Mural Painting with Qian

In July, my friend and colleague Qian (qiancreates.com) and I painted a mural for an organization that serves adults with intellectual disabilities here in the greater Pittsburgh area.  Qian was captain, and I was first mate.  Qian created the design, and we both helped the 18-25 year olds execute a vision of unity, diversity, and acceptance. 

Qian had cut several pieces out of wood that needed to be painted, and the young adults each added color to the pieces in a pattern or design of their choice.  They and I circulated among the participants, bringing paint and offering advice as we went.  We also talked about their stuffed toy collections and how they made art in their spare time, too.

Most of the wall and pieces of the mural were painted in but an hour, and as the heat was bearing down on us, the young adults went inside. Qian and I spent the next hour touching up some things on the mural and talking philosophy until it was time for me to leave.  The whole day was an absolute blast, and further cemented how mural painting can bring a community of people together and celebrate the joy of making something beautiful.

Live Painting is a Joy

Back in July I was invited to live paint at a belated Juneteenth/Pride Celebration at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.  It was great to meet other vendors to swap stories and Instagram handles, plus see how the faculty, staff, and students participated in the event.  The room was decorated with bright colors and streamers, and an aura of care, acceptance, and encouragement suffused the scene. 

My colleague, Qian, of qiancreates.com knew the organizer, Karrington, and I came along for the ride.  I actually ended up forgetting my larger canvas that I meant to paint, but lucky for me, I had some 11x17 inch extras and just painting one took the entire afternoon.

In my previous live painting experience, I accompanied a violinist and pianist and painted based on the music that they played.  It was a performance and there was separation between the audience and myself.  I wasn’t able to talk to them until after the event, where I received positive comments and a little unsolicited advice.  Painting at the School for the Blind was a much more social experience.  I was able to ask our fellow vendors for input and talk about the business of art and marketing with Qian.  I had an absolute blast with my live painting, which I also forgot to take a clear photo of, so enjoy my digital reproduction here:

A pattern of rainbow colored hearts with large bubble letters that say “LOVE” in the center.

The School of the Blind was an awesome venue for our live painting.  I was so impressed with the art room, the care of the faculty, and protocols in place for the students.  It was such a positive atmosphere, and our paintings were raffled off to deserving folks.  I learned a lot from this live painting experience, chiefly, bring the promo materials and signage.  Also, always bring a variety of canvases.  10/10, would do again in a heartbeat.

Not trying? What is that?

I have been watching “Abbott Elementary” and in one of the first episodes, Gregory tells Janine, a fellow teacher, that he’s just going to stop trying and she responds with, “What do you mean you’re going to stop trying?  You’re taking a break or…?” And he tries to explain it to her, but Janine has never even entertained the idea of not trying at anything.  She points out that his students like him, so he should keep trying for them.

I thought this was such a poignant moment because for anyone who is trying to accomplish a goal, you get knocked down.  Repeatedly.  And it’s brutal.  Or, you don’t get knocked down at all, it’s a slow fall.  And both are inherent in the cycles and processes of life, whether you try or not.  It’s the getting back up and trying again, just as Chumbawamba taught us with their 90s anthem, “Tubthumping.”

I am a lot like Janine.  I can’t help but try.  I enjoy working toward my goals and trying to figure out the puzzle of success.  However, I do take breaks, and schedule in naps as needed.  I recently saw an artist on Instagram say that she’s going to stop chasing her dreams, and take things slower.  Because whatever is meant for her, will happen.  And that is my philosophy as well.  Sometimes I need to make more art or do an administrative task, but sometimes I also just need to take a break and do something fun.  And isn’t fun the key to enjoying being alive?

