Friday Night Pamphlets

We've printed 200 pamphlets for the show. They turned out beautifully! We're doing some bonding while folding them for you all. We've got some good blues playing and we're trying to fix our TV, so we can watch Fur.

Kelsey Intently Folding

While trying to fix our TV, fondly called Sheba, I bumped my head. Here is the aftermath.

Iced Head, Photo by Amanda Courtney

The Flyers Have Arrived

We are all very excited about the arrival of our Womynhouse flyers. The show is coming into fruition, and each step brings us closer to the grand opening. We've also received our grant of $500 dollars from the art department, which we're grateful for. It will be put to good use!

Body Stories

http://craftswomanhouse.blogspot.com/2011/09/bodies-stories.html


On the evening of October 8th, our friends at Craftswoman House will be hosting Body Stories: "an evening of dance, performance, and film curated by choreographer and performer Christine Suarez. The event will feature nine California-based artists who engage the body and intimate narratives to explore complex issues of identity. This collection of site-specific work aims to erase the boundaries between the audience and the performer through the experience of shared personal space. " 
-Craftswomanhouse Blog


We encourage all women of Womynhouse to attend as well everyone else. The event is taking place at 8:00pm at 29 North Oakland Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91104


Please promote and support the exciting events taking place this month! 

Youngblood Opening & Reception

One of our talented womyn, Amanda D'Egidio, had the opening of her show, Youngblood, which she curated with Sydney Banta, also a Loyola Marymount student. Their show will be up through the first two weeks of October. The Youngblood show features photographs and installations. Please go see it at the student gallery while you can and support a fellow womyn! Here are some photographs of the opening:

Amanda & Sydney, Curators of Youngblood

Group Recordings

The women of our show have been meeting in small groups conducted by Kenzie and Erin for the purpose of recording: personal stories, moments, thoughts, ideas, and feelings that we've experienced as females. Selected recordings from these group discussions will be shared in an interactive installation for you to hear.

The discussions were interesting for us as a group, because we learned things about one another that we otherwise would never have known. As the show draws nearer, we become closer to one another, and the excitement is building up. We can't wait to share our views with you and with the world.

Roar Network Interviews Our Womyn

LMU's TV network interviewed Erin (pictured), Kenzie, and Amanda C about Womynhouse over the weekend in the student gallery, where our show will be presented. The segment will air next week.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates and events.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Below you can hear (or rather see) the voices of the twelve artists of Womynhouse. Each artist brings something valuable and unique to the table. There are a wide variety of mediums, concepts, and emotions within this show. We wanted to share a sneak peak and a taste of what's to come, in hopes that you will join us on our wild adventure.

Artist Profile: Amanda D'Egidio-Felix

Amanda D'Egidio-Felix

Hometown: Sun Valley, California

Education: Photography

"My love for art is seen through the eye of the camera which I love using as my weapon, especially when there is black and white 3200 film involved. As a womyn, I will be exploring the issue of gender and identity through photographs. This unusual art show has a powerful group of women coming together in our very own house, Womynhouse, to show our passions, discriminations, and struggles of what being a womyn is all about.  If you love art and chicks check out this show!"

Artist Profile: Elise Fleming

Elise Fleming


"My love for art began in rural Massachusetts where I spent my developmental years. The beauty of the world I lived in was of profound influence on my decision to focus my attention on aesthetics and the philosophy surrounding aesthetics. Despite knowing I wanted to be an artist, I never took art classes until college (which is good because half of art is forgetting what you know anyways)."

"The piece I am working on for Womynhouse is an exploration of perception and the distortion that negative ideas can produce. It seems it is the irrationality of human nature that allows us to get wound up into our problems until the issue becomes a point to which we compare everything else. My piece, loosely entitled "The Constant Edit", is composed of acrylic on canvas. I have been working on it for several months now and is still in its developmental phase. I am really excited to see how it comes out and also how it will relate to everything else in the show. There are so many good ideas being thrown into Womynhouse from so many directions and using so many mediums that the outcome will definitely be something substantial."
                                                                                                                                          

Artist Profile: Lisa Nicchi

Lisa Nicchi
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Education: Business (Entrepreneurship), Fine Arts

"I have a great love for art, making art, those who create any sort of art, sketching, painting, drinking coffee, quotes, & old things (I'm an old soul at heart)."

"I feel so honored to have become a part of the Womynhouse Exhibit and family. I learned about the original Womanhouse in my Art in Los Angeles class, and when I was invited to be one of the women in this creative exchange of ideas, concepts, and art, I was so excited!"

"I attended an all-girls high school, and let me tell ya': there were times of endless messy hair, days & days without shaving, and always wearing no makeup.  It was nice to not have to worry so much about what I looked like, and I sort of became accustomed to that. I do not wear makeup, except on those rare special occasions. I use my hairdryer more for art than my actual hair and am proud.  I do not wear makeup because the application is sometimes annoying, but removing mascara is the worst.  Also, boys can't wear makeup to cover up their acne or to accentuate their gorgeous eyes, so why should women have to doll up for them and surpass that standard?  Natural beauty has a quality of rawness that is unexplainable; no one needs to distract from this with powders and liquids. And i believe all you women out there do not need to wear makeup! However, it's simply a personal opinion of mine."

