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Women's History Month

"We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names. All are different colors, but they all have to learn to live in the same box."
- unknown author

Zonta International's Women's history month poster.I can’t believe we are back to the month of March; each year seems to come around sooner then the last. This year the theme for Women’s History Month is “Women’s Art: Women’s Vision.” Now you may ask yourself, how does this relate to farming, ranching and agriculture? In the last year I have become part of a group of ladies, the Zonta (see Zonta International) women and we have a craft bazaar in the fall featuring folks across the states that have created there own niche with arts and crafts, these folks all have a vision. Many of them come from the farm and ranch community, creating lotion from sheep products, wood carvings and frames, use of old farm wood and tin to create coat racks, mirrors and other art, melting wine bottles into wall hanging or a cheese tray and too many more to mention. I’d like to take this month to highlight a couple of those women from Montana, specifically a water color artist and a cowboy poet:

I’d like to open this up for suggestions too if someone knows other women to highlight let me know.

- Andrea Ceartin, Federal Women’s Program Manager

National Women’s History Project Honorees

This year’s theme provides a special opportunity to discover and celebrate women’s visual arts in a variety of forms and mediums that help expand our perceptions of ourselves and each other.  The National Women’s History Project 2008 Honorees were selected based on their art, their vision, their art form, their cultural background, the region in which they live and the quality and passion of the nomination submitted.

  • Judy Chicago - 1939 Painter/Printmaker/Tapestry/Needlework
  • Harmony Hammond -1944 Painter
  • Edna Hibel – 1917 Colorist, Painter, Stone Lithographer, Serigrapher, Etcher, Sculptress, and Filmmaker
  •  Lihua Lei – 1966 Multimedia Installation
  • Violet Oakley –1874-1961 Muralist, Stained Glass Artist
  • Rose Cecil O’Neill – 1874-1944 Painter, Illustrator, Sculptress
  • Faith Ringgold – 1930 Painter/Quilter
  • Miriam Schapiro – 1923 Print/ Painter
  • Lorna Simpson – 1960 Artist
  • Jaune Quick-To-See Smith –1940 Painter/Printmaker
  • Nancy Spero – 1926 Painter
  • June Claire Wayne – 1918 Painter/Lithographer

Additional honorees and full biographies can be viewed on the National Women's History Project Web site.

Women's History Month Information on Other Web sites
  • National Women's History Project
  • Women's History Month on Infoplease.com
  • Zonta International. Founded in 1919, Zonta International is a global organization of executives and professionals working together to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy. Zonta members volunteer their time, talents and money to local and international service projects, as well as scholarship and award programs aimed at furthering women's education, leadership and youth development.