When Arlene Abend ’s daughter, Tema, had to take a home economics class in junior high school, Abend wasn’t surprised.

Her daughter wanted to take a shop class instead. Abend fought with the school to allow her daughter to be the first female student to take a shop class. She was victorious.

“She was extraordinarily frustrated with what men could do and women can’t,” said her daughter, Tema Abend. “She was a pioneer.”

It wasn’t the first or last time Abend would take a stand for feminism. As an artist who worked with metal and resin, who welded and even built her own tools when commercial tools wouldn’t suffice, Abend paved the way for women in the arts.

The renowned artist, sculptor and welder died this month. She was 94.

Abend’s sculptures ranged from the figurative to the abstrac

See Full Page