Additionally, another key to being alive is the ability to embrace rejection.  The more rejections you get, the closer you are to a yes.  So, try to rack up as many rejections as possible.  The law of averages will eventually prevail.  That’s why the getting up after getting knocked down is so important.  It puts you in the perfect position for the next best thing.  I was listening to the Financial Feminist podcast with guest Mimi Bouchard of Superhuman Activations.  She mentioned her bounce back rate.  A bounce back rate is how long it takes you to course correct after you slip back into a bad habit, for example, or experience rejection.  Negative things will happen, and you will need time to process them.  The idea is to create a quicker bounce back rate, so that you can experience the setback and regroup.  Everyone’s bounce back rate is different, just as everyone’s journey is different.  Some take a little longer than others, and that’s okay.  The point is to keep trying.

Image from Pixabay

The 100 Day Project: A Reflection

In the spring, I was finally able to participate in the 100 Day Project and I have some feelings.

A little background: There is a movement of people who draw or make art daily, and the 100 day project is a way to develop your daily art making habit.  I struggle with doing anything daily besides drinking coffee, so I was excited to finally be able to make the time to participate after Februllage, which was a smaller dip into a daily practice.

Long story short, I enjoyed the 100 day project.  I created an affirmation and piece of art for each day for my project, and I’m so glad that I did. I noticed that I tended to repeat affirmations on being capable, strong, and badass, as well as having the limitless potential to achieve my dreams.  These affirmations each day were so much encouragement for myself and for my friends and followers.  I received very positive feedback from people who said that they looked forward to the affirmations every day and would check them daily to see the new affirmation.  Sometimes they would be disappointed because I would miss a day or two, which made me feel bad, but who can do a thing everyday when life is life-ing? 

One of my favorite affirmations: I am a work in progress, with new beginnings everyday, like a phoenix.

So, positives: I built myself and my friends and followers up for about 80 out of 100 days, I was able to see motifs and color palettes that repeated, and I learned that drawing most days is sufficient.  Also, I got a lot of positive interactions in real life from people who enjoyed my project, and I sold quite a few of them at my booth at the Millvale Music Festival.

Negatives: I was resistant to the obligation of having to do a thing every day, even though I chose the project and was interested in it.  And would benefit from it in more ways than one.  I had a hard time coming up with a different affirmation each day.

Caveats: Some affirmations needed to be repeated for my own benefit.  Also, I need looser or shorter guidelines, like 30 days or a seven-day challenge. 

Overall, I would recommend participating in the 100 day project, and I may do it again in 2025.  I did love working with a different material almost daily.  We’ll see how the new year goes!

The KAWS x Warhol Exhibit at the Andy Warhol Museum

The first time I saw the KAWS x Warhol exhibit, I did a brief walk through with my layman companion, but the second time I was able to see it, I had a guided tour as part of the Warhol’s Teacher Open House.  The KAWS x Warhol exhibit is a masterclass in how to achieve great things in the art world via commercial avenues.  Warhol started out as an illustrator in advertising, while KAWS started out as an animator and graffiti artist.  As a graffiti artist, KAWS would subvertise ads at bus stops.  This means that he would activate the ad in his own style, frequently with cartoon heads featuring skulls and crossbones.  Andy Warhol’s entry to the art world began with his Campbell Soup cans, and continued with screenprints of popular products, like Chanel perfumes.

Common themes in KAWS and Warhol’s work are the juxtaposition of characters, famous faces, and ideas, creating artwork that defies expectations and creates an emotional response in the viewer.  Anxiety, despair, pleasure, and pain are all emotions at the heart of each artist’s work.  Both artists adeptly play with our perceptions of pop culture and of art materials as a whole.  Some of KAWS’ work consists of bronze sculptures, but are painted to make them look powder soft and plastic.  

Nostalgia is also a key theme in each artist’s work.  The characters and legends that we’ve grown up with, are treated affectionately and irreverently.  From cereal boxes and advertisements to Sesame Street and the Simpsons, each new subject receives a creative treatment that plays with our perceptions of those characters and images.  The Simpsons canvases are packaged like toys, back of the packages included, which can be seen in a row of mirrors behind the canvases.  The whole show, while there are some dark undertones, is just fun – evidence of what a creative mind can do in a playground of images that surround us everyday, from the TV we watch to the groceries we buy to the ads we see walking around our city.  

