DragonFly Studio OKI

Ready for

I'm not sure if she's finished. I'm done, for now anyway, but I feel like she's not so 🤷🏻‍♀️. Stay tuned.

Athena
30" x 40"
Acrylic on canvas

Athena, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason.
She was the daughter of Zeus, produced without a mother, so that she emerged full-grown from his forehead. There was an alternative story that Zeus swallowed Metis, the goddess of counsel, while she was pregnant with Athena, so that Athena finally emerged from Zeus.
As a war goddess Athena could not be dominated by other goddesses, and as a palace goddess she could not be violated.
In Homer’s Iliad, Athena inspires and fights alongside the Greek heroes; her aid is synonymous with military prowess. Also in the Iliad, Zeus, the chief god, specifically assigns the sphere of war to Ares, the god of war, and Athena. Athena’s moral and military superiority to Ares derives in part from the fact that she represents the intellectual and civilized side of war and the virtues of justice and skill, whereas Ares represents mere blood lust. Her superiority also derives in part from the vastly greater variety and importance of her functions and from the patriotism of Homer’s predecessors, Ares being of foreign origin. In the Iliad, Athena is the divine form of the heroic, martial ideal: she personifies excellence in close combat, victory, and glory. The qualities that lead to victory are found on the aegis, or breastplate, that Athena wears when she goes to war: fear, strife, defense, and assault. Athena appears in Homer’s Odyssey as the tutelary deity of Odysseus, and myths from later sources portray her similarly as helper of Perseusand Heracles (Hercules). As the guardian of the welfare of kings, Athena became the goddess of good counsel, of prudent restraint and practical insight, as well as of war.
Athena became the goddess of crafts and skilled peacetime pursuits in general. She was particularly known as the patroness of spinning and weaving. That she ultimately became allegorized to personify wisdom and righteousness was a natural development of her patronage of skill.

Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War | Ancient Greece #history #mythology #athena #greekgoddess 🦉 Unveiling Divine Wisdom: Journey with Athena, Goddess of Strategy! 🦉Prepare to be ...

New work in progress.
ATHENA
Goddess of
wisdom,
warfare,
and handicraft.

Walked into today and ran into this old gal. She was one of two originally. It was wild seeing her again, I hope she finds a new home (with someone that has very tall ceilings 😆).
💕

Amelia
34"x30" acrylic on canvas

From as early as I can remember, until I was 13 or 14, I wanted to be a fashion designer. I sketched constantly and was fascinated by all things fashion, art and design. Then I saw the movie Top Gun and decided I'd rather be a pilot. It's silly now, looking back, but I know I'm not the only one who had a similar experience. A few of my friends worked at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome and I started hanging out, got to know a few pilots, the airplanes, learned a little about aviation. Long story short, I didn't learn enough, and not knowing what I didn't know I allowed others to tell me I couldn't be a pilot, and fashion design was silly. So I got a degree in History and went into real estate. 🫤
A few years later an opportunity to become a flight attendant at Midway Airlines opened up and it was the best job I ever had. Then, September 11...
I decided, after multiple attempts to get other jobs at other airlines (no one was hiring) that maybe it was time to become a pilot after all. I started flying and like most people trying to build time I worked other jobs in aviation, bounced around flying anything anyone would let me, and then realized I actually preferred the back of the airplane, and went back to being a flight attendant. All this to say that Amelia was an inspiration to me personally.
I think she can be an inspiration to all of us, however, even if you hate flying. Amelia had a tenacity and an unwavering belief in herself, she didn't let anyone tell her what she couldn't do. She was also a woman's woman and had an unwavering belief in other women. She supported them, used her celebrity to become active in politics, and supported the ERA. She was the first president of the Ninety-Nines and became a mentor to other women pilots.
The first rule in burning down the patriarchy is not to use other women as kindling. We have to support each other, stand up for each other, and be good role models for younger women. I think to be able to do so requires self confidence, tenacity, and an unwavering belief in self.
When you aren't sure what to do next, or who to believe or support, look to Amelia. What would she do?

Frida
24"x24" acrylic on canvas, 2024

One of the ways the patriarchy stays in power is by convincing women we have none. By pitting us against each other & having us believe we are never good enough, strong enough, or smart enough. Misogyny is programmed into us from the time we are born. Our language-a man is assertive, a woman aggressive, etc. Beliefs ingrained: women are irrational and emotional, not as strong, can't lead, etc. slt shaming, even clothing. Boys clothes: comfy, practical, often depict strong, predator animals-lions, tigers, dogs. Girls: "pretty", rarely comfortable or practical, depict prey animals-bunnies, birds, mice.
Girls grow up and vote against their best interests, express disdain towards other women-especially those in power, & question their own ideas or needs unless co-signed by a male. Until & unless women reject misogyny, we can't expect men to & it won't go away.
We can start to fight this is by understanding so much of what we believe is just programming, & then by being unapologetically authentic & owning who we are. Loving ourselves, our bodies, our minds, our quirks, all of it. Realizing, and BELIEVING, our worth is not dependent on how "desirable" we are, how we are perceived by others, or by what we do or possess. When we get to a place of authenticity & self love, we can empower others to do the same. When we are all empowered there is no need to compete, or denigrate. There is no need, or allowing of another, to possess or control. Ideas about one group being superior to another are absurd because we know we are all an integral string in the fabric of humanity.
Frida gave us real portrayals of herself. She never painted herself different than she was. She didn't anglicize her features, make her skin or hair lighter, make herself taller, thinner, curvier or less so. She didn't hide herself or her pain to make her paintings more palatable. She didn't give up when she faced challenges, injury, illness, or loss. She showed us it's not just ok to be real, it is beautiful.
When feeling less than, or when stuck in a self pity spiral, when tempted to judge yourself or another, look to Frida.
What would Frida do?

Since the election, I've been down, Down Bad (as Taylor would say). It didn't help coming home from Fiji and facing my empty nest. Between the post travel blues, empty nest sadness, and post election despair: I didn't know what to do with myself.
Painting is usually my happy place, and I couldn't. Nothing mattered anymore. I had no desire to go out and socialize, to shop, to prepare for the holidays, or any of the other things that in the past would have helped me feel better. I was terrified my depression (now in remission thanks to medicine) would return, and I wouldn't survive this time.
The reality of what my country will become was a devastating gut punch. The reality that my daughter would not grow up with the same freedoms I had or be able to live her life as she chose is infuriating. I wanted to RAGE, but I only felt sadness and despair.
I decided to rewatch Ted Lasso, silly as it sounds. It was, apparently, exactly what I needed. It allowed me to cry and process the grief I was feeling, and it helped me to laugh again, and remember that most people are good and kind and I just need to surround myself with those people. I slowly restarted my yoga practice and daily meditation and one morning I had a vision.
I saw two things in my mind's eye: my daughter's WWJD "what would Jesus do" bracelet and Joan of Arc.
I'm not a politician, a corporation, or a billionaire so I can't affect policy. But I can comment on it. As an artist I can say "this is fu**ed, now what?" and I can do it with paint. The creatives have always been the canaries in the coal mine, the visionaries, the rebels. So here is my offering to the cause.
I'm starting a series of iconic, powerful, rebellious women, and I'm asking the viewer to think about what she would do now, and what they can do now.
This is the first in the series.

Joan Of Arc
30" x 24"
Acrylic on canvas
2024

These two will be up at the @brunswickartscouncil fall show @franklinsquaregallery in Southport. Reception Friday night 5-7pm. Mother Jaguar, Grandmother Moon 2024 24"x30" acrylic on canvas Faerie Door 2024 24"x24" acrylic on canvas