These past few weeks and months have given the female community at large numerous issues to discuss, reflect on, and debate about. The current political discourse has left me disheartened and a little bit baffled. I think this is true for many of us. This has led me to pause and take stock of what it means to be a woman and I wanted to highlight one of my personal role models in this post. One that embodies not only what it means to be an artist, but also a wife, mother, and daughter -- the embodiment of a modern woman. The artist is margaret kilgallen.
She was a san francisco artist that gained notoriety in the late 90s with a handful of other talented artists that started what is now referred to as the neo-folk movement. Even though I am a huge fan of her work, always inspired by her creativity and linework, it is not the primary reason I wanted to write about her. It is margaret, the person, that embodies all that I hope to be as a woman today and is truly my personal heroin. Margaret was a huge supporter of the art community as a whole, and an especially vocal advocate for females. Her work was inspired by women in history that broke boundaries, worked hard, and were pioneers in their own sense. Every one from banjo players to swimmers to dancers were depicted in her body of work.

I wanted to share a few of margaret's words that resonate with me.. She says "I especially hope to inspire young women because I often feel like so much emphasis is put on how beautiful you are or how thin you are and not a lot of emphasis is put on what you can do and how smart you are. I'd like to change the emphasis of what is important when looking at a woman." art is my personal voice as a woman, but every woman has their own story to tell and unique voice to express. Art was margaret's voice as well. Let us continue this strong tradition of confident woman willing to break boundaries and set an example for the young generation to come.