During the pandemic, a few women from the Keys and across the country met once a month online for a feminist book club, started by friend and fellow artist, Kristen Norman. The topics and concepts from these books sparked the idea for this body of work.

Using the rooster as a metaphor for patriarchal systems/behaviors and casting several of my friends as models, these paintings are the visual result of shared conversations, stories, and experiences between women.

Feminist Fightclub by Jessica Bennett was the spark that got the neurons firing about a series using chickens, Key West roosters in particular, as a stand-in for some of the topics and terms that the author wrote about. You know that rooster that just won’t shut up in the tree outside your window, head thrown back, beak open, mouthing off with all the confidence in the world…or mansplaining (or cock-splaining)? That got this series started. The idea was funny and lighthearted at first. As we made our way through the readings and we shared our stories, the humor (although still there) started to fall away, and the concept for the work got a little more serious. 

I love chickens. They’re relaxing to watch (when the roosters aren’t trying to kill each other), the chicks are adorable, and they are such a part of Key West. The Key West rooster is sexy, has swagger, struts with bravado. But if you watch them long enough and project human behaviors and constructs onto them, they can morph into violent, egomaniacal, absurd examples of the worst in the male gender and behavior.

This is not a body of work about bashing men (or roosters). It is about my and other women’s stories about our experiences, mostly in the workplace where the entire system, usually male-driven, has affected us and how we navigate that dynamic. This book club was also about learning how as women we often, unknowingly, contribute to the problems of not being heard, not taking up more space, and undercutting ourselves. This “unknowingness” had light shed on it, and through books and conversation, we became more empowered and skilled to chip away at the status quo with new, practical tools. Most importantly, I think we all came away more determined to take up more space, and take less shit.

The women I chose were women who have a common thread that runs through all of them…they are all fighters. They are all artists. They are tough. They advocate for others. They are incredibly kind, and generous. And they know how to use their voices. Getting to spend hours painting them was a really beautiful gift to me. 

Here is a list of the books we read:

Feminist Fightclub  by Jessica Bennett

The Seven Necessary Sins for Women by Mona Eltahawy

Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxanne Gay

Bring Yourself by Mori Taheripour

Pussy: A Reclamation by Regena Thomashauer and Hay House

What Would Frida Do? by Arianna Davis

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Machiavelli for Women by Stacey Vanek Smith

Self Compassion by Kristin Neff

Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics by Mirabai Starr

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Finally, Clarissa Pinkola-Estes, “Women Who Run With The Wolves” (not read in the bookclub) added energy to these works (look closely at Kristen’s painting).

If you would like to follow the rest of the series as it develops, please come back to this page for updates and to see the process unfold.

KRISTEN. Oil, acrylic and stainless steel on birch panel (48 x 36 x 2 inches)

KATE. Oil, acrylic on  birch panel  (35 x 80 x 2 inches)

Next up on the easel…Sarabel.