I was deeply saddened to hear that Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away recently. My whole family celebrates RBG, we regularly play “I Dissent” an RBG-themed board game. We have a children’s book biography of her life that we have read several times. My youngest daughter even went as RBG for Halloween.
I am deeply grateful for her as a role model that my daughters can look up to, that I can look up to. I am proud to know that she served as a champion of human rights in our country for as long as she did. She is a stalwart example of the potential in all of us, and a powerful demonstration to women like my daughters that they can aspire and achieve great things.
When I heard of her passing, I painted the above in honor of her.
This painting is of the collar that RBG identified as her favorite in her collection. Perhaps it isn’t as iconic as her “I dissent” collar, but I don’t think she should be known for what she disagreed with. That she was brave enough to proudly, and powerfully disagree is a testament to her life, but I think it is more fitting to remember her in terms of what she approved, rather than what she disavowed.
This collar is a simple white knotted thread with white beads, and was handmade in Cape Town, South Africa (the heartland of Apartheid). I appreciate its simplicity, elegance, and it’s history than anything, I appreciate the powerful voice it has come to represent.