To conclude our tour, our tour guide asked us a question as food for thought: With so much anxiety, despair, and pain, is there salvation at the end for us?  I wouldn’t go as far as to say salvation, but I would say that play, fun, creativity, and making things are great antidotes. If we returned to the things that brought us pleasure as children, like KAWS and Warhol do, that can provide some relief from the ugliness of the world.

The KAWS x Warhol Exhibit at the Andy Warhol Museum is a must-see show that runs until January 20th, 2025, so there’s still time!  Be sure to start on the second floor, then head to the rest of the exhibit on the 4th floor.  The museum is closed on Tuesdays, but open until 5pm all other days except for Friday, when it is open until 10pm.  I hope you enjoy the show!

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself and My Work

It’s been a while so I thought I would reintroduce myself, what drives my work, and what I do.  My name is Jen and I am the artist behind jenisforlove.  The brand and artist name jenisforlove is a promise to promote love in all its forms, from self love to love for others.  Open conversations about mental health and body positivity drive my art and business.  My artwork is an opportunity to create a moment of joy for my clients.  I relish connecting with others through color, whimsy, and the imagination.  Sometimes I do that with illustration, painting, or collage, but the underlying motivation is to mindfully make objects and art that encourage more well-being and positivity for all.

I am passionate about expressing my creativity in many forms, but my color palette and imagery contain similar threads of fascination with the animal and natural world, dreams, and encouragement.  As an artist who works in traditional and digital media, putting my artwork on products and selling them is the logical next step.  However, creating products can have its drawbacks.  You usually must order your products in advance, which can be tricky.  You never know what will or won’t sell, and often you end up with excess product on your hands.  This is bad for the environment, my storage space, and my limited funds.  With this in mind,  I want to focus on custom art, from custom illustration to custom paintings and murals.  

Making custom or personalized art is beneficial in several ways. First, I will not have a backlog of products that don’t sell, saving on storage and saving the environment.  Second, art commissions mean that people are getting the artwork that they really want to invest in.  There are people out there with ideas for art that they would like to see in their home, and I want to be able to make those ideas a reality through the best custom art in Pittsburgh and beyond.  

I love variety and the ability to work in any medium.  It prevents my work from getting stale and no one gets bored.  For that reason, I am moving forward with custom murals and other custom artwork.   While I typically work in painting, collage, and illustration, I also like other tools and materials, like clay, watercolor, and digital work.  Providing custom art services enables me to keep things fresh and encourages my clients to commission custom gifts for their loved ones or themselves, which makes the artwork more reflective of the client and more meaningful to the recipient. I make gifts for my loved ones, and I want to share and encourage that spirit of giving personalized gifts made with love to others.  

That doesn’t mean that I will totally forgo all products–because I do enjoy a great sticker!– but it does mean that I am more mindful and intentional in the art that I create, for myself and for my clients.  I want the art that I make to represent my values and connect with people.  In turn, I want my art to help others connect with their loved ones and represent their values.  Creating custom artwork and taking art commissions does just that, and that is a place that I love to be in.  

I delight in hearing from my readers and followers.  Tell me your thoughts on being more commission based.  Or, if you would like a piece of custom art, contact me here.  You can also see more of my work by following me on Instagram @ jenisforlove.  

Art All Night Pittsburgh

This year was my first at Art All Night, as a visitor and as a participating artist. I went with a group from Confluence Arts, the new art collective for women. The sounds, the crowds, the art! It was sensory overload in the best way possible. If you’re unfamiliar with Art All Night, it’s a local 22 hour long festival of art that usually takes place in a warehouse. It’s free to enter, and everyone gets one piece in the show, whether you are five years old or 500. Both 2D and 3D art is accepted, and this year they had some installations, which I’m not sure were included in previous years. The whole thing is volunteer run, and they install and take down the show within 24 hours.

