Making It Right

Louise Pentz The Apology 122 CM X 148CM Cotton, polyester, acrylic, mirror acetate In order to repair any relationship that has been damaged it MUST begin with an acknowledgement of the wrongdoing and an expression of regret. Proof of our regret must follow with a change in our actions. Our apology only begins the work. Our work is the proof of our changed intentions.

Louis Pentz Unceded 148 CM X 203 CM Wool, acrylic, gesso In all cultures the land is the most valued resource. It is our Mother and the source of all that we need to sustain ourselves. Possessing or controlling land represents wealth and power. Throughout history people have fought over the land and invented horrific tools of destruction in order to claim the lands of others for themselves. Just as the bullet holes have destroyed the integrity of the blanket as do our wars devastate the land we fight over.

Louise Pentz Triage 148 CM X 193 CM Wool, cotton, polyester, pins staples, felt, gesso In our battle for power over the land and its resources, our weapons of destruction have decimated landscapes leaving them uninhabitable for nearly all life. We feel at a loss to know how to repair such wreckage. Yet there are things we can do to bring healing and peace back to these places and people. Our efforts, along with nature’s systems of repair, will bring recovery to these places and to the people of that land

Louise Pentz Capitalism - Profits and Losses 153 CM X 219 CM Wool, canvas, acrylic, gold leaf, paper The promise of capitalism is that anyone can “make it to the top” if we get a good education, work hard and build an influential network. The promise is not a total lie...it can be done. But what is our definition of “the top”? The colonizers enslaved people and created wars so that their aristocrats could reap fabulous wealth from the violent conquering of lands and people. Even today, the capitalist system generates extraordinary wealth for a few people, it allows many to make their living but it is nearly always at the expense of distant people and environments.

Louise Pentz There Is No Planet B 206 CM X 216 CM Wool, canvas, cotton, gesso, acrylic, pastels, polyester We have heard the warnings. We have seen the evidence of our destructive practices. Yet we competitively tear toward greater and greater pain and chaos for the natural world and for all people. Those who have power choose to make more money rather than heal our damaged lands and peoples. Each one of us can do something to stop the inevitable pain and losses that lie ahead. If we believe that we are safe from current and future harm then do we believe that the same is true for our children?

Louise Pentz Just Us 105 cm x 163 cm Wool, acrylic, cotton, polyester Paper dolls represent children and children represent the future. The red lines are our connecting blood lines from the distant past to the future. We are just a link in the chain of human life...we are all connected. Both love and pain are passed through the generations. I once read an African poem where the writer railed at God for all the injustices he had witnessed and experienced in his life. In the last two lines of the poem he writes...”What if there is no justice, What if there is just us?” If this is true then what should we do with this truth? Just as a blanket is designed to comfort and protect one or two people at a time, so it is that we are capable of restoring peace and healing to our ailing world one or two people at a time.

Louise Pentz Recovery 153 CM X 254 CM Wool, acrylic, polyester We have all hurt and been hurt by others. We can heal if we choose forgiveness and love without judgement over other self destructive behaviors. Healing is always possible if we are willing to do the work.

Louise Pentz and Brandt Eisner Undercover 152 CM X 127CM Army Camo Netting, Blankets, Repurposed Textiles, Rhinestones, Broaches Imagine feeling vulnerable every time you leave the safety of your room. For so many queer men, years have been lost trying to blend into the background. Society’s gaze provokes the constant impression of being monitored and surveilled. You pay attention to things that many people never think about. How you walk, talk, sit, dress all become managed actions to pass as straight, to not appear “too gay.”. Hiding parts of yourself to make others feel more comfortable dampens the fire within you. It destroys self esteem and leads to a life of self hatred and unhealthy relationships, with others and yourself. Is it not time we allow people to be themselves? Why is it that we can not simply allow others to show that which they are hiding and the freedom to live their best life? Imagine the impact that could make on the world.

Carol Morrow Azucena Villaflor Stoneware 13” $300 Azucena Villaflor, (1924 - 1977) led the creation of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1977 to protest the disappearing of thousands of Argentina’s own citizens by the military dictatorship, and placed the problem of “disappearances” on the world’s agenda. She herself was disappeared by government forces.

Carol Morrow Christine Blasey Ford Stoneware 14” $300 Professor Christine Blasey Ford (b. 1966) alleged in 2018 that then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers, and testified during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination.

Carol Morrow Clementine Ford Stoneware 15” $300 SOLD Clementine Ford (b. 1981) is an Australian writer, speaker, and feminist thinker. She describes herself as “hardline feminist,” and “sassy social media bigmouth,” and is known for her very public, no-holds-barred commentary on sexism, misogyny, and patriarchy.

Carol Morrow Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw Stoneware 13” $300 Dr. Bagshaw (1881 - 1982) was one of Canada's first woman physicians, and became medical director of Canada’s first and illegal birth control clinic in 1932. She spent more than three decades at the centre empowering women to control their reproductive health and plan the size of their own families.

