Work samples

  • Persephone in the Underworld
    Persephone in the Underworld

    'Persephone in the Underworld'  Mixed media  40”x30”

    Persephone is part of my reimagining of Greek goddesses as contemporary women and how the stories of the women in these ancient myths are still completely relevant today, over 3000 years after they were written.  Women in ancient Greece struggled with a patriarchal society that has changed little in the arch of history.  The women in these stories had their hearts broken by unfaithful men, were denied choices, were forced into marriages against their will, lusted after by men in power, and endured any number of hardships that are still familiar to women today.  The fierceness of these mythical women, as they’ve negotiated their way in a male dominated society and reclaimed their power despite their society's attempts to rob them of agency, is an archetypal reflection of women’s narratives for millennia.  It feels especially relevant to me at this moment in history.

    This is also a self-portrait from a photograph taken during my years modeling in New York for the Wilhelmina Agency in the late 1970s. Persephone was a young girl when she was picking flowers with some of her maiden friends.  Hades, the God of the Underworld was obsessed with her beauty.  A chasm opened up in the ground where Persephone was standing and Hades emerged and abducted her against her will.  She had to accept her fate but grew to be a powerful goddess in her own right.  

  • Athena
    Athena

    'Athena' Mixed Media 48"x24" 

    Another in my series of Greek goddesses as contemporary women and how the stories of the women in these ancient myths are still completely relevant today, over 3000 years after they were written.  

    Athena is widely known as the goddess of war, but her role is much more subtle than that.  Athena's first skill is goddess of reason and justice.  Zeus made her goddess of war as an antidote to her brother Ares' savage ruthlessness.  If Ares represents war, Athena represents the United Nations.

  • Architecture of Loss

    Architecture of Loss

    55"x80" Mixed Media

    Part of a series of landscapes reflecting the artist's impressions of issues in the world.  This is my meditation on a post human world.  The piece is quite large with many small details so a video works better than a still photo.

     

     

  • Yearning

    Yearning

    48"x72"  Mixed media, archival family photographs.

    This piece asks the question:  Who is an immigrant and who gets to decide?  This is a large piece with many small details so a video works better than a still photo.  

     

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About Rebecca

Baltimore City   Baltimore City Station North AE District  

I’m especially drawn to archetypal symbolism across different cultures. I love stories, myths, dreams, and fairy tales. I have no formal degree in art but have studied in various places including the Schuler School of Art in Baltimore. I work in mixed media with oil paint, fiber, oxidized copper, and found materials.

The pieces displayed here represent two bodies of work. The first is is my reimagining of Greek goddesses as contemporary women and how the stories of the women in… more

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The Women

My most recent series is my reimagining of Greek goddesses as contemporary women and how the stories of the women in these ancient myths are still completely relevant today, over 3000 years after they were written.  Women in ancient Greece struggled with a patriarchal society that has changed little in the arch of history.  The women in these stories had their hearts broken by unfaithful men, were denied choices, were forced into marriages against their will, lusted after by men in power, and endured any number of hardships that are still familiar to women today.  The fierceness of these mythical women, as they’ve owned their power despite their society's attempts to rob them of agency, is an archetypal reflection of women’s narratives in Western culture for millennia.  It feels especially relevant to me at this moment in history.

  • Demeter Waits for Persephone
    Demeter Waits for Persephone

    Mixed Media 48"x36"

  • Thetis
    Thetis

    I knew I was in trouble as soon as Zeus came sniffing around, the old goat. I evaded him by relating the prophesy that I was destined to have a son who would vastly eclipse his father in both power and skill. It was a temporary reprieve, for the egos of powerful men and gods are easily threatened. Zeus seemed to leave me alone after that but it wasn't enough for his superstitious mind. He 'gave' me to a mortal man, Peleus. As if I were his to give. How I struggled to get away from the dullard Peleus. He chased me home to the sea and, although I hid in a bed of seaweed, ultimately cornered me in a cave. I shifted, first a lion, then an eagle, finally a serpent. I writhed and coiled but Peleus finally prevailed. 

  • Artemis in the Forest
    Artemis in the Forest

    Artemis was the goddess of the forest, wild animals, young girls and the moon.  She was also the goddess of the hunt. In ancient Greece the hunters were considered the environmentalists.  Artemis could speak to animals in their own language.  She is the daughter of Zeus and she asked her father to grant her wishes:  To remain a virgin goddess, to bring the light of the new moon, to own a bow and quiver of arrows, and to wear a knee-length tunic.  She asked that her companions be only girls, women, and dogs.  
    Once when she was bathing in her beloved woods, a hunter glimpsed her naked in a pool and, entranced by her beauty, spied on her.  She discovered him and turned him into a stag, 

  • Persephone in the Underworld
    Persephone in the Underworld

    Persephone in the Underworld Mixed Media 40"x30"

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