Diane & Veja Pronites

Diane and Veja first met at an orphanage in Dzerzhinsk, Russia. There began the journey of parent and child. Both have felt connected, as if they belong together. The Chinese say that a thin red thread connects those who are meant to be together. Diane and Veja share that thread. Both are strong willed; Veja is like an indefinable, strangely wonderful part of Diane; musical, creative, independent and fearless. They believe they were both horses in another life. As the parent, Diane considers Veja a “work in progress” guided by love.

Bette is the founder and creative director of Young Rembrandts, Inc.    Out of devotion to teaching children her innovative step-by-step drawing method, Young Rembrandts has exposed thousands of children and families to the creation of art, and has become the nation’s first franchise of after-school art educational programs for children. Her mission is “to teach parents and educators the importance of art education in childhood development.”

Wangari Muta Maathal of Nyeri, Kenya was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree.   Dr. Maathal became the chairman of the National Council of Women of Kenya from 1981-87.   In 1976, she began a broad-based grass roots program that focused on the planting of trees with women groups to conserve the environment and improve the quality of women’s lives. Through the “Green Belt Movement” she has assisted women in planting more than 20 million trees on their farms, church compounds and schools.   In 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and is the first African woman to receive this award. She has stood up courageously against the former  oppressive regime in Kenya, and has inspired women in the fight for democratic rights.

Stephanie Danielle Roth, a French and Swiss citizen, is an environmental journalist and activist.   She was awarded one of six Goldman Environmental Prizes for her work in protesting the construction of the largest open cast gold and silver mine in Romania. Her anti-mining campaign began as she exposed plans that would uproot 2,000 people, and the destruction of 900 homes and 10 centuries old churches. Along with the destruction of the historic town of Rosia Montana, plans also included the use of cyanide compounds to separate the gold and silver from the rock. As a result of her campaign, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation withdrew financial support due to the serious social and environmental concerns.

On December 15, 2005, Iraqi women cast ballots, along with other Iraqi’s of all ages, genders, sects, creeds and political persuasions.  It was an historic and proud moment for many women who suffered oppression, feared for their lives, yet made their way to cast their first vote.

Rosa Parks, “mother of the civil rights movement” is truly a “Woman of  Courage.” Her act of courage in 1955, of refusing to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger– fueled a citywide boycott by blacks of the bus system, lasting more than a year. This public awareness catapulted larger than life crusaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to national prominence, along with the historic issues that changed the racial equality landscape of America. Rosa Parks received the Martin Luther King Jr.  Nonviolent Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.   We are saddened of her passing in 2005, but continue to be uplifted as we celebrate her legacy.

Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell was born in England in 1868 and was the first woman to obtain first-class honors at Oxford University.   She was an avid mountain climber and received acclaim as a mountaineer.   In 1899-1900, she learned to speak Arabic, and she investigated Arab archeological sites. Renowned as the “Uncrowned Queen of Iraq,” her knowledge of the region led her to become involved with the British Intelligence during World War I, and in 1915 she gathered information for mobilization of Arabs against Turkey.  In 1920, she became Oriental Secretary to the British High Commission in Iraq, and was included along with 39 men in Winston Churchill’s conference to determine the future of Mesopotamia.  In 1921, she was influential in establishing the Hashimite dynasty ruler Faysal I, the first king on the throne of Iran.

Aung San Suu Kyi, “Lady Liberty” is known as the “courageous leader of Burma’s democratic opposition.”   She has been under house arrest since her National League for Democracy won a landslide election in 1990, and the ruling junta nullified the results and seized power. Since that time the Burmese military has destroyed the lives of innocent ethnic minority women and girls.  Now age 61 and despite her captivity, this courageous woman remains steadfast in her commitment to justice and democracy for the Burmese people, and is a noted Nobel Peace Prize recipient for her lifetime demonstration of freedom.
 

