BACK IN 1977 I WAS INTRODUCED TO DOROTHY GILLESPIE, an American artist and sculptor who became known for her large and colorful abstract metal sculptures. SHE supported our fledgling idea of starting a feminist literary and art journal by donating A beautiful pastel for our very first cover in 1977. Her work of art was later painted to become Roanoke’s first downtown mural.
Dorothy created quite a sensation bakc then and now fast forward to this year...we decided to go full circle and honor her on our current Artemis Journal, since this year she would have been 100 years old. We collaborated with the Roanoke Taubman museum of Art, since they were featuring her with a retrospective of her life's work.
As a native of Roanoke, Ms. Gillespie’s international career spanned seven decades and her works of art have graced many institutions, museums, colleges, universities and public places. We are honored again to have her grace our current cover.