About the artist

RHONDA URDANG is an independent studio artist working across multiple disciplines. Since founding Flagstaff Feminist Art Studio, she has worked primarily in femmage, book art, collage, digital manipulation, assemblage, film, painting & satire. Her thought-provoking artworks have been shown extensively in regional, national, and international group shows in 41 states. Rhonda received her BFA with an emphasis in painting from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and later worked as a journeyman color separation artist in Phoenix, retouching high-fashion catalogs for Anne Klein, Ann Taylor, Bergdorf Goodman, Bonwit Teller, Estee Lauder, and Neiman Marcus. 

The New Moon in Gemini (air sign) will occur on May 26. Gemini is the zodiac's resident storyteller.  Under the dark skies and changing winds of this lunation, we're all offered the opportunity to tell ourselves a different kind of story--and sail into a different way of being by a creative, highly engaging way.  The courageous act of truth telling and radical storytelling is one of the most important tools that we can use for mobilizing social change.

The Celtic Tree month of Willow is linked to the Ogham letter (Old Irish):  Saille (S), which translates to "willow" begins on April 15 and ends of May 12.  The Celtic Tree month of Oak begins June 10 through July 7--Ogham Letter (Old Irish):  Duir (D), with symbolic meaning--the oak is a sign of strength and rules the seventh month.   

The Full Strawberry moon in Sagittarius (fire sign) on June 11 is named for the time of year when wild strawberries ripen, which is a significant food source for many Native American tribes.  Peak strawberry harvesting represents abundance of ripening berries and fruits of one's labor, both spiritual and material, and by preparing for the hotter months ahead.  Litha, also known as Midsummer, is a pagan holiday that celebrates the Summer Solstice and will begin on June 20 as the Sun enters Cancer--marking the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

Rhonda's digital manipulation of her original femmage Self-Portrait of Artist as Atomic Test Dummy (Doom Town, Yucca Flat, NV, 1953) will debut in Thunderdomesticity:  Witness Me at No. 7 Center Street Gallery, Vermillion, SD, with an opening reception on May 30.  Guests are encouraged to dress up in post-apocalyptic costumes as they experience the epic artwork.  The wheat-paste exterior art installation will eventually deteriorate with the elements over time, degrade due to harsh weather conditions, and is aimed at making art more accessible to the public.  The national exhibition hosted by Klaire Lockheart and Packard Group LLC will run through July 25, 2025.

Image:  Self-Portrait of Artist as Atomic Test Dummy (Doom Town, Yucca Flat, NV, 1953) (C) 2025 All rights reserved

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline.  It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer".  -- Frank Zappa