Today marks International Women’s Day! To commemorate, here is a gallery of some of the women I’ve photographed in various parts of the world over the last few years. Most are just going about their days, some are sculptural renditions, and their is one painting of a very special lady, indeed. Whatever they are doing, wherever they are, they sparkle both individually, and as a colorful, beautiful mosaic.

Amanda, Marin County, California

“That Seal is So Big!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Skeletons and Lace, Cour d’Honneur, Palais Royal, Paris

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

San Francisco Metallic

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Little Girl, Guatemala

Praying Madonna, Picture Over my Bed, The Convent of Suore Elisabetta dell’Olmata, Rome, Italy

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Jacque and Scottie

Red, Paris

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

An American Woman Reading on Board a Junk in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Street Photo, Paris

Native American Princess, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Wonder at the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

“I’m Flying!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Paris Sentinels

Woman Wearing Hijab

Paris Painter

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Shy. On the Bus to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Long Beach, California

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Lynne and Ashley, Mother and Daughter, Marin County, CA

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Golden Curls and a Smile. Matt Davis Trail, Marin County, California

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Beautiful Vietnamese Women (and a Couple of American Ones, Too!) Hanoi, Vietnam

Little Girl, Guatemala

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Skeletons and Lace, Cour d’Honneur, Palais Royal, Paris

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Concern on a Second Grade Teacher’s Face. Aquarium of the Pacific Field Trip, Long Beach, California

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Fingerpainting

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Street Photo, Paris

Taken individually, each is cause for celebration in her own right. When considered as symbolic of all of us women, the collage forms a pleasing and consistent whole.

For International Women’s Day 2016, Google travelled around the world and asked women to complete the phrase #OneDayIWill. Here are some great responses from London:

#OneDayIWill visit the North and the South Poles and every country in between!

#OneDayIWill fly!!! This latter dream I posted on Twitter and Google responded! Here’s the Twitter conversation:

@renate_flynn Fly on! #OneDayIWill pic.twitter.com/BOVujuBTdC

— Google (@google) March 9, 2016

“I’m Flying!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California