Upcoming Art Show and a View of Progress 2024

Sometimes, especially if, as I am, you are a somewhat anxious person, you can get caught up in What's Wrong These Days! I was having a talk yesterday, on our snow day, via texting, with a neighbor about the proliferation of new beer distilleries and marijuana dispensaries in our Garden State. I was, half jokingly, asking the rhetorical questions: Isn't driving on our highways dangerous enough? Do we not have enough DUI's and acoholica and drug addicts on our streets and in our homes? And then suddenly, feeling a bit dragged down by the dark gloomy weather and the steady fall of little flakes of worry, I thought of an old song "Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative, latch on to the affirmative and Don't mess with Mr. In-between>"

Once, I made a little graphic design in my daily sketch/writing journal that showed outlook as something like a radio station where you could change the channel and get a whole different kind of music. Sure, there is plenty to worry about and you don't have to search far to find it. Every time I open my e-mail, I am bombarded with disasters: today there was a young woman who stabbed her mother to death in Mt. Laurel, a young man shot to death in Camden, clarion blasts about the crooked megalomaniac Trump's triumph in the GOP caucus in Iowa, entrenched divides between democrats and republicans over immigration and abortion, and the threat posed by the seemingly insoluble problems of homelessness and immigration, not to mention climate change. I have no answers for any of these deep problems. Personally, I am worried about how I am going to walk my dog on the icy, slick frozen snow of the sidewalks. My dog and I haven't had a walk in two days!

Well, here is a new station to turn the dial to. I have gathered the materials and started work on an art project for the upcoming annual Haddon Fortnightly and HMHS 50-50 Club March "Through a Woman's Eyes" Art Exhibition, the theme of which is MODERN WOMANHOOD.

You are probably familiar with those triangular pennants favored among colleges and sports teams and scenic vacation spots. I had bought some for my daughter when she was little and we visited various vacation spots. I think we had one for the Steam train in Stroudsburg and another for Shenandoah National Park. I have always loved these pennants - the flourish of the lettering, the colorful art. So I decided to pick a dozen categories of achievement and make a pennant for a woman who has gained fame and success in each. Here they are:

Art - Kara Walker, contemporary artist, famous works include her silhouettes depicting the cruelties of slavery and her huge sculpture of a sugar sphinx entitled 'The Subtlety'

Business - Sheryl Sandberg - successful CEO and author of best seller on success for women in business 'Lean In'

Entertainment - Oprah Winfrey, media mogul

Film - Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' set box office record as one of top grossing films of all time

Human Rights - Malala Yousefzaid, winner of Nobel Peace Prize for her activisim for female education

Journalism - Christiane Amanpour - Chief International anchor for CNN earned every major television journalism award

Music - Beyonce/Taylor Swift - two global music powerhouse billionaire businesswomen

Politics - Kamala Harris - First woman Vice-President of the United States

Religion - Nadia Bolz Weber - Influential Lutheran Pastor and author of three New York Times bestsellers

Science/Technology/Medicine- Emmanuelle Charpentiere and Jennifer Doudna Nobel Prize Winners for CRISPR - gene editing.

Sports - Serena Williams, won ore grand slam singles titles (23) than any other woman or man in the open era,

Writing - J. K. Rowling, richest author in the world (1 billion) and Harry Potter series best selling series in history (600 million copies)

So, working on this ART project really put progress in a new frame for me, as a woman in the world, because at my age, 78, I can remember when it was said that the public wouldn't pay attention to a female news anchor, and when I was in college, our survey of world literature didn't include a single female author. Hillary may not have become President, but progress is made in steady steps forward and Kamala Harris has achieved that.

Happy New Year! Jo Ann wrightj45@yahoo.com