Artist
Melissa Ritts
Project Note(s)
Self-Portrait Photography using studio lighting
Artist Statement
“For the majority of our lives women are defined by the roles we play – wife, mother, sister, aunt, nurse, teacher, engineer, and so on. So as these areas of our lives change, we may struggle to find out what that means to us. We have free time, but what do we do with it? We miss the carefree child that we know still lives within us somewhere and we long to find a sisterhood that embraces us for our not-so-serious side. Many times I have heard my Red Hat sisters saying things like, “my daughter thinks I’m getting too carried away with this”, to which I clap and say “good for you!” This makes the Red Hat Society a good fit for women of any age who wish to bond with and empower other women at play.
I wanted to create a way to speak to those women who wanted more fun in their lives, by showing them what the Red Hat Society means to me through a series of self portraits in some of my favorite outfits, hats, characters and with my favorite sock monkeys! I chose to present this project in book format because I felt the pictures needed the text to help tell the story fully. I hope you will take time to read the short explanations of the pictures to fully experience what I feel and the difference these women have made in my life.
Biography
My name is Melissa Ritts and I have chosen to do my first self portraiture project focusing on what the Red Hat Society means to me. I am planning to tell the story of my 7 year history with the Red Hats through photos and text.
