Our thanks to Denise Kester for sharing her artwork with us for our 2022 Symposium, “Hearing the Invisible: Lessons from Sentient Beings and Inter-related Ecosystems.” Our focus is on connections and relationships among people, animals, and the green world. Denise’s monoprint “The Caretaker of the Precious” (2001) beautifully conveys the intention and spirit of our program, as does her poem that accompanies the piece:
She says it is the small things that matter.
She says it is the life force of the unseen and
the vulnerable that hold our world
together by their fragile threads.
She says these things are precious to me.
I will care for them.
Denise is a full-time artist in Ashland, Oregon. She is author of the book “Drawing on the Dream.” She specializes in monoprint and monotype viscosity printing, as well as drawing and painting, based in part on her dreams and intuition. Denise teaches a variety of workshops on the creative process, including printmaking, bookmaking, surface design, collage, and block printing.
She says of her work, “I draw from the dream and the dream draws from me. The stories and the art I reach for are also reaching for me. Together in partnership we create a visual story that is relevant to me and also to the global community. I explore the connection and interconnection with the universe through art and dreams.”
Check out Denise’s interview with Oregon Art Beat to see the behind-the-scenes creative process that results in her colorful images of animals and nature. And see more of her work on her website, Denise Kester: Drawing on the Dream.ย
ย “Hearing the Invisible: Lessons from Sentient Beings and Inter-relational Ecosystems”
Call for Proposals: ASWM Online Symposium: Sunday, April 10, 2020
“The Caretaker of the Precious,” Denise Kester (2001)
Jane Goodall has pointed out our own contemporary lesson that human global disregard for nature brought on the current pandemic,ย documentingย that mistreatment/exploitation of sentient beings can result in an exponential crisis for the whole planet.
Our 2022 biennial Symposium focuses on meanings found in the relational reality among science,ย culture, and mythology in regards to animals, the green world, and ecosystems.
We especially encourage proposals from Native American/Indigenous scholars and women of color.ย We welcome scholars from all fields with contributions to further expanding our understanding of our universal relatedness in the community of sentient beings.
With our primary focus on interconnectedness, we welcome academic and artistic presentations concerning ecological and scientific scholarship. In particular we seek work that addresses collaborations between humans and other sentient beings, foundational myths about earth’s response to misuse, and scientific solutions to transgressions against the balance of nature.ย
Such topics may include (but are not limited to):
Dialoguesย between “Western” scientific findings and indigenous science and insights
Cautionary tales of animal guardians redressing human greed and over-consumption
Examples, in Haraway’s terms, of โstaying with the troubleโ of ecological devastation
Women’s roles in promoting justice for land, animals and climate
Patterns of Cross-species Companionship in Science and Contemporary Fiction and Arts
Our Cousins the Bears: Myths of Cross-species Relationships
Selkies and Crane Wives: What Shapeshifting Women can teach us
Goddesses and Sea Creatures: Wisdom from the Deep
Comparative mythologies and science about pollinator-plant symbiosis
Mythologies and goddesses of origins, transitions, liminalities, and migration
Divine interventions for healing out-of-balance human behaviors
Myths of reciprocity and partnership among sentient beings
Feminist spiritual traditions that inspire earth-centered activism
Proposal deadline: January 20, 2022
For questions, contact submissions@womenandmyth.org .
About the artwork: “The Caretaker of the Precious,” a monoprint by Denise Kesterย of Drawing on the Dream (2001) beautifully conveys the intention and spirit of our program.
Jazz and Vocal Improvisation with the Lithuanian kanklฤs
Our 2021 program is enhanced by the inclusion of performances byย accomplished musicians and composers. These performances are included during interludes between sessions, and are also available to view at any time in our PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Simona Smirnova
Simona Smirnova is a Lithuanian born jazz vocalist, composer and kanklฤs player based in New York City. Sheโs a fixture in the New York live scene with her quartet when sheโs not touring the world, including Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
โSimonaโs genre-bending style has a unique theatrical flavor and uncanny vocal improvisation techniques. She deftly implements chamber music, Lithuanian zither โ kanklฤs โ and folkloric chants into foundations of jazz and rock.
Simonaโs latest album, Joan of Arc, for String Quartet, is an original composition written as a soundtrack for the classic Carl Dreyer silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). The album is a cinematic landscape of chamber pop, jazz and folklore.
โClassically trained on the kanklฤs, Simona earned her BA in jazz vocals at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater. Shortly after receiving the European Touring Scholarship, she moved to the United States to study at Berklee College of Music where she earned a degree in Contemporary Composition and Production.
Our thanks to Giedrฤ Elekลกytฤ-Knieลพa, Chair of Lithuanian American Community Cultural Affairs, for her help in connecting us withย Simona’s work.
Registration for symposium recordings is now available to the public! Register here.ย ย
To give you plenty of time to view the program at leisure, all sessions will remain available, to those who register, until the end of July 2022.
“Wisdom Across the Ages: An International Women’s Art Exhibition”
July 7 – December 31 2021
ASWM Online Art Gallery
Association for the Study of Women and Mythology
Artemisia Gentileschi Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting
We are delighted to announce the opening of our inaugural juried exhibition in ASWM’s new online art gallery. This exhibition of works by 45 artists and filmmakers from around the world was created in concert with our 2021 online symposium, “Wisdom Across the Ages: A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas.”