Annette Erl has always devoted her life to her family– especially her role as a mother. Over the years she has made many sacrifices so her children could pursue their dreams. Even as a child she placed the needs and concerns of others before her own and has continued to do so as an adult. In 1968 she was in 8th grade and her brother was in Vietnam. Always an excellent speller she was given the opportunity to attend a National spelling bee. Knowing her mother was extremely worried about her brother fighting the war in Vietnam, Annette Erl threw the spelling bee. Although this act shocked her classmates and her teacher, she knew that her mother would be worried about her 10 year old daughter traveling around the country. She spared her the concern and stayed near to her mother. This unselfish act remains an inspiration to her children.

Leah Hayes, mother of Jinnie English. What is so special about mothers and daughters is that for all the emotional “tug-of-war,” there is a moment of clarity.  It is that moment when a daughter realizes, after all the resistance, her mother knows her better than anyone– “It has taken me years to see why anyone would love me.   On her last visit to America, she reminded me why.”
 

Tsege Asgedom is an Ethiopian immigrant. She has scars on her shoulders from carrying her daughter, Meheret, across the desert to a refugee camp in Sudan. Along with her son, Mawi and daughter Meheret, Tsege spent time in the refugee camp before immigrating to the United States in 1984. Tsege was an inspiration to her son Mawi, who later graduated from Harvard and was chosen to give the commencement address in Harvard Yard.

Mary Beth Guinan & Emma Kong­ Mary Beth Guinan is a mother, artist, educator, inventor and patent holder of the first Icon language. Shown here with Mary Beth is Emma, whose parents authored the Internet version of Instant English. Ms. Guinan believes "illustrated speech can rewire damaged brains, revive disappearing languages, bring literature to the non-literate and generate a new form of visual poetry."  While her benchmarks in literacy curriculum have won Mary Beth numerous awards, the achievements closest to her heart are her Montessori classrooms, where she has focused on "at-risk" children and adults.  She brings that experience and her love of drawing to Instant English."

Ms. Tante lives in Medjugorie, Bosnia and is beloved by her family and those who have met her. As a young woman she experienced an accident while working in her father’s fields. The result of the accident was a broken back.  No one made any attempt to straighten her, and she walks bent from her waist at a 90-degree angle. She continues to work and is an inspiration to all.

Mary Haden Talbot & Suzanne T. Isaacs are mother and daughter. As the mother of eight children, Mary Talbot raised her family in New Orleans and was still residing there when Hurricane Katrina struck. She was in congestive heart failure and in the hospital during the hurricane, but survived. A supplies convoy was hijacked on their way to the hospital, so Mary was sedated and sent by helicopter to the New Orleans airport. There she stayed on a stretcher, wearing a hospital gown with her clothes in a plastic bag, medical papers and a little bag of medicine for emergency. She could not remember how long she was on the floor, but she did not give up. The rest of her family was homeless due to the hurricane, leaving daughter Suzie who resides in Chicago to find her. After a week of searching for her mother, Suzie located her at a hospital in Atlanta. Suzie stayed there for her mother’s health to improve enough to fly her back to Chicago. After 3 months of rehabilitation in Chicago, Mary was finally able to return to her home–a place that had limited damage by Katrina.

Laurie Rossi is truly a renaissance woman. She is a mother, grandmother. educator, astounding knitter, firefighter, member of a canine search and rescue
team, athlete, and world-class friend– literally. Now living in Espanola, New Mexico, Laurie was raised in Illinois and taught high school English in the Elk
Grove and Wheeling School District. Laurie spent many additional hours heading the yearbook and coaching athletic teams. She is well known for her ability to knit while hiking the trails and mesas of New Mexico, and although her unique coats and sweaters can be found in the boutiques of Taos and Santa Fe, she spends endless amounts of time knitting items for charity. Laurie shares my love of running, and was co-captain of a 10-person 24-hour relay team that broke the 1980 world record. She has inspired young people as an athlete, teacher and friend. At the age of sixty you can find her fighting wildfires or on a search and rescue mission in the mountains near Los Alamos.

I am the artist who is linked to each of the women I have painted.   This “Women of Courage” mosaic is the very beginning of an incredible journey that brings together the six degrees of separation, reminding each of us that we are all connected.