When pioneering chef Julia Child (August 15, 1912–August 13, 2004) was finally able to publish her landmark labor-of-love magnum opus Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1961, it wasn’t just a seminal introduction of French cuisine to America – it was a pioneering feat of entrepreneurship for Child, who had faced rejection after rejection, struggling for nearly a decade to surmount the oppressive greed of the publishing industry and bring her vision to life in its original creative integrity. When Knopf finally greenlit the 726-page first volume, the book swoon swelled into the status of a cultural classic and was followed by a second volume in 1972. By then, Child had become not only a legendary chef, but also an influential media personality with her own television shows in an era when few women graced the airwaves – heartening redemption for a woman who, upon finding out she was too tall to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps, had spent her late twenties and early thirties as a typist and an advertising copywriter. Indeed, over the course of her life, Child received numerous awards for her work – a Peabody and three different Emmys for her TV shows and a National Book Award for Julia Child and More Company. So monumental is Child’s legacy and so enduringly uplifting her story that she has even inspired a delightful illustrated children’s book and a rose species was named after her. [http://thereconstructionists.org/page/3] What do Buddhist artist Agnes Martin, Hollywood inventor Hedy Lamarr, and French-Cuban author Anaïs Nin have in common? Their names may not conjure popular recognition, and yet, for Lisa Congdon and Maria Popova, these women represent a particular breed of cultural trailblazer: female, under-appreciated, badass. They are “Reconstructionists,” as the writer-illustrator duo call them – and for the next year, they’ll be celebrated on a blog of the same name. Every Monday for 12 months, The Reconstructionists will debut a hand-painted illustration and short essay highlighting a woman from fields such as art, science, and literature. The subject needn’t be famous, but she will, as Popova, the creator of Brain Pickings, puts it, “have changed the way we define ourselves as a culture." We spoke with Popova, and illustrator Congdon, about the inspiration.... [http://storyboard.tumblr.com/post/41698890843/the-reconstructionists-celebrating-badass-women]