A 1968 Honda 175cc custom cafe racer with a life-size doll of Marianne Faithfull. JENNIFER EBERBACH–CHELSEA STANDARD
Vintage motorcycles and artistic dolls, as well as historical photos and advertising materials that trace the history of women and motorcycles, are on display through August, off the main lobby of Silver Maples Retirement Community.
Six life-sized artistic dolls, created by Chelsea artist Jill Andrews, ride four rare vintage motorcycles, which her husband Elliott collected and restored. He used to work in the motorcycle industry and race, and he continues to collect and restore bikes.
Stringfield was the first African American woman to ride solo across the United State on a motorcycle. She did it eight times. She also won races, disguised as a man, but they denied her trophies when her gender was found out. However, she would later come to be know as “The Motorcycle Queen of Miami.”
“There have always been women doing amazing things, but they weren’t always acknowledged for it because they were women,” says Jill.
Elliott’s custom café racer, a silver 1968 Honda 175cc, is one-of-a-kind. He based it on a 1968 Honda street bike frame, but added parts from all over the world and had some pieces special made. ‘Café racer’ was a term first used in Great Britain in the 1960s to describe street legal motorcycle that were custom made to resemble racing bikes.
“They were the rockers who dressed kind of like Marlon Brando in the movie The Wild One and rode street bikes that were modified to look like racing bikes. But they weren’t in real races at that time. They raced from café to café, thus the name, from hangout to hangout,” Elliott says of the original meaning of ‘café racers.’
Paired with the 1968 custom Honda is a doll inspired by singer and actress Marianne Faithful. She was not a motorcyclist, but she acted in the 1968 cult classic “The Girl on a Motorcycle,” a bad movie but good example of the changing image of women on motorcycles in popular culture.
“I wanted to make ‘Motorcycle Mamas’ that look like they come from the time periods of each motorcycle,” Jill says. Faithfull wears go-go boots and a Mondrian-inspired color-block dress. Continued…
A 1965 Honda CA110 Sport 50 is similar to the first bike Elliott bought, when he was 18. The doll riding it is inspired by his sister, a motorcycle rider herself. The red leather pants are hers from the 1960s.
The other motorcycles in the show include a 1976 Kawasaki KZ900 LTD, a big chopper-style bike. 1976 was the first year Kawasaki manufactured their big bikes in the U.S. with American-made parts, according to Elliott.
A 1980 Yamaha TZ125G is a true racing bike.
“These were sold to what were called privateers, non-factory sponsored riders who wanted to race. But this particular one was not sold in the United States, because the U.S. didn’t have a racing class for it,” Elliott says.
Historical photographs included in the exhibition tell many stories about pioneering women motorcyclists.
Hazel Watkins traveled her stunt show around the world, mother and daughter Avis and Effie Hotchkiss were the first women to cross the U.S. on a motorcycle, and Dot Robinson co-founded Motor Maids. These are just a few of the stories you will find in the exhibition.
The exhibit is primarily about women, however there is one motorcycle ‘papa’ in the show – Elliott himself. Photographs from his career in the motorcycle industry are also included in the exhibit.
He has worn many hats, including working as a factory rep for Honda before opening a Kawasaki and Harley Davison dealership. In 1971, Elliott took third-place in a Dayton road race on a motorcycle he had built. In 1973, he set a national record in drag racing at the ATCO Dragway in New Jersey. His certificate hangs in the show.
In 1982, he left the industry to work in university administration in Cal-Tech’s engineering division, where he worked for 24 years before his retirement. He still collects, restores, and rides motorcycles. Continued…
The “Motorcycle Mamas” exhibit is something to see for motorcycle enthusiasts and art lovers alike. And it is also an introduction to an interesting and somewhat overlooked aspect of women’s history.
Vintage motorcycles and artistic dolls, as well as historical photos and advertising materials that trace the history of women and motorcycles, are on display through August, off the main lobby of Silver Maples Retirement Community.
