 

*from unpublished manuscript by Kim Duckett, soon to be serialized on RCG-I’s Seasonal Salon. 

Altar by Barb Lutz
Altar by Barb Lutz
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Midwest Symposium to Feature Mary Kelly

MIDWEST SYMPOSIUM MAY 19, 2011 in MADISON, WI

Our Midwest Symposium with the theme Art and Inspired Scholarship is scheduled for Thurs. May 19, 2011,  in Madison, Wisconsin.

The keynote speaker at this event is Mary B. Kelly, textile expert and artist, who will present a 7:30 p.m. lecture entitled Goddess. Women. Cloth: Inspired Ritual Textiles from Around the World. This evening lecture will feature slides and hands-on experience with the textiles.

Embroidered Goddess, Norway

Within folk cultures across the world, women make textiles, inspired by goddesses, then use them in rituals to honor their deities, contact spirits or protect their families and communities.

In some areas these traditions continue today. This presentation features an overview of the textiles in the context of history, rituals and religious beliefs. Kelly explores cultures worldwide: Siberia, China and the Far East, India, Central and South East Asia, Eastern, Northern and Central Europe, Greece and the Balkans, Africa and the Americas, sharing her extensive knowledge and research on local textile traditions.

Embroidered Goddess from Eastern Europe

Mary B. Kelly is Professor Emerita at Tompkins Cortland Community College, an affiliate of the State University of New York, and holds advanced degrees from Syracuse University and the Rhode Island School of Design. She has published numerous books and articles in the United States and abroad, notably in Folk Dress in Europe and Anatolia, ed. L. Welters (1999 ); Making and Using Ritual Cloth ( 2004 ); Goddess Embroideries of the Northlands ( 2009 ); Kaspaikka Muistiilina ( Memory Cloth); ed. L. Sappi (2010); and Goddesses in World Culture, ed. P. Monaghan (2010).

Kelly’s research has been supported by several Fulbright grants, and recent articles have appeared in such textile publications as Piecework, Needle Arts,Bunad, and Vesterheim. She served as guest curator of the exhibition “Sacred Symbols, Ceremonial Cloth” at the Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum in Decorah, IA (2009). She has lectured at the Smithsonian Institution and the Textile Museum, in Washington, DC, the Mingei Museum of Folk Art,The Czech and Slovak Museum, the Ukrainian Museum, and at Oslo University, Norway.

Kelly makes her home on Hilton Head Island, SC, where she teaches, exhibits and maintains a painting/weaving studio.  Learn more about her art and books at marykellystudio.

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Mary Kelly keynote: Goddesses. Women. Cloth.

Goddesses.  Women.  Cloth: Mary Kelly To Give Keynote Address at ASWM Midwest Symposium

Ebroidered Goddess, Norway

ASWM is excited to present its 2011 Midwest Symposium Thursday, May 19, 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin. The keynote speaker at this event is Mary B. Kelly, textile expert and artist, who will present a 7:30 p.m. lecture entitled Goddess. Women. Cloth: Inspired Ritual Textiles from Around the World. This evening lecture will feature slides and hands-on experience with the textiles.

Within folk cultures across the world, women make textiles, inspired by goddesses, and use them in rituals to honor their deities, contact spirits or protect their families and communities.

In some areas these traditions continue today. This presentation features an overview of the textiles in the context of history, rituals and religious beliefs. Kelly explores cultures worldwide: Siberia, China and the Far East, India, Central and South East Asia, Eastern, Northern and Central Europe, Greece and the Balkans, Africa and the Americas, sharing her extensive knowledge and research on local textile traditions.

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Image Archive for Educational Use

If you are frequently searching for images from art history or archaeological sites, you might want to add California State University’s WorldImages site to your bookmarks.  This site contains more than 80,000 images which you are free to use for non-profit educational purposes, provided that you credit the copyright holders of those images.  The database began as a collection used for teaching a survey art history course, but it has grown to include images appropriate for all grade levels.

The photo above is an example of an image relevant to our ongoing exploration of bee imagery.  Here’s the copyright information provided in WorldImages:

Silver Tetradrachm. Bee. Ephesos.
390 BCE-340 BCE
Silver
Struck
Greek Classical
Ephesus. Turkey.
New York. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
©Kathleen Cohen

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East Symposium on (R)Evolution Blog

Lisa Paul Streitfeld, who presented a paper in Philadelphia on “The Embodied Goddess in 21st Century Art,” took some beautiful photos of the event and posted them to her thought provoking blog.  Check it out: (R)Evolution!  Catalyzing the Zeitgeist. And, see a clip of an interview with Lisa talking about the necessity for the emergence of women’s creative energy.

If you attended and took pictures, please let us know and we will be happy to post them as we have space!