"I am so thrilled to be a part of such a lovely, beautiful group of artistic women that create the unique Womynhouse. I hope the audience turnout for the exhibition is great, that our creative output influences the way that the viewers interpret the female experience, changes and broadens people's perspectives, inspires others to create, and that the bond I have with the womyn in this group continues to strengthen along the way."

For Womynhouse, Lisa is contributing pieces to the concept of "Loss of Innocence" as well as a piece for breast cancer. Her main piece for the show explores the over-sexualized media, present in our every day lives. 

Artist Profile: Erin Mallea

Erin Mallea
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Education: Painting, Drawing, Art History

"I'm enamored with visual language [of art] and communication; I've always been attracted to it and its transcendent emotive, political, and social power/potential, and I'm interested in the interaction between people and ideas and the role art can play in this interaction."

"I hope the show can make an impact on the LMU community by both starting conversations amongst students and sparking interest and involvement in the LMU art community."

For Womynhouse, Erin is creating an interactive installation exploring concepts of sexuality and privacy.

Artist Profile: Amanda Courtney

Amanda Courtney

Hometown: Boca Raton, Florida

Education: Art History, Photography

"I'm director of The Thomas P. Kelly Student Art Gallery on campus and am the organizer of the "Womynhouse" exhibition taking place this Fall. The idea for "Womynhouse" fully manifested itself in my brain one late night while I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep.  I had been assigned to design my dream exhibition for Dr. Willick's LA Now class and found myself conflicted on choosing contemporary LA artists when I was surrounded by so many talented friends and classmates.  At that time, we were also asking for submissions for the Student Art Gallery fall season so I think I always had that space in the back of my mind.  I thought, "Why can't I join the two forces?"

"When I first learned about the original Womanhouse project done in 1972, I felt a shared and inherent understanding of both wanting and needing a “room of one’s own” to tell a story.  A lecture from the Gorilla girls last fall also had a major influence on my own individual understanding of what feminism is today.  I was shocked to find that not all the women in the audience raised their hands when asked if they were feminists.  Art then naturally became the catalyst to explore my own frustrations and critiques of my fellow female generation.  Why doesn’t every woman consider herself a feminist? How has the word been damaged by older generations?"  

“Womynhouse” is an opportunity to share twelve unique stories with our student community by taking full advantage of the original Southern California feminist model: art collaborations evolving in education institutions.  We just want to be heard.  If I can change one female viewer to start considering herself a feminist then I will have done what I set out to do."  


For Womynhouse, Amanda is creating an installation exploring the concept: loss of innocence.

Artist Profile: Kenzie O'Keefe

Kenzie O'Keefe
Hometown: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Education: English

"Kenzie O'Keefe loves the 90's and running marathons. For Womynhouse, she is working with fellow womyn, Erin Mallea, to create an interactive installation piece involving bathroom stalls and audio recordings. Additionally she is putting together "5 for 5", a discussion about gender with five influential women who work for LMU. The event will take place in the gallery on October 21st, 2011."

Artist Profile: Jess Csanky

Jessica Csanky
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Education: Film Production, Studio Arts

"I have always had a love affair with art, simply because I enjoy creating. Any time that I have a bad day or need to rid energy, I retreat into my studio. It is a sanctuary. I need to create to feel complete.

I acquired a taste for Japanese paper while studying abroad in Osaka for a school year. Since returning, I have included Japanese themes in almost all of the art that I have done. With an adored collection of paper, I am now experimenting with textiles and will be creating a large work for Womynhouse. It will be in honor of my beloved mother, Amy Dishell, who we lost to breast cancer. I would like to dedicate the work, first and foremost to my mom, but also to all people and their loved ones who have battled cancer.

I am honored to work with the talented group participating in this exhibition, and I hope that men and women come together to deepen their compassion and understanding of one another."

Artist Profile: Rica Fils

Rica J. Fils
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Education: Communications, Journalism

"Art to me is the purest form of expression.  We are always expressing ourselves as human beings, it is innately a part of our identity as sentient and dynamic beings.  It's in our dress, how we put our homes together, what we listen to and what we say.  Art for the sake of art, though, brings to life the belief that our essential selves can exist outside of pure utility.  We are functional, yes, but we are also valuable for things assembly lines and robots cannot do.  We are valuable to each other because the sensations that we experience in this world are a unique piece of a greater, even more unique whole.  Art, I feel, pays homage to that experience."

"A writer of the group, I will be performing on the Spoken Word Night as well as setting up a station for my writing and accompanied scatterings of visual art in some tiny, cozy corner of an exhibit.  I'm a DJ, so I would love to record a mix as a soundtrack to my work."

"When we see the impressions of an artist on paper or canvas or sculpture or photograph or piece of clothing or song, we celebrate a moment with that artist's experience, a moment captured and collected and shared through our collective consciousness.  I can only hope that my writing brings a small piece of life I have lived to the senses of others who can then feel as though they have lived that moment with me, as I feel more alive through every expression of art I encounter."

