Unseen Women
A project to celebrate women.
What it’s all about…
It all begins with a simple but important idea. Mine is that I want all women to feel seen, heard and really celebrated at key life transitions. This creative endeavor aims to do that.
What’s Unseen Women about?
The initial inspiration came from Grayson Perrys Art Club TV show, and seeing someone on there doing a drawing each day on a post-it note.
I was then given a sketchbook for my birthday to create a small ‘doodle a day’. So I started drawing little doodles. It was managable and unintimidating to draw small sketches each day. The page felt less threatening somehow. A whole sketch book was filling up.
I drew lots of things. Mainly patterns - because I’m pattern obsessed! And then I decided to draw faces. The faces of Women in particular.
And so Unseen Women was born. This project gives me an interface between my passion and work in supporting women who feel they are disappeared, are undervalued by society (I work supporting pregnant women and new mothers) and my creativity and passion for drawing and pattern (I also work as a designer and creative director).
It's a celebration of women who feel unseen an invisible as they move through important life transitions - particularly motherhood and menopause.
The final catalyst was my daughter seeing some of my paintings and saying “You’re so good at painting, you should be an artist” and so I have taken that final step from designer to also an Artist.
My work is now moving out of tiny doodles and sketches, and onto paintings large and small. An exhibition is brewing for these paintings of women to be seen. And both original art work and prints will be for sale.
How you can be part of it
I’m looking for inspiration and muses, I want as many women as possible to feel seen by being a part of this project.
So I’d love you to upload a photo of yourself that I can add to my library of inspiration. I’m not creating individual portraits - but using all the images as collective inspiration.
Will you be part of it? Upload your own photo here:
Inspiration
The inspiration for this new work has come from many, many places.
First and foremost the women in my classes and courses over the past decade. The stories I have heard from women becoming Mothers and feeling less important in society, and becoming relevant - despite growing, birthing and nurturing a baby being the ultimate creative act!
Secondly as a mid-life woman myself, knowing all too well the feeling that as women age they become less visible in society - despite having so much to offer. A double disappearance for mid-life mothers!
Art influences include Frida Kahlo, Chris Offili’s watercolour women, Alice Neel, Faith Ringgold’s American People, Inès Longevial.
Other influences I can pinpoint are the books Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez, Hagitude by Sharon Blackie, Ceremony by Brianna Wiestand, Heart Talk by Cleo Wade and hugely the song Marlene On The Wall by Suzanne Vega.
For all the women who feel unseen, and who deserve better.
This is an art project to celebrate you all.
I see you.
Work so far
Some initial doodles and sketches created so far…
My artistic style is a mix of graphic, naive and contemporary. Infused with patterns from my work as a designer and nature from being a human with a love of our planet.
