The She Series
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History
Three years ago, the She Series was just a quick scribbled note on a whiteboard full of ideas in my office/studio. That note said, “Some sort of strong woman series.” I had no idea the form it would take but I knew I wanted to do a series of art celebrating strong women and inspiring all of us in our day-to-day lives. The first She Series portrait I did was fictional: Princess Leia. When it comes to strong female characters, she is an icon and one of my all-time favorite characters. I drew her from the side, in profile. I liked that she was looking up and looking determined; she wasn’t looking at the viewer but was focused on what she was doing or thinking. I added a word, an action word: Rebel.
Instead of using an adjective to describe her, like “fearless” or “strong,” or a noun to state who or what she is, like “princess” or “leader,” I wanted to focus on what she does, her powerful act of rebelling.
I went on to do more portraits: Anne of Green Gables (Imagine), Shuri from Black Panther (Innovate), Moana (Explore), and Agent Scully from X-Files (Question) were some of my favorites. It was a fun project and seeing the portraits all together was powerful. My followers on social media suggested adding real women, non-fictional icons and the She Series became almost like a group project. I’d ask for ideas of whom to draw next and I kept a big spreadsheet of all the requests. I’d do some sketches and post them, asking for verb suggestions. There would be great dialogue on my pages, people debating what verb would work best and why. I have learned about so many amazing women during this process.
The Book
When I decided to make a book, I wanted to do the same thing: create a collaboration, a project with lots of different voices and experiences. I started reaching out to writers I knew, both professional and non-professional. I couldn’t believe it when people said yes! I was so thrilled that all of these talented women agreed to lend their skills, insights, and experiences to write alongside my art and my book. Our book. These writers are not only writing about inspirational women, they are inspirational themselves. All of them are taking actions: they write, they inspire, they express, they collaborate, they enlighten.
In the end, the book truly became a labor of love, trials, learning and growing. As I heard more and more suggestions, I continued adding women to highlight and my initial idea of 50 essays and profiles grew to 120 profiles. What I thought would be a straightforward yearlong project ended up taking more than two years to complete.
My hope is that this book provides visibility and recognition for the contributions of women throughout history and in contemporary society. By highlighting women's actions, a book can inspire and empower other women to pursue their goals and achieve success, while also challenging societal norms and expectations. It can also educate readers about the many ways in which women have shaped history and influenced social, political, and cultural change.
I have learned that seemingly simple actions can be profound. I hope the She Series inspires people of all ages to take action in their own lives, even when they are afraid or told they shouldn’t do something. It’s just as brave and important to raise your hand in a classroom or speak up in front of friends as it is to dissent if you disagree with the other members of the Supreme Court.