Day of the Girl

        Today is International Day of the Girl, so I’ve got a wonderful woodcut of a girl.  I’m always a little ambivalent about these days for important causes - I mean the day of the girl?  Just one?  The other 364 days of the year we don’t need to worry about girls at all?  On the other hand, of course, there are many places and situations in which one solid day of bright spotlight on the needs of girls is a big improvement over what they might be getting otherwise, and baby steps are certainly better than none at all.

        All those issues aside, here’s a woodcut from 1917 by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff.  It seems really perfect to me today because this girl is so bright-eyed, so radiant, so strong, so curious, and yet she isn’t simply smiling happily.  She’s really quite serious, maybe gazing on something awe-inspiring, or maybe faced with some challenge that’s taken her aback.  The carving makes her monumental, sturdy, bold, and yet also full of light and energy.  What a great symbol of all that children are - all children, girls as well as boys.  As writer G.D. Anderson says, “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger.  Women are already strong.  It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.”

[Picture: Mädchen mit Zöpfen (Girl with Braids), woodcut by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, 1917 (Image from MoMA).]

Don't forget, Natick Artists Open Studios is this weekend.  If you'll be in eastern MA, come by and visit me, and see all the other wonderful artists who will be exhibiting in town.  I'll be at a new location this year, so I hope to see lots of visitors there!

Also, the following weekend will be Roslindale Open Studios, so if you can't make it to Natick, how about Roslindale?