In addition to physical artwork, they also had musicians and a film screening. There were improv groups, comics, poets, and other performance art. Live painting was also included. Every painting created during Art All Night is auctioned off the next day to pay for the next Art All Night. This year I submitted my collage, Waterbear Parade, for the show, and live painted. My two hour painting time slot was from 10pm-12am, but I needed a little extra time as my canvas was 2x3ft, and unprimed. Next year, I will bring a blow dryer to hasten the drying time. I will also bring a chair and a lil table to set my supplies, and sign up for a longer time slot: some people painted for eight hours!

I love animals, and I settled on a penguin before the event due to the hockey team. Also, you can pet a penguin at the National Aviary, and that is on my bucket list. I painted this gentlepenguin in the top hat, but the original idea was for it to be raining penguins. When I saw how much time and energy I had left, I realized I needed a new plan. I decided to paint one penguin, but realized he needed a lil sumthin more. The top hat was the answer.

Live painting for Art All Night made me realize how much I miss drawing and painting with acrylic, standing at an easel and dancing to my jams in my headphones. So, I will continue to pursue that joy in other projects like this. Thank you, Art All Night!

Fantasy National Juried Exhibition Online Catalog

Hello, all! My collage, Waterbear Parade, is featured in the online catalog of Arc Gallery and Studios for their national juried exhibition, “Fantasy.” Here is a link for your viewing pleasure:

https://publuu.com/flip-book/11582/1027992

I’m on page 11! If you’re in San Francisco, you can see my work digitally at Arc Gallery and Studios from May 11th-June 8th. The address is 1246 Folsom Street (between 8th and 9th streets), San Francisco, CA. Here is a link with all the info: https://www.arc-sf.com/fantasy.html.

If you go, please let me know!

Everything turns, turns, turns, turns

Here we are, a week into the new year of 2024. Which is a lot to deal with in itself: This means that 2014 was ten years ago at this point. It does not feel like it at all. But alas, if we are to uphold the basic tenets of the existence of time, ten years ago it was.

In June of 2014, I had just resigned from teaching art at a public high school in North Carolina, deciding to take a year off before attending grad school for my MFA. So much has changed since then, and when I reflect on the years between then and now, on all of the therapy I have been in, and on all of the self help books I have read, the realization that we operate in cycles, seasons, and phases has become crystallized in my mind. It has finally sunk in.

The reason that this has been such a hard thing to compute is due to American society’s emphasis on productivity and output. We are expected to work 40-60 hours per week, 52 weeks a year, in addition to side hustles, on an average of six hours of sleep per night. It is really preferred that we act more like machines and run full throttle until we break down. However, we are living, breathing creatures of nature. We all have our own little cycles.

An illustration of the four seasons. Source: Pixabay.

We have a life cycle of infancy, childhood, and adulthood. We have menstrual cycles. We have waking hours and sleeping hours. We need a balance of work, play, and rest on repeat. The seasons teach us that we have periods of growth and renewal, and periods of withdrawal and hibernation. Periods of sunshine, and periods of staying cozy in the dark. And because of these lessons from the natural world, I have decided to be easier on myself, and to take notice of my own little seasons in a more nature-inspired manner. As much as I would like to, I can’t do everything, everywhere, all at once, so I need to be more mindful and look at my individual patterns.

I have decided to look at the year of 2024 as a whole to determine where my own personal seasons lie. For the next month, I will be making as much art as possible because in February, my teaching session begins. The majority of my creative output will go towards my examples and lessons. However, I really want to participate in Februllage this year, so in between making things, I’ll be gathering materials to create a card catalog of sorts for quick reference when February comes around. I will also only apply for the programs or opportunities that I really want, at least one per quarter. I will reevaluate the next season or cycle after my teaching session, after the dust has settled. That will be my Q1. Artmaking and teaching. Q2, I will worry about later.

