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.

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Street Photo, Paris

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

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

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

Jacque and Scottie

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Amanda, Marin County, California

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Fingerpainting

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Street Photo, Paris

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

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

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Paris Painter

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

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

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

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

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Look at Me and My Mussels!

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

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

San Francisco Metallic

Little Girl, Guatemala

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

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

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Red, Paris

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

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

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

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

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Woman Wearing Hijab

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

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

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

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

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Paris Sentinels

Little Girl, Guatemala

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

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

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