Women at the Helm

Reflection on the recent passing of my father, Vincent. I dedicate this episode to my brother Jim who knows the why. (xoxox) . Resources include "Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver," by Mary Oliver. . STAY CONNECTED! > Website: Beyond the Paint with Bernadine > Substack: @bernadinefranco >Email me at bernadine@beyondthepaint or bernadinefranco@yahoo.com to join Women at the Helm...

I contemplate the visual artist, writer, poet, songwriter and performer, Patti Smith with a focus on her writings and photographs for the 2011 exhibition, "Camera Solo," at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. “Camera Solo” was the first museum exhibition of Patti Smith’s photography in the United States and included “seventy photographs taken by her Polaroid camera, one multimedia ins...

Women at the Helm features and celebrates the contemporary British artist Tracy Emin. We explore her iconic installation "My Bed" and dive into her "jagged recollections" from her memoir, "Strangeland." . Learn more about Tracy Emin: > Tracy Emin at the Tate Museum >Read her evocative memoir: Strangeland >Image Credit: Ben Gurr . STAY CONNECTED with Women at the Helm: > Website: Beyond...

In this inaugural episode of my new podcast series, Women at the Helm: Intersection of Women Artists and Writings, I explore Book Dedications. . Writers highlighted in this episode: Janet Fitch Poet, Mary Oliver . Image Credit: James Abbott MacNeill Whistler, "The Beach at Selsey Bill," 1865 New Britain Museum of American Art . Stay Connected >Website: Beyond the Paint with Bernadine >Substa...

Introducing a new podcast series: Women at the Helm: Intersection of Women Artists and Writing. Formerly Beyond the Paint with Bernadine podcast, Bernadine takes you on a new expansive journey that celebrates women artists through the written word; books, essays, poetry and more. . Stay Connected >Website: https://beyondthepaint.net/ >Sign up for Women at the Helm monthly newsletter on my jo...

This special episode celebrates and includes a conversation with two contemporary, American female artists, Sally Brown and Amy Chaiklin and their upcoming duo exhibition Sisterhood: Portraiture: Sally Brown and Amy Chaiklin. . The exhibition, a curation of sixty works; thirty mini-depictions of feminist artworks in self portraiture by Brown and thirty ink and graphite portraits selected from Chai...

After 5 years and over 100 conversations with women artists, gallery owners and collectors, I am taking an extended hiatus from the show. I will embark on a writing journey to fulfill my deep desire to craft and publish a memoir about my engagement with the visual arts. All the ways "looking at art" has impacted my life. It will also celebrate women artists who liberated me from both imposed and s...

In this episode, join me and woodcut printmaker, storyteller and artist Julie Goldstein into the worlds of 18th century Icelandic sea women and female, Japanese Ama pearl divers. Goldstein captures the stories of these "anonymous" women, memorializing them through her vivid portrayals. Goldstein's reverence for women lost in history books is awe-inspiring. . "Sea Woman," solo exhibition is at Brid...

As many of you who listen to this podcast know, I am a visual arts educator, historian, speaker and of course, a podcaster. I never considered myself a maker. Until now! I took up photography to learn and experience first-hand the artistic process. This episode journeys with you my immersion into a photography series titled "The Other Side of the Mirror," employing a toy camera, the Holga. . Go to...

Abstract and Conceptual female artist Valerie Ellis draws us into her visual world through her curiosity of the human mind and condition. A psychotherapist for twenty years, Ellis paved an unconventional pathway in making art. . Her visual vocabulary is submerged in a very hands on practice of pulling, spreading, crumpling media like paper and paper pulp. Her works deeply connect the viewer to the...

I am thrilled to have as my guest the female, multi-disciplinary artist and educator Jamie Smith. "Smith’s monochromatic drawings, wooden wall-hanging sculptures, and installation work incorporate personal and culturally-resonant symbols in an attempt to reckon with the fragility of life, new beginnings, the passage of time and the depths of loss." Her visual expressions are an "engulfment" of her...

Ann Stoddard is a contemporary interdisciplinary artist, a feminist and an environmentalist. Her work, practice coupled with social activism engage with nature, from rivers in and around Maryland to Corn Fields and beyond. This episode includes some historical perspective of female, pioneer ecofeminists and a lively conversation with Stoddard. . List of resources and the images discussed can be fo...

