Marcia Goldenstein received her MFA degree in Painting from the University of Nebraska. She has been a visiting artist at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Bratislava, Slovakia; Sichuan University, Chengdu, Beihang University, Beijing; University of Texas, San Antonio; Arizona State University, University of Indianapolis; and other universities and museums. She exhibits her work widely in the US, Europe and China. She is Professor Emeritus of Painting and Drawing at the University of Tennessee School of Art.

Women Activists in Stitches is a series of portraits of women who chose the challenge of professional careers in art while eschewing the socially acceptable domestic crafts considered "women’s work". I embroidered them "in stitches" as a metaphor for a laugh at any criticism they may have encountered while pursuing their passions. Using a "domestic craft", I highlight the contrast between what activities society deemed acceptable versus how these women redefined women’s roles through their inspiring and extraordinary accomplishments. 

Women Activists in Stitches is a recent addition to the original Women Artists series. Embroidered in color, these women, through their voices, their art, their writing, their politics, and their music, have worked for social justice, for equality, for the environment, to fight racism and discrimination and to call attention to injustices of all forms. Depicting these powerful, inspiring women in thread is a way for me to follow and explore the history of how "women’s work" has been redefined.

https://vimeo.com/282872130

https://tnartscommission.org/news/places-and-faces-marcia-goldenstein-and-tom-riesing/