Artist Profile: Kelsey Fugere

Kelsey Fugere
Hometown: Alamo, California aka "East Bay"
Education: Studio Arts, Photography, Art History

"I love learning about art and how art has shaped our society in so many different ways, serving as a diary to the past.  Since the beginning of human existence, man has been creating alternative forms of art. Throughout the millennia, it is amazing to see how art has expanded into all aspects of life, helping us perceive the world around us in a variety of ways."

"As an artist, I am interested in how we engage with and perceive nature and scenes and more specifically the idea of the physical human form engaging in space.  I am very passionate about the harmonic balance in the ways males and females are perceived in society and the reasons for role distinction in such binary gendered culture.  I think that it is amazing how much the role of the female has been enlightened throughout time and as a firm believer in male and female equality. I think that similar to the Yin Yang symbol in Daoism, we need to be reminded of the beauty that evolves from the maintenance of such a harmonic balance between the two."

"My goal as a part of Womynhouse is to celebrate womanhood and sisterhood whilst also reflecting on how the man contributes to this celebration and how men and women can come together and celebrate womanhood."

Artist Profile: Arielle Saturne

Arielle Saturné
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Education: Psychology, Studio Arts

"I am a learner of life's experiences, I love art because it's the soul's expression at its purest state. An artist I crossed paths with once told me to never give up my art. To not do art is like feeding myself poison, we need it to live and survive. She was on the verge of tears when she told me this and I took it to heart and never let it go. I'm passionate because my heart won't let me be any other way..."


"The whole city is my playground. Any adventures this city renders I love. Flea markets, silent movies, roaming the streets at night, and poetry nights are a few of my favorite things. I love to show my scarred skin and tell stories of how life is always evolving. I hope I can do it forever."

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." -Kahlil Gibran

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

For Womynhouse, Arielle is dicussing sex trafficking through installation. She is also addressing body issues and photographing elements of human connection. 

Artist Profile: Chin Onglatco

Chin Onglatco
Hometown: Cebu, Phillipines
Education: Visual Communications (Associates at FIDM), Current: Art History, Studio Arts


"As cliche as it sounds, art inspires me to create things. I love creating things, the more tedious the better. I absolutely love details and I'd like to say I have a keen eye for them. Just the whole idea behind coming up with great concepts and then seeing them executed is phenomenal. It's almost like seeing a person grow up." 

"I'm passionate about so many things! Fashion, art, films, music, FOOD... the whole lot really. I just love too many things. People around me inspire me, be it a famous designer or my friends or even just a stranger walking by. My grandmother and my mother are probably the most influential people in my life."


For Womynhouse, Chin has organized a collaborative installation with all the women in our show. She is also addressing the subject of "The Other Woman".

Artist Profile: Amanda Armer

Amanda Armer
Education: English, Studio Arts

"Amanda Armer loves the unpredictability of life, the trials which have helped her grow, and the constant practice of love in action. The lessons and experiences she has chosen to share are personal confessions--but she also hopes to touch upon the universality of what it means to be human and the distinctiveness of what it means to be a woman. She lives in Santa Monica where she writes, creates, runs, and does yoga. She is grateful for the loves in her life: the strong examples of women and the woman-loving men who have supported her unconditionally."

Mannequin Hunt

Chin and Amanda went on an adventure to downtown LA to get some mannequins, which will be a feature of our show. Here are some pictures:

Photo Shoot

This past Saturday we met on campus for our Womynhouse group photo shoot. The experience brought us closer together and propelled us forward as a unit. We would like to share with you one of the off photos. These are the artists of Womynhouse:

Photography by Raul Guerrero

Top Row (Left to Right): Amanda Armer, Chin Onglatco, Elyse Fleming, Erin Mallea, Ariel Saturne, Amanda Courtney, Kelsey Fugere
Bottom Row (Left to Right): Amanda D'Egidio, Rica Fils, Kenzie O'Keefe, Lisa Nicchi, Jess Csanky

Where's the Ladies' Room?

Kenzie and Erin are working on an installation, in which they will actually build an interactive bathroom stall in our art space. Here's a sneak peak at the materials they have stored in their backyard at the moment. Come see the exhibit for the final product!

The Official Womynhouse Flyer

We are excited to share with you...drumroll please...the official Womynhouse Flyer. Special thanks to Erin Mallea, who created this original design! Also, thank you to Kelsey Fugere, for use of her photograph.

Please spread the word! The show is only a little more than one month away.

Original Screenprint, Womynhouse Stamp

Original Design by Amanda Courtney

Our First Meeting in the Gallery Space

The Women of Womynhouse

Jess (left) Kenzie (right)

Elise, Erin, Chin

Well, the semester has begun and the show is just weeks away! Our last meeting was in the gallery space where our show will be. We made good progress and will have a flyer posted here soon. Kelsey Fugere took some photographs of the meeting. Here are some of the faces behind Womynhouse. Enjoy!

Chin, Our Birthday Girl

Elise (left), Erin (right)

Chin, Amanda D