Category: Visual Arts

Activities of ASWM and its members in the area of the Visual Arts

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Symposium: Arts and Culture Hall ~ MamaDonna and Pegi Eyers

Meet Presenters in Our Arts and Culture Hall:

MamaDonna Henes and  Pegi Eyers

We are excited to offer special Arts and Culture Hall “booths” where some of our great presenters will share their work through videos and links, and maybe even in face-to-face conversations with you! There are also booths for academic programs and other resources. You may access these booths any time from April 3 to April 18m,  by signing in after you register and selecting the Culture Hall at the top menu. Sign up to receive presenter news, see their videos, leave messages, and meet other attendees at the “table” at each booth.  Visit these great presentations by:

Booths with MamaDonna Henes and Pegi Eyers

MamaDonna Henes: “Wisdom Delivered By Wing: Me & My Birds”

Multi cultural bird mythology, folk lore and contemporary stories. Bird goddesses and bird familiars. bird omens and bird teachers.Avian visitations, inspirations, lessons trance-formations. Bird dreams, bird omens, and lots of amazing true stories!

MamaDonna with Ola

MamaDonna Henes is an internationally acclaimed urban shaman, popular speaker, and award-winning writer specializing in multi-cultural ritual celebrations of the cycles of the of the seasons and the seasons of our lives. (cityshaman@aol.com)

Pegi Eyers: “Deep Time Wisdom” 

Embracing ways of thinking that pre-date Empire is a good starting point for all endeavors that revive the eco-self, and our re-connection to matristic community bonded to the land. Shifting away from the patriarchy is possible, and from pre-colonial, Indigenous or egalitarian models, the worldview and values we need are just waiting to be re-kindled. Also known as “decolonization,” we all have access to a well of deep knowing, or ancestral knowledge, that can be revived with immersion in nature, and by focusing on the “old ways.” Compiled from years of experience and research, Deep Time Wisdom will weave through a comparison chart that identifies the habits of modernity we take for granted, and alternatives in holistic patterns of thought and action. As just one example, “modern thinking/western mind” regards humans as separate from nature, bounded by the ego, self-absorbed, material and having a sense of linear time; whereas “ancestral thinking /Indigenous mind” views humans as part of nature, connected, empathic, physically grounded and embodied. I conclude with a statement on combined intelligences, or the “entwining of heart and mind” that fulfills our potential as true human beings. It may be a daunting task to “read our own souls” as women dwelling in an animist universe once again, but the outcome is clear that by activating Deep Time Wisdom, we align with the sacredness of the Earth, and the love and respect for nature that dwells at the heart of our lives.

Pegi Eyers is the author of the award-winning book Ancient Spirit Rising, a survey on social justice, nature spirituality, and the holistic principles of sustainable living. Pegi self-identifies as a Celtic Animist, and is an advocate for the recovery of ancestral wisdom and traditions for all people. She lives near Peterborough, Canada, on a hilltop with views reaching for miles in all directions. (Pegi-eyers@hotmail.com)

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Denise Kester’s Artwork Draws on the Dream for our 2022 Symposium

“The Caretaker of the Precious” by Denise Kester

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. 

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Call for Proposals: ASWM 2022 Symposium

 

 “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, documenting 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, 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.  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. 

Such topics may include (but are not limited to):

  • Dialogues  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 “staying with the trouble” 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 .

Click here to view a detailed Call for Proposals with guidelines and submission form

 

About the artwork: “The Caretaker of the Precious,” a monoprint by Denise Kester  of Drawing on the Dream (2001) beautifully conveys the intention and spirit of our program.

 

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Opening: Our International Art Exhibition

“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.”

Mary B Kelly, 2011 Keynote

We dedicate this exhibition and the gallery itself to our beloved artist-foremothers, Mary B. Kelly and Lydia Ruyle.

 

Lydia Ruyle, Aloha!

 

The exhibition runs from July 7 to December 31 in our gallery and is open to the general public.

Join us for the symposium:

Member Registration

Non-member Registration

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.

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“Wisdom Across the Ages” 2021 Symposium To Honor Marija Gimbutas

Wisdom Across the Ages: Celebrating the Centennial of Archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas

July 16-18, 2021

 Call Deadline: Feb 15, 2021

 

 

Marija Gimbutas

Marija Gimbutas’ pioneering scholarship on the earliest horticultural societies focuses on Old European cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean (6500-3500 BCE).

She founded the field of archaeomythology to investigate beliefs, rituals, symbols, and social structures of these early societies. Archaeomythology is inspiring a new generation of scholars to develop a deeper understanding of past and present earth-based societies.

Our ASWM symposium seeks to expand this understanding by highlighting the voices of First Nations and Indigenous scholars to discuss indigenous, Old European, and other Nature-based cultures.

We are seeking proposals in these topic areas:

  • Women at the Center: Matrifocal, Matristic, Matriarchal Societies
  • Voices from the Land
  • Sacred Human-Animal Relationships

We are also seeking artists’ entries for a juried art exhibit.

 Links to the Calls are on the womenandmyth.org/symposium page.

 

Our 2021 Symposium is presented in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeomythology (IAM). Inspired by the scholarship of Lithuanian-American archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, IAM is an international organization of scholars dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary approach to cultural research with particular emphasis on the beliefs, rituals, social structure, and symbolism of past and present societies. The Institute encourages dialogue among specialists from diverse fields by sponsoring international symposia, by publishing collected papers and monographs, and by promoting creative collaboration within an atmosphere of mutual support.