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.

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Paris Painter

Little Girl, Guatemala

Jacque and Scottie

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

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

San Francisco Metallic

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

Red, Paris

Street Photo, Paris

Little Girl, Guatemala

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

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

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Woman Wearing Hijab

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

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

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Fingerpainting

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

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Street Photo, Paris

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

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

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

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

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

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

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

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

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

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Paris Sentinels

Amanda, Marin County, California

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

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

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

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