Carol Morrow Princess Warrior: General Leia Organa Stoneware 14” $300 SOLD Princess Leia (later General) is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. One of the more popular Star Wars characters, Leia has been called an icon, a feminist hero and model for other adventure heroines.

Carol Morrow Gloria Steinem Stoneware 16” $300 Gloria Steinem (b. 1934) is an American feminist journalist and social political activist. She became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Carol Morrow Mighty Girl: Greta Thunberg Stoneware 13” $300 Greta Thunberg (b. 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation.

Carol Morrow Jaha Dukureh Stoneware 13” $300 Jaha Dukureh (b.1989 or 1990) is a Gambian women's right activist. As the UN Women Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, she is an outspoken and active leader in the movement to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child marriage.

Carol Morrow Kim Hak-sun Stoneware 13” $300 Kim Hak-sun (1924 - 1997) was a Korean human rights activist who campaigned against sex slavery and wartime sexual violence. She had been forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army, and was the first woman in Korea to come forward publicly and testify her experience.

Carol Morrow Mighty Girl: Malala Yousafzai Stoneware 13” $300 SOLD Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997) became an advocate for girls' education in Pakistan when she herself was still a child, which resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. At the age of 17, she became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize after surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban.

Carol Morrow Warrior Princess: Marg Delahunty Stoneware 14” NFS Marg Delahunty Warrior Princess, is the alter ego of Mary Walsh. Dressed in her trademark costume and carrying a sword, Marg is renowned for ambushing politicians and speaking truth to power.

Carol Morrow Mary Two-Axe Early Stoneware 14” $300 Mary Two-Axe Early (1911- 1996) was a Mohawk elder, human rights activist, and advocate for women and children. Her political activism helped to forge a coalition of allies to challenge Canadian laws that discriminated against Indigenous women.

Carol Morrow Mary Woo-Sims Stoneware 13” $300 Mary-Woo Sims (b. 1956) is a social justice activist, politician, former chief commissioner of the British Columbia Human Rights Commission, and self-proclaimed troublemaker. Sims has worked to further lesbian and gay and same-sex spousal rights for many years, and was co-chair of Canadians for Equal Marriage She is proud to be part of an Asian lesbian and gay community that has grown enormously in visibility and strength, and is challenging stereotypes and prejudice in both the Asian and the queer communities.

Carol Morrow Miss Major Griffin-Gracy Stoneware 14” $300 Miss Major Griffin-Gracey (b. 1940) is a trans elder and veteran of the Stonewall uprising. She has dedicated the past 50 years to working and advocating for incarcerated trans folks, particularly trans women of color who, like Miss Major was, are often housed in men's prisons. She's worked for multiple HIV/AIDS organizations, lead support groups around the U.S., and was the first executive director of the Transgender Gender-Variant and Intersex Justice Project

Carol Morrow Nadia Murad Stoneware 16” $300 An Iraqi Yazidi, Nadia Murad (b. 1993) was kidnapped and held by the Islamic State for three months; her ordeal led her to become a leading advocate for survivors of genocide and sexual violence. In 2018, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict."

Carol Morrow Nellie McClung Stoneware 16” $300 SOLD Nellie McClung (1873 - 1951) was a women’s rights activist, legislator and author who is perhaps best known for her involvement in the Persons Case. She was one of the activist “Famous Five” who worked to have women declared “qualified persons” who were eligible for public office as senators.

Carol Morrow Elizabeth (the Paper Bag Princess) Stoneware 12” $300 Princess Elizabeth, the protagonist of The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munch (published 1980) provided girls with an alternative vision of being a princess - one who was feisty and self-reliant, and who learned that not all princes are worth marrying.

Carol Morrow Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stoneware 13” $300 SOLD Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933 - 2020) was the architect of the legal fight for women's rights in the 1970s. She subsequently served 27 years on the U.S. Supreme Court, where she successfully fought against gender discrimination, and became known for her passionate dissents

Carol Morrow Sojourner Truth Stoneware 15” $300 SOLD Sojourner Truth (c. 1797 – 1883) was an American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man.

Carol Morrow Stacey Abrams Stoneware 14” $300 After losing the 2018 gubernatorial race in Georgia, Stacey Abrams (b. 1973) has worked tirelessly to end voter suppression. Her efforts have been widely credited with boosting voter turnout in Georgia, including in the 2020 presidential and Senate elections. She is currently running again for governor.

Carol Morrow Tarana Burke Stoneware 15” $300 Tarana Burke (b. 1973) founded the Me Too movement in 2006, using the phrase "Me Too" to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and assault in society. In 2017 #MeToo became a viral hashtag in reference to the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations. The phrase and hashtag quickly developed into a broad-based, and eventually international, movement.