The Petticoat Painters
"Now You See Us"
Sarasota’s Own Petticoat Painters 1953-2025
A City Hall Cultural Heritage Exhibit, on display March 2025 through March 2026
“Honoring our history, we support professional woman artists, offering a community of growth and shared experience culminating in group exhibitions.”
The Petticoat Painters are one of the longest-standing continuously exhibiting women’s art groups in the U.S. This group was formed in 1953 to showcase the talents of female artists at a time when women had difficulty in finding venues to show their work. Today they remain dedicated to honor the vision of their founders by providing a place for women to come together to share their art in thoughtfully organized exhibitions. "As Petticoat Painters, we find strength in our core belief that experiencing the creative work of women artists offers a better understanding of our world at large."
Exhibiting Members (Phase 2):
Jana Millstone’s dream-like imagery propels you into worlds that can sometimes be funny, calming or disquieting, but are always thought provoking. She believes art making is a weird mix of play, alchemy, terror, and transcendence. Jana holds a BFA from Pratt Institute, with additional studies at Parsons School of Design, The Art Students League, and F.I.T. She has exhibited in NYC at Brooks Jackson Iolas Gallery, Porter Contemporary, Site-Brooklyn, as well as Susquehanna Museum of Art, PA. Winner of the Society of Illustrators’ scholarship, she has since won numerous awards including the statewide Florida’s Finest first prize.
Wright’s work focuses on questions of perception, the phenomenological and experiential aspects of landscape rooted in both lived experience and the imagination. Attention is paid to spatial types and what they might engender rather than to rational spatial concepts in an attempt to express visually the more indiscernible moments of an enmeshed experience. She has received numerous awards for her work including two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants in support of her studio practice and a Knight Neighborhood Challenge Grant for sculpture from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
“I often stitch on traditionally feminine found vintage linens such as handkerchiefs and tablecloths. They are often worn and frayed by time as we are. The art they inspire celebrates peace, nuance and delicacy. Beyond a nostalgic appeal of historic fiber, I aesthetically respond to the delicate variations of color and line of embroidery and lace. I do not use these resources ironically. I have come to own this delicacy and its floral femininity as formal qualities. I find inspiration in the complex patterns of vintage lace, its feminine aura and textural richness.” Meg Maher Pierce grew up in the Buffalo area. A graduate of the College of New Rochelle, she went on to gain a Masters in Art and Art Education from Columbia University, NY, NY and a MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. She was a teacher of art the Herricks Schools, New Hyde Park, on Long Island from 1969-2001.
"I have always been a keen observer. I vividly remember taking in everything around me from a very young age, the sights, the sounds, the energy of life everywhere. As an artist today, I do the same, experiencing, exploring and imagining. I look for the beauty in the moment that makes me catch my breath. And, then, I paint it." Janice is originally from Rhode Island with both an Art Education degree and an Integrated Arts Master's Degree from Lesley College. She taught for 40 years in both public and private schools, as well as at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. She is a Board member of the Women Contemporary Artists regional organization and is a National League of American Pen Woman.
As a studio artist, Nancy finds her artistic voice mainly through oil painting, particularly in the realm of impactful still life images and lush foliage. However, she is not afraid to venture into uncharted territories and explore acrylics, mixed media on newsprint, pushing the boundaries of her creativity. Her work seeks to evoke emotion, spark contemplation, and with each brushstroke and innovative technique, she invites you to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Nancy has been a resident of Sarasota since 1979. She graduated from the American Academy of Art-Chicago, and has continued her studies at Ringling College of Art and Design. She is also a Board member of the regional artist group, Women Contemporary Artists.
My art encourages people to exercise their imaginations. We are innately imaginative beings, but that imagination can diminish over time if it is not nurtured and exercised. If imagination is lost, innovation, invention, art and culture… the things that enhance our lives won’t be far behind. I strongly believe, when a vibrant imagination is paired with creativity, it becomes a powerful tool. Using this tool results in enhanced problem solving, and an increased ability to adapt to new situations.
In my practice, I explore the act of imitation and mimicry - manifestations of need for belonging within a society deeply influenced by the distortions of colonial history and class hierarchies. My work centers on the duality embedded in cultural identity, emphasizing its fluid, ever changing nature. This exploration seeks to contribute to the ongoing discourse on cultural representation and the complexities of identity formation.
"All of my work is based on my love of pure design, and my background as an illustrator compels me to find story, form, and emotion in every painting I do," she says. Each of her abstract watercolors is an exploration of just how many different layers of design and complexity can be exposed successfully. Diane is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Watercolor Honor Society, and 13 additional Watercolor Societies. Diane was raised in Arizona and educated at schools including the University of Arizona and Ringling School of Art.
Ellen Mason continues to explore her interest in the landscape. Although not site specific, her paintings and drawings results in passages dealing with mark making, tension and references to organic forms. Her work is built up with a series of marks that are layered, and often opened up to create either delicate or bold statements. Process has always been a key element in her work. She loves to explore different mediums and her recent drawings in conte crayon, pastel and ink have transcended her work to a new level of awareness.
Eszter Sziksz is a Hungarian artist whose practice combines printmaking, installation, and video to explore memory, presence, and human connection. She has lived and worked internationally, with projects spanning Europe, Asia, and the United States. "As a printmaker, I explore the Ephemeron---or shifting material states of each piece as it grows in time, decays, and leaves a trace of memory. My prints can take the shape of a psychic imprint with deeper, more sentient engagement in the inner life of the viewer. This metaphor speaks to the organic metamorphoses of my materials: oil on canvas, print on paper, melting ice sheets, or fragile sand prints.