For now, I will rededicate myself to the present moment and let go of any expectations that require me to be full-throttle, all day everyday. My words of the year are Fun and Rest—I like the word of the year approach, more than the resolution approach. We’ll see how it goes. I hope whether you have made resolutions or a vision board or other goals, that you’ll use them as a general guide and try not to be in a big hurry. As my secret blog post says, we spend way more time in the messy middle of our journey than we do at our destination.

National Collage Society 2023 39th Annual Juried Exhibition

Hello, all!

My collage, Waterbear Parade, was accepted into the National Collage Society’s Juried Show this year! I’ve applied for the last few years, but didn’t get in until this year, so I’m thrilled! Out of 434 submissions, 68 pieces were selected by the jury. Here is a link to the online exhibit for your viewing delight: http://nationalcollage.com/2023.html

Enjoy!

Postal Collage Project No. 12 Exhibition with Berkeley Commonplace

The Postal Collage Project No. 12 Exhibition, a collaboration between the Pittsburgh Collage Collective and Berkeley Commonplace, is a celebration of the participation of Pittsburgh artists in the 12th year of the Roundtable Collaboration. The Postal Collage Project is the brainchild of Berkeley Commonplace founder, Marty McCutcheon. Each year in August, participants sign up to participate in a round robin collage project that takes place from September to February. Each participant starts a collage as a Principal Author, then mails their original collage to the next artist in their group of usually five. That next artist and the remaining artists are Contributing Authors to the original collage. Every artist is both a Principal Author to their own collage and a Contributing Author to up to four other collages.

So, how did so many artists from Pittsburgh decide to participate in this project based in California? The Pittsburgh Collage Collective’s founder, Lauren Broyles, discovered the project and spread the word among the collective’s members, who decided to participate. Pittsburgh artists contributed to almost 90 out of ~250 total collages in the Postal Collage Project, quite a significant participation! Because of this, Marty reached out to the Collective to host a show highlighting the contribution of Pittsburgh artists.

As a co-moderator in the Pittsburgh Collage Collective, I helped to set up the show! It was so neat to see how each person interpreted the prompt, which was very loose: create a collage, but be mindful of the cost of postage for your fellow group members. That’s all! A cornerstone of the project is to encourage the autonomy and freedom of each author, who can add or subtract anything as they see fit. There are no restrictions or directions on purpose. What will people do when they are finally free to do what they want, with no one telling them what to do? They get creative. They make mobiles or books, paint or draw, add or remove, etc. With that in mind, another key component of the project is to accept uncertainty and a lack of control. Principal Authors are encouraged to assert their creative power in their collages, but so are Contributing Authors. When the first collage makes its rounds to all artists and returns to the Principal Author, there is a chance the original artist will not like what they get back. However, they can obliterate what other authors have done if they like. Or they can preserve how other authors have contributed. It’s all up to the individual, just as in life. Sure, individuals have power, but total control is not possible in many ways. That’s where creativity comes in. The Postal Collage Project is an examination of that, along with the possibilities of collaboration.

The Postal Collage Project No. 12 Exhibition, hosted by the Pittsburgh Collage Collective in collaboration with Berkely Commonplace, is currently on view at Shaler North Hills Public Library, 1822 Mount Royal Blvd, Glenshaw, PA until August 25th. If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth a visit! Plus, if you go across the hall, you can participate in a communal collage project connected to the show. Speaking of participation, if you’d like to participate in the Postal Collage Project No. 13, you can find Marty’s contact info here. All ages and abilities are welcome!

Collaborative Collage featuring me- Jen Blalock, Principal Author, with Laya Cooperman, Dexter Coleman, Julia Toal, and Sandy Emerson, Contributing Authors. On view in the Postal Collage Project No. 12 Exhibition.

