She went to Italy, made believe she was Italian, which she is (one-half), earned her MA in sculpture [()] [()] [()] [()] [()] and then went to the University of Wisconsin for an MFA in sculpture. At each place she began to break art rules. She asked, why can't putting junk together be art? Why do artists have to make objects in a studio and call that art? Why can't animals be art? [()] For her MFA she put nine chickens in three big cages and called that her show. Linda was becoming a bad girl! Opps again! First she wanted to be Holy Girl. Now she wants to be Bad Girl. Something's fishy! [()] Pushing the envelope, she explored all of her Charkas, including her urges, her dreams and her own definition of religion/sainthood. Remember it was the 1970s.

After marrying the photographer, Mitchell Payne [()] and beginning Yoga, Little Linda started performing as a saint with white gauze covering her, white face, lying down and sitting as still as a church statue. Chicken Woman was born and she was also known as Chicken Linda. [()] [()] [()] [()] [()]Married and ecstatic she danced and lay down and sat as a statue/saint. Supported by her handsome, loving and talented husband who photographed her and encouraged her on every level while she; handcuffed herself to Tom Marioni; [()] remained blindfolded for a week many different times; [()] taped a stethoscope to her heart to learn how to listen; and [()] told the story of her life while walking on a treadmill, she flourished. [()]

But life changed as it does. The big bad wolf came out a lot to bother Little Linda. She cried and cried and had to sing extra loud to scare the wolf away. But the wolf stayed for a long, long time scaring her a lot. She began a new phase she termed creative schizophrenia, a dissolving of an inner core of herself and out of the confusion of divorce and death of her ex-husband she began a series of works that attempted to explore grief and loss as well as persona changes that allowed her to get out of her own skin. [()]

WHAT LINDA LEARNED FROM THE YEARS 1964 - 1978

1. Pursuing freedom without considering consequences is like gambling. You might win or you might lose.

2. The 1970s were right for the 1970s not right for now.

3. The impulses of the artist don't need to be translated into the impulses of the "lifeist".

4. Without consistent emotional cleansing and maintenance we are often blind to or incapable of healthy intimacy.

5. If there is armoring against compassion and love it often takes more than one trauma to learn life's mysteries and open the heart center.

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