The powerful 'virtual' exhibition "Awakening and Furor" at the Roaring Artist Gallery celebrates contemporary women artists and shapes the way we see women represented. The multi-media artworks; paintings, sculptures, video art and textiles express and are a response to the perpetual injustices of "women's rights." . On the show, a conversation with the recipient of the Juror's Award, abstract pai...

Taking a short sabbatical from podcasting; will be back in two weeks with new conversations with women artists. . Please enjoy one of my favorite episodes (#130); a celebration of the female artist Deborah Wasserman. Since the recording of the show, we have become good friends in the arts. Her evocative, large scale paintings, photographs and collage works merge the female figure in painted landsc...

In this fascinating episode, we will look at the women of Surrealism: Frida Kahlo, Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington. All three artists worked in Mexico throughout the 20th century. We will examine their distinctive personal, visual vocabulary and consider the ways "place" informed and liberated their practice. We will round up the episode highlighting the contemporary Surrealist painter Rita M...

Multi-media and performance artist Nicole Peyrafitte employs a fascinating practice in her multi-works. Through her astute observations and interplay with nature, she immerses her body, her research to compose multi-media installations. . In my conversation with Peyrafitte, we explore a site-specific installation for the exhibition "Women and Other Wild Creatures: Matrilineal Tales," at the Sapar...

In Islamic art, representations of women and the female figure are controversial. Hend Al Mansour, from Saudi Arabia, currently residing in the United States, examines Islamic social practices. Her multi-media works celebrate and critiques Islamic Arab culture. The artist, through Islamic aesthetic addresses gender equality, sexual independence and role of women. This episode includes a conversati...

Contemporary female artist Kathryn Hart returns to the podcast in an in-depth conversation exploring her multi-media works through the lens of love, grief and transformation threshold. Hart's evocative works are an extension of a very present love story between herself and recently deceased husband Dennis. Join me into the poetic beauty of Hart's sculptures, photographs and monoprints. . Kathryn H...

Join me in a conversation and exploration of the Surrealist contemporary painter of Ukraine, Rita Maikova. Her fantastical paintings express the interior of her mind and spirit, "all the parts of me," says Maikova. Infused with feminine and maternal energy, Maikova's works and practice are informed by the Surrealist aesthetic, Ukrainian folklore embedded with personal iconography and symbols. . Cu...

Historically, Ukrainian art history books have "failed to give Ukranian women artists their due." This episode looks to two 20th century women artists who left an idelible impact on the story of art in Ukraine: Early 20th century Modernist: Alexandra Exter and mid-20th century photographer Iryna Pap. . This episode is an entryway to an upcoming series of conversations with two contemporary, female...

In part 1 of my episode on Digital Art (#159), I explored digital art as a medium, and the ways artists employ digital platforms from production to presentation. This included installation, video art, virtual reality and sound and music environments. . In part 2, I focus on two contemporary female artists working in Digital art; an emerging artist Ande Ja Johnson who employs the art tool Paint 3D...

Join me into a world of 18th century Icelandic sea women and female, Japanese Ama pearl divers through the vision of woodcut printmaker, storyteller and artist Julie Goldstein. The artist joins me in an engaging conversation of her work, practice and her reverence for the "anonymous" woman. . "Sea Woman," solo exhibition is at Bridgette Mayer Gallery, opening June 28-August 13, 2022. Learn www.bri...

A two-part episode, join me in an exploration with Digital Art as a practice and medium. This episode dives into Digital Art through four categories or themes; installation, film, video and animation, Virtual Reality, Sound Environments. In part two, we will journey into artists who use digital art as a means of expression. David Hockney, emerging New England artist Ande Ja Johnson an the Digitial...

Elizabeth Catlett was a black, female artist, sculptor and printmaker. She was best known for her depictions of the African-American experience which often focused on the female experience. Her granddaughters Ife and Nia Mora are extension of Catlett's deep and resonant legacy. In this episode we explore the ways Catlett's work, practice and social activism shape and inspired the lives of her gran...

This is a best of episode with the celebrated, contemporary artist and female pioneer in the Crypto Art Market, Nanu Berks. (Berks and I are collaborating for a new episode (coming soon) to explore the progression of her artistic practice.) . In our lively conversation recorded in 2021, Berks shares the ways her nomadic life informs her work, how the crypto art market eliminates the gallery system...