Janet Mishner is a mixed-media artist living and working in Sarasota, Florida. She is active in several professional organizations including Women Contemporary Artists and the National Association of Women Artists. She enjoys exploring ways to achieve an image using means other than the paintbrush. She uses a variety of processes that include stenciling, printmaking and transfers in her paintings. In this series she has inserted animals and children into an imagined landscape or interior. By extracting figures from photographs she creates a narrative from the world of her imagination.
Judy Lyons Schneider, a printmaker and mixed media artist, was born in NYC and studied at the Art Students League and New York University. As a past Chairperson of Florida Artist Group and a member of Women Contemporary Artists she is an advocate for the visual arts in her community. Judy has been actively involved in making art for over 60 years. Her work has appeared in museums, galleries and universities throughout this country and in Russia. In addition to a Geraldine Dodge Foundation Grant and a Soaring Gardens Artist Retreat Residency Grant, her art has won many awards. Most recently, a Signature Award from the International Society of Experimental Artists.
Keiko's Sumi-e paintings portray a multicultural background as well as her feelings and energy. Her favorite subjects are flowers, trees and landscapes. Born and educated in Tokyo she moved to New York City in 1973 and then relocated to Sarasota. Keiko has always engaged in creative work - Japanese fine art, crafts, textiles and antiques. She is a member of National Sumi-e Society of America and exhibits Sumi-e paintings Nationally and Internationally. She was awarded "Best in Show" for the 49th Annual Juried Exhibition at Burnsville Performing Arts Center, Burnsville, MN for her calligraphy and has had her works displayed in the Japanese Tea House at the Ringling Museum of Art.
Born in San Francisco and raised on O‘ahu, Kim Anderson is an artist and educator residing in Bradenton, Florida. She has been a Professor of Art at New College of Florida since 2004. She earned an MFA from the University of Florida and BFA from California College of the Arts. Her work explores the intersections of painting and photography, engaging an archive of found amateur photographs and home movies from the 19th and 20th centuries. Her work reflects on how photographic collections mediate the ways we see and are seen, while their ephemerality evokes the mutability of identity, memory, and representation.
“I work at an intersection of drawing and printmaking. Everything - internal and external - is fodder. Like solving a puzzle,filtering concept, aesthetic, craft and intuition is both seductive and absorbing. Images unfold as a series of visual essays – responses to the observed world, which at any time is stunning, raw, tragic, breathtaking and renewable. Since early childhood I have been drawn to flying. Floating shapes, layered light and macro perspectives are recurring elements in my work. Learning to pilot small aircraft deepened this connection – low altitude flight became physicalimmersion in light and space shaping the visual language of my work.”
Noelle McCleaf is a lens-based artist examining memory, relationship, identity, and place. Inspired by women’s stories and archives, her work seeks to contemplate past histories from a contemporary perspective. Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Noelle received her BFA from the Ringling College of Art and Design and her MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
My primary medium is papier colle'. Using the broad chromatic spectrum of Color-aid paper, I treat this cut paper process as a synthesis of drawing, painting, and graphic design. The paper is my palette, the x-acto knife is my rendering instrument. I continue to create graphic distillations of the beauty I find in un-noticed spaces and out of the way places. Thrills, wonder, memory, fascination and escapism resonate in my work.
Susan Covert has a BFA from Washington University School of Art. For thirty years she flourished as an illustrator and courtroom artist for the NBC affiliate in Rochester, NY. Now living in Florida, Susie focuses on her first love: painting and drawing. Like the Dutch masters, her subjects are the domestic interiors and surrounding landscapes. As for light, "the play of outside and inside light is what excites me". She belongs to several local Plein Air groups.
Yajaira is a visual artist whose work primarily consists of oil paintings of foliage highlighting the complex beauty found in nature. “My work shifts between figurative paintings, focused on personal relationships and experiences, and large-scale botanical pieces centered around the rich visual language of plants. Through oils I am able to capture organic intricate patterns, colors and layered textures.”
Exhibiting Emeritus Members:
Jamie Friedli
“As an artist, I feel that art simply needs to be an experience with nature. Having always painted en plein air, I seek inspiration and creative expression from the reaction to changing light, time of day, and the mood of the moment.” Jamie Friedli has been one of Sarasota’s most respected and collected artists. She taught for years, has held many leadership positions in the Florida art community, and has been recognized through impressive awards for her work.
Judy Just
“My work has always been about my love for color, nature, exotic lands, mark making, exploring materials and connection to Spirit. My life is about the joy of exploration with an open heart.” Judy Just is an award-winning printmaker, book maker and painter with artwork known for its color, exuberance and movement. She has traveled and taught extensively and uses non-toxic materials in a green studio, after working with trailblazers in the non-toxic printmaking movement.
“Painting for me is a challenge, a form of play and a private space to create my visions of natural phenomena, from the tiniest of insects to the majesty of mountains. A session of painting always leaves my heart and soul satisfied. I feel fortunate to have found the world of colors and shapes at a young age. Life built around beauty and creativity is a blessed one.” Madelaine is an award-winning abstract painter as well as a romance novelist. She has worked in art therapy, graphic design, fashion illustration, museum leadership and art education and has been involved in many prestigious art organizations. Her paintings hang in private, corporate and museum collections throughout the country.
Born Susan Jane Koverman in Dayton, Ohio, Klein studied three years at Ohio State; earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Youngstown State; and then, a Masters of Fine Arts from Kent State University. Moved to Florida in 1990, continuing to pursue a successful career as a painter. “As a landscape artist, I paint, guided by site sketches, with the confidence of experience and trusted instinct, toward the content of the painting.”
For information on buying art or discovering more about the artists, go to www.petticoatpainters.com