Jailbreak
The Jailbreak Series is an exploration of imprisonment—self-imposed and societal. In this series, I examine my own struggles with living life based societal pressures; and explore the courage and means other women have taken to wage their own personal wars that have shaped our larger world.
Katharine’s Secret
Our rights should never be up for debate. But while they are, we’ll be here—standing, speaking, and pushing back. This contemporary painting features Katharine McCormick, capturing her fierce dedication to women's rights and health autonomy. She stands in a poised, determined stance, symbolizing her role as a suffragette and advocate. Delicate, coded messages in the background subtly convey her commitment to organized resistance, allyship, and equality, evoking her legacy of smuggling contraceptives and her relentless fight for reproductive freedom and women’s empowerment.
Mixed Media - Acrylic on canvas, canvas sewn onto canvas, paper collage
Size: 60 W x 72 H x 1.5 D in
Octavia’s Voice
In this later-years portrait of Octavia Butler, her reserved expression and thoughtful, almost somber gaze reflect both the quiet shyness and profound introspection that shaped her life. Her face, now etched with the lines of time, speaks to her enduring resolve—each wrinkle a testament to her lifelong persistence in cultivating her voice, despite early doubts about her looks, intelligence, and abilities. In contrast with earlier portraits of Octavia, this piece is hinting at a rare, tentative confidence that grew into one of the most original voices in sci-fi. Did she ever see herself as the legend she became? Perhaps not—but her legacy stands boldly as a symbol of resilience and the power of self-belief.
Mixed Media - Acrylic on canvas, paper collage
Size: 60 W x 72 H x 1.5 D in
Grace’s Vote
In 1914, Grace Marcon cast her vote in the only way available to her, by taking a knife to five paintings in London’s National Gallery. She was inspired by Mary Richardson’s earlier chopping of Diego Veasquez’s Rokeby Venus, which Richardson justified by saying, “I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government destroying Mrs Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history. Justice is an element of beauty as much as colour and outline on canvas.” Marcon and Richardson were joined by Mary Wood (reportedly “an elderly woman of distinctly peaceable appearance”), who hacked apart a portrait of Henry James, stating that, “I have tried to destroy a valuable picture because I wish to show the public that they have no security for their property nor for their art treasures until women are given political freedom.
Mixed Media - Acrylic on canvas, canvas sewn onto canvas, paper collage
Size: 60 W x 72 H x 1.5 D in
Judith’s Voyage
Judith Resnick, PhD, was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Resnick’s independence showed early in her life, when at the age of 17 she successfully sued to separate herself from her mother’s custody, largely because her mother did not approve of her dating. Judith eventually married and then divorced her partner because she did not want to have children.
Navigating societal boundaries, she went on to excel as a scientist, engineer, and astronaut. She was deemed by NASA to be the best qualified to be the first Woman in space, but was set aside in favor of Sally Ride because it was felt that Resnick’s life story as a single/divorced woman known for making her own choices might not be well liked by the American public.
Judith broke through the bars of her imprisonment; setting the example for other’s that living your life to the fullest may not be acceptable to those around you—and it is very much worth the consequences.
Mixed Media - Acrylic on canvas, canvas sewn onto canvas, paper collage
Size: 60 W x 72 H x 1.5 D in
Having it All
This self-portraiture examines the prison of “achieving it all”. When she reached that point that she had hoped and fought for, she was surprised by the sadness that is still felt within. In thinking that she had escaped the bounds of societal expectations, she learned she had simply reached a new level of imprisonment in having to be the right kind of woman at the top.
Acrylic painting on canvas
Size: 60 W x 72 H x 1.5 D in
Caitlin Pays the Price
Inspired by pictures from the WNBA draft night where she was #1 pick. Should be the happiest night, culmination of collegiate level celebrity, but really is the start of a very long, harsh slog. The violence of insults thrown at her. How it’s just beginning and will only get worse. Something to be endured. Society does not like women who threaten all others with their excellence. Her facial expression is meant to show the weariness to come.
Mixed Media - Acrylic on canvas, paper collage
Size: 60 W x 72 H x 1.5 D in
Birth of the Furies - Lorena’s Fight
In Greek mythology, Uranus was known as the personification of Heaven, and yet he is also reputed to have hated his offspring so much that he hid them inside of Gaea’s body. Gaea, of course, was displeased, and convinced a Titan to ambush Uranus as he approached Gaea for lovemaking. The Titan castrated Uranus, and from Uranus’s blood and testicles were born the Furies (goddesses of vengeance), the Meliai (ash tree nymphs), and Aphrodite (the goddess of Love), proving that good things have come from the emasculation of Men for thousands of years. Lorena (Bobbitt) Gallo may or may not have been hoping for a similar result when she fought back on June 23, 1993. Her actions brought a spotlight to the horrors of marital rape and domestic violence, helping to urge along a slowly shifting tide of public opinion.
Acrylic painting on canvas
Size: 30 W x 40 H x 1.5 D in
Katharine’s Vote
Katharine McCormick was a US Suffragist. Willing to push the limits to fight for what is right. A study completed in the build up to the U.S. 2024 Election where the hope of seeing the first female president of the United States was again squashed.
Acrylic painting on canvas
Size: 11 W x 14 H x 1.5 D in
Choking on Society’s Expectations
For hundreds of years, women have worn chokers as adornments, dating back to Anne Boleyn (second wife of Henry VIII) and her ~1550 portrait. She was later, of course, decapitated. During the French Revolution, women wore red ribbons around their necks in solidarity with those who had gone under the guillotine. Despite this history, powerful (Victorian royalty of the 19th century) and wealthy (Hollywood stars of the 21st century) have continued to sport chokers as part of their formal attire.
This self-portrait examines a moment of realization in the artist’s life that living one’s life based on the expectation of others leads to a physical and metaphorical suffocation, and ultimately death.
Acrylic painting on canvas, fabric sewn on canvas, and paper collage
Size: 40 W x 40 H x 1.5 D in
Ching Shih’s Journey
Her origins are a mystery. Some claim she was sold into slavery and to other’s she was a common prostitute. Yet she defied all expectations and in the early 1800’s she emerged as a forceful leader of a pirate army more than 40,000 strong. She led her crew to victory against many major powers, including the East India Company, the Portuguese Empire, and the Great Qing.
Ching broke through the bars of her imprisonment; setting the example for other’s that breaking the chains of your imprisonment may require you to get your hands dirty.
Acrylic painting on canvas
Size: 60 W x 72 H x 1.5 D in