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I painted “Treehouse at Dusk” after a walk in my neighborhood a few months ago.  The fleeting light of the sun setting on the flag caught my eye, and I just had to paint it that evening.  As the political landscape of our beloved country shifted, the meaning of the painting also evolved.  The position of the flag at “Half Mast” tore at my heartstrings as I posted the painting on Facebook on January 20, 2017.  Among the comments from FB friends: “Very evocative of America post-11/8/2016."  "A ladder to openness and a flag going dark.”  “Lovely and fitting for today... A country weeps.” 

That sense of mourning shifted to inspiration as my daughters and I joined millions at the Women’s March on DC the next day, January 21, 2017 - a day that will go down as the largest civil rights march ever in this history of our country.  The Women’s March lifted my spirits with a sense of solidarity, energy, and hope.  

One aspect that struck me was just how much thought people had put into making their Signs.  I had crowd-sourced ideas for the message on my own sign, and received many suggestions.  Credit for the final message goes to my parents (who have been civil rights activists for decades), and to friends from all over the world whose many "voices" were depicted on my sign. 

Okay, I admit that my "inner nerd" took over and I got a bit obsessed with the signs at the March .... so I catalogued the messages from about 400 signs into an Excel database, and then analyzed the patterns.  See graphs in the next photo.  

But that is the topic of another blog.  Besides the explicit messages, I was also moved by the creativity in many of the signs.  Although some expressed themselves with simple pen on cardboard (like those in the left of this picture), others made more elaborate illustrations  (like the one towards the right in this photo).

Some signs were iconic – like the one held high in this picture.  Many of the more iconic signs emerged from an online art contest sponsored by the Amplifier Foundation before the march.

Some people creatively turned their own bodies into iconic signs, like Lady Justice in this picture (photo credit: Jim Grossfeld).

And some signs incorporated fine art, like this beautiful watercolor sign.  This was my favorite sign at the March, and I wish I had gotten the name of the young woman who painted it.  Love!

Beyond the signs, the most pervasive works of art were the handmade Pussyhats, knitted with love by people from all over the country – often by strangers who couldn’t march themselves.   My own hat found its way to DC through a friend-of a-cousin in Minnesota, who had made numerous hats for marchers in many cities.  What an amazing expression of creative solidarity across our beloved country - and around the world!

After the Women's March, I knew I had to set aside other paintings to embrace and capture the passion, energy and hope of this meaningful moment.  Painting the Women's March is somehow therapeutic.  It's not a "fleeting moment" that lends itself to a "Premier Coup" painting - like the sun setting on the treehouse and the flag.  Rather, it is a deep meditation, weaving in many nuances, layers and colors.  This cherished work-in-progress draws its title from the sign in this picture, carrying forward the powerful voice of the late poet Maya Angelou: "Still I Rise."  

Peace.