My mission is to make thought provoking porcelain sculpture that tell the harrowing stories of what women have experienced and continue to endure. It’s no secret that women face a myriad of challenges. By researching historical themes, places and people, one can offer insight into the past and understand its impact on the future.

The traveling exhibition, Eighty-Six Reasons for Asylum Admission, was inspired by the West Virginia Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum’s Reasons for Admission that inventoried preconditions for mental illness. Taken from the hospital’s logbook, it has been published in several books and research papers. The list, coupled with lunacy laws, allowed husbands to rid themselves of their partners and maintain custody of their children at the same time.

Imagine waking up one morning and seeing your bags packed by the front door. Two men sitting with your husband grab you and stuff you into their transport. Slowly it dawns on you. A certificate has been designed declaring you insane. Your journey into hell begins to unfold, as does your induction into male medical misogyny.

In the 19th century, women exhibiting just about any kind of unusual behavior including mental or physical anguish could end up institutionalized. For the husband it was a convenient way to erase dispensable or embarrassing wives.

Early asylums were brutal places especially for women. The fairer sex was the prime focus of male physicians, especially during the Victorian era. Women were thought to be at particular risk due to perceived reproductive disorders. Doctors often diagnosed them with hysteria, taken from the Greek root word hysteria meaning uterus. Almost any form of behavior – excitable chatter with other women, reading novels, grief or lack of enthusiasm for domestic chores – was pegged as hysteria. Erotomania, more commonly known as “hyper sexuality,” was also a favorite diagnosis.

Medicine and treatment were often toxic and inhumane. Commonly prescribed mercury kept patients in a constant state of nausea making acts of violence less likely. Electroshock therapy, lobotomies, teeth and organ extractions, chemically induced seizures and insulin shock therapy were routine. Straightjackets, restraints and solitary confinement were part of daily life as were hard labor, starvation, beatings and rape. Erasmus Darwin, grandfather to Charles, masterminded “rotational therapy” whereby patients were strapped to a wall-suspended chair that spun at high velocity. Darwin rationalized that excessive spinning lessened brain congestion.

Because asylums were profit centers, there was little incentive to discharge patients in a timely manner. Eighty-Six Reasons offers an emotional delve into this heartbreaking story.

There are so many rewarding aspects to being an artist. I thoroughly enjoy the extensive research that comes before the making. It is only through research that I can truly grasp a topic and feel confident talking about it. Who doesn’t want to constantly learn new things? The research is almost as rewarding as creating the objects. At first glance, the white porcelain sculptures appear almost beautiful, glowing from within. Only after a closer look does the more sinister intent reveal itself. Learning about tough topics under the umbrella of what women endure is one thing. Creating something that tells the story is another. It’s incredibly challenging work. It’s most rewarding to have my exhibitions travel and have the opportunity to teach. Whether it is the asylum experience, hushing women or fighting for reproductive rights, the work forces viewers to contemplate the issues. It’s most rewarding to have exhibitions at university galleries or museums. I absolutely love engaging with young minds. Sure, I teach them about the past and watch their eyes widen – but it’s their views on the future that I find truly enlightening.