(Editor’s note: This feature is a preview for the release of Sally Deskins’ book titled Les Femmes Folles: The Women, 2011 at 6 p.m. Wednesday at House of Loom. The book is available now for purchase here.)

by Krystal Sidzyik | photos by g thompson higgins

Courage and elegance. This is what artists at an exhibition last April communicated using the female form. Sally Deskins was in awe, and she wanted to know the women behind the art, so she went searching.

“I couldn’t find them,” Deskins says. “I looked for more information on any women artists in the area, and I couldn’t find much, so I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just do it myself.’”

Deskins started a blog, Les Femmes Folles, to celebrate women involved with visual art, music, performance art, theater, writing and literature. Through Q&As and features on female artists, Deskins fills a void. After the blog’s first year, to further her goal to celebrate these women, Deskins compiled a book of images, excerpts and quotations from a selection of the 146 creative women she has featured.

“There’s so many women that are doing great things inside and outside of the community,” Deskins says. “Many times I’ve been told to slow down because I might run out of women and I’m like, ‘Oh no, there are plenty more.'"

To celebrate the release of Les Femmes Folles: The Women, 2011, House of Loom will be hosting a book release party on Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. as part of their Soup 'n Cinema Celebrates Women’s History Month.

The release night will feature Deskins reading from her introduction. Three poets published in the book — Marilyn June Coffey, Fran Higgins and Jessica Mogis — will also present their work. Softcover copies will available for $30, cash only. Admission is free but donations of women’s toiletries and baby items are encouraged. There will also be free soup and cake provided by Dolce Cafe.

A film and post-film discussion about the documentary Who Does She Think She Is? from Academy Award-winning producer Pamela Tanner Boll will follow the book release party. The film features "five bold women who navigate some of the most problematic intersections of our time: parenting and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art."

Krystal Sidzyik is an intern at Hear Nebraska. She believes supporting local artists is extremely important. Contact her at krystals@hearnebraska.org.