Step UP Speak LOUD. BE STRONG.

  Top: Madame Vice President Kamala Harris. Bottom: St Brigid Of Ireland. These are the first two pieces in a series of portraits I call " My Wonder Women"  Original art by Sarah Beth McCarren  C 2020 { Brigid} and 2021 { Madame VP} 

I've never fancied myself much of a portrait-painter. I've carried a fear that I will screw up a person's likeness. 

 However, with all the weirdness of Pandemic Life and my desire to express my strong feminist views in art, I challenged myself to paint women whose stories inspire me. 

 For my first attempt, I chose St Brigid of Ireland, a Saint who is { along with St Patrick} credited with peacefully bringing Christianity to the Celtic people. Brigid, like myself, was born of interfaith parents. Her father was a pagan chief and her mother was one of the slaves who converted to Christianity.  Brigid's intimate knowledge & appreciation of both her faith { learned from her mother} and the pagan traditions of many of the Celts put her in a unique position to evangelize without resorting to tactics that could be seen as attempts at cultural erasure. 

Brigid shows me how to " bridge" gaps to bring people together.  She has also inspired me to learn more about the faith of my mom's Jewish family. 

Brigid is also the patron saint of beer { Yes, there is a miracle story there} . Yup, Beer-drinkers  can unite around Brigid's fire pit and swap stories in the tradition of the Irish storytellers. 

Look up St Brigid of Ireland for more fascinating lore about her life. 

I chose to paint our Vice President because she is beautiful.  While my hand did not do justice to her natural beauty I did my best to paint a likeness of someone I see as a strong, confident leader who happens to be a woman-of-color.  Like myself and St Brigid, Vice President Harris { Its wonderful and odd to say those words together}  is the child of an interfaith marriage.  

However, unlike me, Harris is the daughter of two immigrants. Her mother came to the United States from India as a very young woman, and married her father, an immigrant from Jamaica. The Vice President is Christian, but credits some basic Hindu principles as guides in her life. In a year where I've began to learn more about the history and traditions of my mother's Jewish kin I find kin-ship with our multi-ethnic Vice-President

I am not sure who the next woman in this series of portraits will be, as I am blessed with so many awesome women--- both women I know personally & women in history & current public life. 

May we all seek to be strong, vocal, tenacious women. Lets show the next generation that feminine  strength is alive and well now and  will be. 

Amen....

Sarah McCarren