Mixed Media: Women Writers

Women Writers—their works and their homes

By Grace Popp
QuailBellMagazine.com

Clockwise: Zora Neale Hurston, Virginia Woolf, Dawn Powell, and Sylvia Plath

My series, Women Writers, consists of oil paintings atop collages I made of each author's collective writings. I painted a portrait of each author over her own writers. I also did linocut prints of their houses behind them. These houses actually kind of reflect the things they wrote about. Dawn Powell wrote a lot about New York City, and her home was in Greenwich VIllage, Virginia Woolf was greatly inspired by her garden, etc.

I've been planning on creating pieces as a kind of homage to the powerful female writers I grew up on. These women really questioned what was considered "normal" in their society. I chose these specific writers because I don't think they are given enough credit for their works. Dawn Powell is not well known. Sylvia Plath died shortly after critics tore her only novel apart; only after her death did she receive much attention for her honest portrayal how a patriarchal society hurt a woman aspiring to something greater. Nora Zeale Hurston died very poor. Virginia Woolf's writings weren't even taught in my school. These writers kind of back up the theory that men pretty much dominate our artistic history. The only female painter I learned extensively about in all the art history courses I've taken was Artemisia Gentileschi. On the required reading lists growing up in the public school system, it was primarily works by male authors. I want to continue the paintings, maybe go a little bigger and a little more modern with the writers. We'll see!

Grace is currently a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University majoring in Communication Arts with a minor in Art History. Her mind has always preferred to talk through the hand: drawing has always been her language of choice. In addition, she enjoys a good book, a warm environment, inspiring friends, and a mind-flushing run on terrain.

#Paintings #WomenWriters #GracePopp #Feminism #ZoraNealeHurston #VirginiaWoolf #DawnPowell #SylviaPlath

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