by Patricia Hendricks Constantine
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Inspiration for Blue Balloon
My work explores the comparisons between the body’s temporality and fragility and the association of our internal organs with the corruptibility of fruit and vegetables. Some of the images include body outlines that are purposefully reminiscent of the classic crime scene chalk outline.
Society’s adoration of the female form and also it’s repulsion of that image is of great interest to me. Woman is rejected because her inherent function is giving birth while society continues to reinforce this as her primary goal. She is dismissed as cerebral because of her physical ability to cause temptation. Many hate and violent crimes are directed towards women because they are easier to prey upon substantially. The “rejection of the maternal container” is prevalent in today’s world.
When I physically face and control the visual images I produce I feel like I regain the power lost to fear campaigns. I refuse to fall prey to intimidation.
Artist’s Biograpghy
Patricia Hendricks Constantine is a native Floridian. She received a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design with a minor in art history and a MFA from University of Cincinnati. She was a 2002 recipient of a Michigan Creative Artists Grant from Artserve Michigan. Her medium is a mixture of watercolor and charcoal and reflects a tremendous respect for the genres of the still life and the figure. The work of 17th century Italian Baroque artist Artemesia Gentileschi is a very strong influence. Her exhibitions include Waters Gallery NY, NY, Baldwin Wallace College Cleveland, OH, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI. Her paintings have been featured in The Art of Teaching Art, by Deborah Rockman, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan Home and the cover of the Chicago Gallery Guide. Her work is included in several collections, The Brown-Forman Corporation, Louisville, KY, The Frey Foundation, Grand Rapids, MI and Gilda’s House, Grand Rapids, MI. She is represented by The Lansing Art Gallery, Lansing MI. She is co-director of CODA Gallery in Grand Rapids, MI along with artist husband Jay Constantine. Patricia is an Associate Professor of Drawing and Printmaking at Kendall College of Art and Design located in downtown Grand Rapids. She lives in GR with husband Jay, their two daughters Antonia and Sofia and Border collie Scout.
