Showing posts with label virginia woolf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label virginia woolf. Show all posts

Friday, March 8, 2019

may this dress remind us to be phenomenal!!!

In honor of International Women's Day ...


Throughout history, women have been fighting the establishment, changing world views, discovering new frontiers, creating inspiring and provocative literature, art, philosophies, music. 
 There have been women pirates, rulers, astronauts, teachers, mothers, chemists, mathematicians, politicians, athletes, all who have battled for the right to contribute to civilization and to have their voices heard.   They have fought for equality, human rights, the environment, education and the right to vote, and we are all better off for their contributions.  
But there is still so much to be done, in fact, it feels like now more than ever.  
I believe the future of our world is in the hands of women, all women, everywhere. 
The above is image is a mosaic of 80plus women who have made their contributions to their fields, who have changed history, who have saved their fellow citizens, sometimes at their own peril. Some young and some old,  from all countries and races, each driven by the desire to make a difference and not let discrimination, glass ceilings or hardships stop them.
And now the torch needs to be carried by us, all of us, phenomenal us!! 

In 2017, on my art blog, virginiacreates, I dedicated all my March posts to highlight some famous women that you may not know much about ~ click here to visit if you are curious, you will see all those posts and some others about International Women's Day.


Phenomenal Woman

by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. 
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   
But when I start to tell them, 
They think I’m telling lies. 
I say, 
It’s in the reach of my arms, 
The span of my hips,   
The stride of my step,   
The curl of my lips.   
I’m a woman 
Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman,   
That’s me. 

I walk into a room 
Just as cool as you please,   
And to a man, 
The fellows stand or 
Fall down on their knees.   
Then they swarm around me, 
A hive of honey bees.   
I say, 
It’s the fire in my eyes,   
And the flash of my teeth,   
The swing in my waist,   
And the joy in my feet.   
I’m a woman 
Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman, 
That’s me. 
Men themselves have wondered   
What they see in me. 
They try so much 
But they can’t touch 
My inner mystery. 
When I try to show them,   
They say they still can’t see.   
I say, 
It’s in the arch of my back,   
The sun of my smile, 
The ride of my breasts, 
The grace of my style. 
I’m a woman 
Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman, 
That’s me. 

Now you understand  
Just why my head’s not bowed.   
I don’t shout or jump about 
Or have to talk real loud.   
When you see me passing, 
It ought to make you proud. 
I say, 
It’s in the click of my heels,   
The bend of my hair,   
the palm of my hand,   
The need for my care.   
’Cause I’m a woman 
Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman, 
That’s me.



if you have received this post as an email
click below to visit the entire blog, blog link
or click below to visit FB daily dress inspiration group FB link

Saturday, March 2, 2019

A celebration of feminine words of wisdom ...



“Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.”

 Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own


As I said in my last post, I plan to celebrate Women's History Month by posting quotes by women.  The celebration of quotes by women is important to me because as I am a 'quote - junkie', constantly perusing quote books and websites I am painfully aware of the dearth of women authors, especially in the past.  If you look through an older book of quotes you will see the majority of quotes by men, many by 'anonymous' and some by women.  Fortunately, this gender discrepancy has changed, as one can see by looking at many gift shop displays or bookstore's new arrival table, where there are many books celebrating the works and words of women. It is heartening to witness the surge of books recognizing women, however, I feel there is a lot of catching up to do, so I thought I'd join the party.  

To start off this month of highlighting and celebrating the wonderful words of women I turned to the provocative and inspiring Virginia Woolf and her profound quote from her seminal work, A Room of One's Own.  I was assigned to read this book in college and I must confess it was interesting but not earth-shattering.  However, since graduating, I have read it numerous times and each time her words ring truer (which just reaffirms my belief that education is wasted on the young.)

Also this month, I have the honor to do the window display for the inspiring shop, Uni-T, at the Natick mall, where I am continuing this celebration of feminine words of wisdom.  I install on Sunday evening and plan to fill the window with framed 'dressquotes' of all different styles, along with my sculture, 'lilith ...'.  (more photos to follow ...)
framed 'dressquotes'
waiting to go to Uni-T











And along with sharing quotes by women, whenever possible I plan to post a mini bio of the author along with links to further info about these women.  With Virginia Woolf there is a plethora of information and websites about here, which I have listed below. 

Virginia Woolf:
Adeline Virginia Woolf (/wʊlf/;[2] née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.Woolf was born into an affluent household in South Kensington, London, the seventh child in a blended family of eight. Her mother, Julia Prinsep Jackson, celebrated as a Pre-Raphaelite artist's model, had three children from her first marriage, while Woolf's father, Leslie Stephen, a notable man of letters, had one previous daughter. The Stephens produced another four children, including the modernist painter Vanessa Bell. While the boys in the family received college educations, the girls were home-schooled in English classics and Victorian literature. An important influence in Virginia Woolf's early life was the summer home the family used in St Ives, Cornwall, where she first saw the Godrevy Lighthouse, which was to become iconic in her novel To the Lighthouse (1927).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf

(Adeline) Virginia Woolf was an English novelist and essayist regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century.During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929) with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6765.Virginia_Woolf

http://www.virginiawoolfsociety.org.uk

https://www.bl.uk/people/virginia-woolf

if you have received this post as an email
click below to visit the entire blog, blog link
or click here to join the dailydress project group on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookofmotherlove/

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Happy Birthday Virginia Woolf!




“A self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living.”

I love this quote so much because I used to believe that at a certain point in one's life you are done 'growing'?!?! I had this idea that you worked off a check list of achievements and then you were set, an adult?!? I can't believe that is what I thought but I remember being in my twenties when a fellow artist challenged that idea and suddenly I saw everything anew!!

One never stops growing and changing!! That is one of the amazing things about living, every day is a new adventure, offering new lessons, new joys, new tastes, smells and sights.  
So remember that my dears, embrace change!! 
love, mom 

if you have received this post as an email
click below to visit the entire blog, blog link
or click below to join the book of motherlove group on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookofmotherlove/

Sunday, September 18, 2016

day21: dine well


take care of your body, it is the precious vessel in which you get to live your dreams and desires in this life.

Drink lots of water, eat regularly and healthy! you can not expect to learn and do your best if you are starving yourself.  
Your body is like a car engine and to keep it running smoothly you MUST give it fuel!! 
and the better the fuel, the better it runs!!! 

I know that our society still celebrates being thin, self-denial and constant dieting, even though there are volumes of research, studies and physical proof that these behaviors can be harmful and in fact deadly! It also takes so much energy and focus away from other wonderful parts of living!!! 

I highly recommend listening to or reading The Body Book: The Law of Hunger, the Science of Strength, and Other Ways to Love Your Amazing Body by Cameron Diaz. I first picked it up because of the title, suggesting thoughts about hunger, strength and self-love, and as I read it I was not disappointed.  I have put it in our audible account.  

Eating well and taking care of your physical self is something that will benefit you your whole life and allow you more personal freedom to do what you want!!

love, mom

if you have received this post as an email
click below to visit the entire blog, blog link
or click below to visit FB daily dress inspiration group FB link