Hestia Mural : The History of Women of Northampton from the 1600’s to 1980
The Hestia art collective originally was formed by ten women artists and five completed the mural project. Hestia is the goddess of the hearth in Greek mythology, the keeper of the eternal flame. At some point, Dionysus replaced Hestia and she faded into obscurity. This goddess’s name seemed apt for a group of women artists intent on finding the obscured, lost local women’s history, while making it a public visual narrative. This photograph is from the mural’s restoration project in 2003. Talented local artists contributed updates, repairs and re-touches to some of the images. Along with some other of the original members, I returned in 2003 to provide consultation, technical help as well as painting.