Six life-sized artistic dolls, created by Chelsea artist Jill Andrews, ride four rare vintage motorcycles, which her husband Elliott collected and restored. He used to work in the motorcycle industry and race, and he continues to collect and restore bikes.
Stringfield was the first African American woman to ride solo across the United State on a motorcycle. She did it eight times. She also won races, disguised as a man, but they denied her trophies when her gender was found out. However, she would later come to be know as “The Motorcycle Queen of Miami.”
“There have always been women doing amazing things, but they weren’t always acknowledged for it because they were women,” says Jill.
Elliott’s custom café racer, a silver 1968 Honda 175cc, is one-of-a-kind. He based it on a 1968 Honda street bike frame, but added parts from all over the world and had some pieces special made. ‘Café racer’ was a term first used in Great Britain in the 1960s to describe street legal motorcycle that were custom made to resemble racing bikes.
“They were the rockers who dressed kind of like Marlon Brando in the movie The Wild One and rode street bikes that were modified to look like racing bikes. But they weren’t in real races at that time. They raced from café to café, thus the name, from hangout to hangout,” Elliott says of the original meaning of ‘café racers.’
Paired with the 1968 custom Honda is a doll inspired by singer and actress Marianne Faithful. She was not a motorcyclist, but she acted in the 1968 cult classic “The Girl on a Motorcycle,” a bad movie but good example of the changing image of women on motorcycles in popular culture.
“I wanted to make ‘Motorcycle Mamas’ that look like they come from the time periods of each motorcycle,” Jill says. Faithfull wears go-go boots and a Mondrian-inspired color-block dress.
Most of the dolls are not actual people, rather “more of a conglomeration of people from the time period of each motorcycle, how they looked and what they wore,” she says. A lot of the clothing is vintage, too. Some dolls are partially inspired by people she knows.
A 1965 Honda CA110 Sport 50 is similar to the first bike Elliott bought, when he was 18. The doll riding it is inspired by his sister, a motorcycle rider herself. The red leather pants are hers from the 1960s.
The other motorcycles in the show include a 1976 Kawasaki KZ900 LTD, a big chopper-style bike. 1976 was the first year Kawasaki manufactured their big bikes in the U.S. with American-made parts, according to Elliott.
A 1980 Yamaha TZ125G is a true racing bike.
“These were sold to what were called privateers, non-factory sponsored riders who wanted to race. But this particular one was not sold in the United States, because the U.S. didn’t have a racing class for it,” Elliott says.
Historical photographs included in the exhibition tell many stories about pioneering women motorcyclists.
Hazel Watkins traveled her stunt show around the world, mother and daughter Avis and Effie Hotchkiss were the first women to cross the U.S. on a motorcycle, and Dot Robinson co-founded Motor Maids. These are just a few of the stories you will find in the exhibition.
The exhibit is primarily about women, however there is one motorcycle ‘papa’ in the show – Elliott himself. Photographs from his career in the motorcycle industry are also included in the exhibit.
He has worn many hats, including working as a factory rep for Honda before opening a Kawasaki and Harley Davison dealership. In 1971, Elliott took third-place in a Dayton road race on a motorcycle he had built. In 1973, he set a national record in drag racing at the ATCO Dragway in New Jersey. His certificate hangs in the show.
In 1982, he left the industry to work in university administration in Cal-Tech’s engineering division, where he worked for 24 years before his retirement. He still collects, restores, and rides motorcycles.
As an artist, Jill paints, makes dolls — celebrities, people she knows, and fantastical creatures — and wearable art. Her artwork is currently sold at Artistica Gallery, in Dexter, and she teaches doll making at Veo Art Studio, in Chelsea. These are her first life-sized dolls.
The “Motorcycle Mamas” exhibit is something to see for motorcycle enthusiasts and art lovers alike. And it is also an introduction to an interesting and somewhat overlooked aspect of women’s history.
Chelsea artist presents "Motorcycle Mamas" at Silver Maples (WITH SLIDESHOW)
