A simple web search of the term "woman warrior" brought up more women that I could ever have hoped to discover. For this stage of the project, the work that will be displayed at the Phipps, I have chosen to concentrate on Women Warriors of the British Isles. I do plan to continue this as a work in progress beyond the Phipps show, and hope to portray many more of these heroic women.

If you have a suggestion for more Women Warriors, or are a woman and would like to be considered for an upcoming role, please email me at katieatekatieholmdotcom (change "at" to "@", change "dot" to"."), or call 612-270-0267. Please put the text "Women Warriors" in the subject line. You do not have to be a model or model perfect. These women saw battle, and character is preferred over glamour.

JANUARY 2008
With great excitement, fanfare and clanging of swords, I am proud to announce the WOMEN WARRIORS has received a grant! The grant is the Minnesota State Arts Board 2008 Artist Initiative Grant, and I am one of twenty-one recipients who were selected from 117 applicants.

The Artist Initiative Grant alternates discipline eligibility from year to year, and photography is one of the mediums for 2008. While most grant programs are designed specifically for the completion of a project, with an exhibit at the end of the grant period, the Artist Initiative Grant is deigned to help artists explore, create and grow in whatever way will best help them. Part of the application process is to specify how you will use your funding to further your career and growth as an artist. My goal for the WOMEN WARRIORS in 2008 is to create a minimum of six new portraits, which would bring my current total to ten images. With these images I will then produce three high-end portfolios to have available to send to galleries and museums, both nationally and internationally. Without a strong portfolio for this work, I will not be able to effectively promote my project, nor seek further funding or exhibitions, so the portfolios will be the culmination of my work from this grant.

You're probably wondering who my new warriors will be! The WOMEN WARRIORS will be expanding to include women of other cultures from around the world. As always I will seek to portray women who are not well known, and who lived prior to 1850 so that no photograph of them could possibly exist. I have seleceted eight new warriors, two who are sisters, but as always I am open to your suggestions! Here are the new warriors:

Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt, c. 1500 BC-1458 BC. The first Queen Regent to rule as Pharaoh, and one of only five women to do so. Regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. She was one of the most prolific builders in ancient Egypt. Fans of Egyptology will know that her mummy was recently discovered and DNA analyzed, allowing us to know more about her lineage and physical build. Interesting fact: at the time of her death, Hatshepsut was obese and diabetic.

Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, Vietnam, c. 12-43 AD. Two sisters who became leaders and successfully repelled Chinese invasions for three years. Most of their 36 generals were women, including their mother. They are national heroines of Vietnam

Zinga (Jinga) Mbandi, Africa, c. 1583 - 1663. Queen of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in southwestern Africa. Fought against Portugese slave trade, put women in positions of power.

Nanny of the Maroons, Jamaica, 18th Cent. National Heroine of Jamaica and a well-known leader of the Jamaican Maroons in the eighteenth century. Fought against Spanish slavers.

Nanye-hi (Nancy Ward), America, c. 1738–1822. Cherokee "Beloved Woman" who believed in peaceful coexistence with white people.

Deborah Sampson Gannet, America, 1760 -1827. The first known American woman to impersonate a man in order to join the Army, the first to fight in combat, and the first to receive a military pension.

Policarpa Salvarrieta "La Pola," Columbia, c. 1791 – 1817. "La Pola" was an orphaned seamstress who became an important strategist and spy, and fought in the Colombian revolution for independence from Spain. The Spanish put her to death in 1827, but Colombia did get its freedom.

Lakshmi Bai, The Rani of Jhansi, India, c. 1828 – 1858. Lakshmi was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi in North India, was one of the leading figures of the Indian rebellion of 1857, and a symbol of resistance to British rule in India. Her fall brought about many significant changes in India. Due to her bravery, she became a national hero and the epitome of female bravery.

Needless to say I am very excited to get started! Thank you to everyone for your support, and especially to my Women Warriors without whom this project would not have happened. To keep up with the latest updates, please visit my BLOG.

Agnes Randolph was the wife of Patrick Dunbar, and descended from a long line of families active in the fight for Scottish independence from England. She was known as "Black Agnes" because of her dark hair and complexion.

In 1338 Dunbar Castle became the center of struggle against English occupation. Patrick Dunbar was in Northern Scotland, and the castle had been left with Agnes and a few men-at-arms. William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, arrived at Dunbar Castle with 20,000 men. He thought taking the castle would be easy. Salisbury, a military genius, began his siege by hurling huge rocks at the Castle walls. When there was a break in the battle, he was stunned by what he saw. Agnes and her women, dressed in their finest clothes, issued out to the ramparts and began dusting away the debris with white handkerchiefs, mocking the English.

Salisbury tried every trick in the book to defeat Agnes, but was outsmarted every time. Agnes destroyed his battering ram, defeated his attempt to break into the castle, and foiled his plans to starve them out. In desperation Salisbury threatened to kill Agnes' brother, an English prisoner of war. Agnes cleverly pointed out that, should her brother die, she would become more wealthy and powerful.

After five long months of siege Salisbury admitted defeat and left Agnes to her castle. Agnes was commemorated in a ballad attributed to Salisbury and his troops, "Cam I early, cam I late, there was Agnes at the gate."

Grace O'Malley was born into a pirating family, and her father was chieftain of the O'Malley Clan. Legends purport that, as a young girl, Grace shaved off her long hair in order to join her father's expedition to Spain. From this she earned the nickname "Gráinne Mhaol," or "Grace of the Cropped Hair."

Over her life Grace married twice and bore four children. Her youngest son was born on ship during a raid. Through her two marriages Grace claimed the allegiance of three pirating clans, and the English remarked of her, "This is a notorious woman on all the coasts of Ireland."

In 1584 Sir Richard Bingham became English Governor in Ireland, and his personal vendetta was against Grace O'Malley. Over nine years the vicious battle tore her family apart. Grace appealed directly to Queen Elizabeth I for help, and in September 1593 Grace O'Malley entered her court. Their meeting was conducted in Latin, the only language the two women had in common. Grace was given a kerchief, which she tossed into the fire after using. Astounded, the Queen remarked that the kerchief could be washed for later reuse. Grace replied that the Irish apparently had higher standards of cleanliness. Queen Elizabeth was so impressed by the pirate that she allowed Grace to continue her career, and Bingham was removed from Ireland.

Grace continued to lead her pirate ships until she was too old to command. She lived to see the fall of her Gaelic world at the Battle of Kinsale, two years before her death in 1603. Queen Elizabeth died the same year. Grace had considered their meeting one of equals.

Jemima Nicholas was the wife of a cobbler and lived in Fishguard, Wales. In 1797, during the Napoleonic Wars, France attempted to invade England through Ireland. The fleet was blown off course and landed on the coast near Fishguard. Under the command of Colonel William Tate the French soldiers began ransacking the villages. Lured by the food and wine they found many of the soldiers wound up drunk.

Fishguard's troops were out of town on a military campaign, and the local townsfolk were in a panic when Jemima Nicholas stepped forward. She rallied the women of the town together, instructing them to dress in their traditional Welsh outfits, which consisted of black felt hats and red shawls. They armed themselves with whatever crude weapons they could find and placed themselves on a ridge over-looking the French troops. The few men in Fishguard placed themselves on the city docks and walls. In the fading sunlight the French mistook what they saw as British redcoats coming to the aid of the Welsh townsfolk. The French surrendered within two days, but not before Jemima had single-handedly captured twelve of the assailants with nothing more than a pitchfork.

Jemima lived to be 82. A commemorative painting of her hangs in Fishguard's Royal Oak Inn, where she can watch over the place of Tate's final surrender.