"Who Does She Think She Is? is a must-see for anyone of any gender who is trying to mute the naysaying voices and listen to their inner artist."

 

By Julie E. Washington | Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Who does she think she is?"  Documentary filmmaker Pamela Boll poses that question as the title of her documentary and something that women artists constantly face.  Can a woman possibly be wife/mother/homemaker and devote herself to art?

Each of the women Boll profiles talks about the tug of societal expectations and family responsibilities, and their inner creative pull.  They discuss the irresistible need to express themselves through art, and how they carve out time to honor it.

“The call keeps getting louder and I have to answer,” says an artist in “Who Does She Think She Is?”

Boll visits several women living across the United States who paint, sculpt, play music, and perform in musical theater.  A sculptor in New Mexico sacrifices sleep so that she can work in her studio at night.  Janis Wunderlich, a ceramic artist in Columbus, expresses the conflict between her art and five children in a piece that shows babies crawling over a woman’s face.

Additional layers come from family members—some dismissive and some supportive—and historical perspectives on sexism in the art world.  The film’s second half hits deep emotional chords as choices result in unraveled family ties.

“Who Does She Think She Is?” is a must-see for anyone of any gender who is trying to mute the naysaying voices and listen to their inner artist.

This article was originally published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.