power from within

I can't think of one particular overarching influence to my artistic practice. However there have been many in the vein of "strong female role models and de-centered power structures" which were necessary to round out the other major influences in my childhood...
As a child in very Irish Catholic family (though my parents were open-minded about religion, the larger family structure still dictated that I went to Sunday school every week until I was 18, followed by church, youth groups on Wednesday nights, sang in the choir, etc) in a very small, rural, and fairly conservative community I did not see many "alternative" ways to structuring existence. I think however (and in large part because my parents are awesome) I always knew that such things were "out there."
So... influences (semi-chronologically)... Laura Ingalls Wilder, "Ayla" from The Clan of the Cave Bear series, my 6th grade/high school art teacher Ann Diedrichsen, the movie Flashdance, "Dreaming the Dark" by Starhawk...
These influences taught me not only about strong women but more importantly about alternative power structures & ways of seeing and being a part of the organization of the world. And in the case of Flashdance, still my favorite movie, everything one needs to know about 80s fashion and dancing while getting doused with water.