"When the distress of menopause reaches its peak, you begin the push toward your new life. As you reach the outer edge of menopause, you crown yourself Crone."
--Susun S. Weed

Here I am trying to give birth to myself! As I try to push my crone out I feel a sense of excitement about getting to know her. As serious as the face coming out of the vagina is, she's wearing a labia bonnet and glasses --the image is both startling and comical.

 Having created a whole series of "Birth of the Crone" images in contrast to the "Birth of Venus" paintings in art history, I know that woman of my generation need to bring the much-defaced crone back into our culture. Both the image and the word "crone" need reclaiming. As whacky as some of these images appear to be, I am an artist who believes that aesthetics and social responsibility are compatible.