Our organization was founded by women who appreciated the essential role of the arts in developing, promoting, and inspiring scholarship and research.
Patricia Monaghan
Patricia Monaghan was not only the author and editor of many books about goddess scholarship; she was also an internationally recognized poet. Pat’s well-crafted words continue to find their way into performances, ceremonies and women’s life passages. Sid Reger is a visual artist with a happy background in feminist theatre. She has also created and promoted festivals and arts events on local, national, and international stages.
Sid says, “We understood from the beginning that all of the arts were essential sources of inspiration and collaboration for scholarship. Many artists are scholars, and vice versa, and we were always excited to see what happens when they meet in the same room. We were guided by one simple idea: Change the images (or words or dances), and you can change the world.”
We dedicate this exhibition and the gallery itself to our beloved artist-foremothers, Mary B. Kelly and Lydia Ruyle.
Mary B Kelly, 2011 Keynote
Lydia Ruyle ~ Aloha!
Facebook Live Promo interview on 7/7/21 with Kathleen Koch and Alini Mondini:
ย Facebook Live Promo interview on 7/7/21 with Lyn Belisle:
ย The exhibition runs from July 7 to December 31 in our gallery and is open to the general public.
To give you plenty of time to view the program at leisure, all sessions will remain available, to those who register, for twelve months following the event.
New Compositions Inspired by Lithuanian Folk Music
Our 2021 program is enhanced by the inclusion of performances byย accomplished musicians and composers. These performances are included during interludes between sessions, and are also available to view at any time in our PUBLIC LIBRARY.
We are pleased to be able to present new works performed by the Kalnas Ensemble. The Ensemble, which began performing right before the pandemic shutdowns, has happily recovered from that hiatus to be able to record recent concerts. The Ensemble is a string quartet focusing on Lithuanian musical roots, exploring compositions of Stanley Chepaitis with improvisatory overtones, as well as performing standard quartet repertoire. The ensemble is a diverse group of multi-talented individuals with a commitment to engaging audiences with a dynamic approach to live performance. In addition their wide spectrum of knowledge and interests allows them offer workshops and other interactive presentations that enhance the meaning and experience of the music they perform.
The Kalnas Ensemble, 2021
Dr. Chepaitis has provided these original folksongs that inspired his compositions:
Dr. Stanley Chepaitis, founder, composer, and Violinist, holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree and a Master of Music, asย well as a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. He is aย versatile performing and recording artist who is at home in a classical stringย quartet, a jazz band, and anything in between.ย ย His career spans fifty years in which time he has performed nationally andย internationally, composed and premiered his own works, and recorded sevenย CD’s mostly of original music.ย Dr. Chepaitis has been at the forefront of the Alternative Styles Movementย having had a leading role in ASTA Alternative Styles Conferences.
Swana Chepaitis, Violinist, ย received a diploma in Violin Performance and Pedagogy fromย the Hochschule fรผr Kรผnste in Bremen Germany. She studied with Mariaย Grevesmรผhl and Baroque violin specialist Christoph Heidemann. She has been aย member of L’arco (a professional Baroque orchestra based in Hanover,ย Germany), the Litton String Quartet. Mrs. Chepaitis currently performs with theย Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, does freelance performance as a baroqueย violinist in the Pittsburgh area, and maintains a studio of 20+ violin students inย Indiana, PA.
Simon Maurer, Violin, Baroque Violin, Viola ,studied violin at the Conservatory in Biel,ย and continued his studies in the U.S. with Geoffrey Michaels, Joyce Robbins andย Claire Hodkins. He is the founder and artistic director of Sunday Sinfonia, a String Orchestra ofย enthusiastic amateur string players, based in Lancaster, Pa.ย Mr. Maurer is the artistic director of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, a group that takes pride in bringing classical musicย to underserved areas. In 2010 the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble took over theย leadership of the Schuyllkill Youth Orchestra, newly renamed Gabriel Youthย Orchestra.ย Mr. Maurer also ventures in the practice of jazz and freestyle improvisation. Heย has been a featured soloist in Philadelphia area jazz clubs, has performed atย โJazzfestโ in Schuylkill County and Reading Pa.
Nancy Baun, Cellist, ย has performed over 1,000 events throughout the United States, including three appearances at Carnegie’s Weil Hall, as well as in Switzerland, France, Italy, Iceland, and Canada. She appears on nine piano trio recordings, including a series on the Naxos International label โHome for the Holidaysโ, a favorite of Public Radio audiences. Her favorite highlights also include judging the semifinals of the renowned Koussevitzky Competition in New York City, and performing in a World Music Institute event at Merkin Concert Hall.ย ย She has been an elementary music teacher for over 10 years in urban Buffalo, where she designed curriculum for her passion, โcollaborative connections with musicโ. She has received a national Young Audiences grant for her education workshops integrating music with drawing. She currently presents S. T. E. A. M. training to elementary teachers, as well as using music to teach life skills to formerly incarcerated.
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