Time: The Long of It

As I move through my artistic, business, and general journey of life, the more I realize how much time things take, and how many actions must accumulate to reach a level of personal success. In order to be successful, you must actually take the time to live and learn about yourself. To develop your content pillars or the value you can provide, you have to know yourself and what you’re interested in. You have to grow. There has to be a lot of learning about what you really care about, and how you will convey that to your friends, followers, and clients.

When you look at successful artists, you are seeing them as they are now, rather than the 13 years of continual effort and lessons learned that they’ve put in. Success really is like an iceberg. You only see what is above the water, rather than the huge mass underneath. That mass is made up of late nights, long weekends, planning, goal setting, action, pivoting, experimenting, learning, coaching, mentoring, etc. All of that takes time. For example, Mozart did not start composing what are considered his masterpieces until after he had been working as a composer/musician for ten years. All of his previous work was the necessary foundation his success needed to be built upon. That ten years of working and learning, led to his greatness. Yet all we hear about are his masterworks.

Success develops over time. A lot of time.

I’ve been listening to the Be a Marketer podcast from Constant Contact, where they interview successful business owners on their journeys and successes, and so much of their success is built on making mistakes, learning from them, and trying something else. They have had the time to experiment with what works, and to change direction when it didn’t.

Ultimately, success is based on living, learning, and taking action. On repeat. All of which takes time. Greatness cannot be achieved in a rush, no matter how popular media and the desire for instant gratification has led us to believe otherwise. So, take your time. For yourself and for your goals. You’ll get there!

LIZZO: Icon and Beacon of Light

I waited to create this blog post because I wanted to really absorb and reflect on my evening at the Lizzo concert.

The entire experience was amazing! From the sheer size of the arena, to the people watching (so much hot pink, sequins, glitter, and pearls! The hair and makeup!), to the opening acts (Sophia Eris! DJ Von! Latto!), to being in the same place as Lizzo and seeing her fantastic performance and wisdom. Being in an arena with thousands of people singing along to lyrics that build people up and create hope was something I will never forget.

At one point, a question on the screen asked us when the last time we said something kind to ourselves was, and someone shouted, “Never!” Lizzo heard that and said that that hurt her heart: “We hear from the world every single day why we’re not good enough, and the last person you need to hear it from is yourself!” She said that the world tries to tear us down for what makes us unique, special, different, beautiful, and if she can be who she is, someone who does not fit the mold of the beauty standard fed to us, then we can also be successful. She said that as she worked towards her dreams, she spoke to herself everyday with love, and that everyday we need to take time to say something kind about ourselves, even it it’s “You’re special! I’m so glad that you’re still with us, broken, but damn you’re still perfect!”

Needless to say, there were many tears during her speech, and throughout her concert. Negative self-talk is one of the biggest detriments to human beings, and when society piles on the negativity and criticism as well, no one wants to put themselves out there, try to achieve big dreams, and live a rich life to the fullest. Society wants us to stay small, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I will no longer be having that. I will speak to myself kindly everyday, and I will pursue my goals with gusto. I will free my mind and body, and go for it.

Dear reader, in the words of Lizzo, “You are beautiful and you can do anything!” I hope that you pursue your dreams as well. Thank goodness that Lizzo exists on this earth right now, because she is so needed. And I will listen to her songs on repeat as I learn to speak kindly to myself, free my body, and crush my goals. To self-love and to Lizzo! Thank you, Lizzo, from the bottom of my heart.

The Creative Accelerator Grant!

Great news, all! I was recently awarded the Creative Accelerator Grant by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Through this grant, I will be able to bring jenisforlove design and illustration studios to art markets in the Pittsburgh area, as well as to various online marketplaces. I am so excited to be included in this group of recipients, and you can read more about the grant and announcement here.

This project is supported in part by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council through its Creative Accelerator Grant.

This project was supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

When Things are Worth the Effort, My Holiday Hopes for You, and My Workshop in Collage-Lab's Virtual Retreat!!

Today after a long day, I was moving suitcases out of the way to get to my family’s wrapping paper stash from last year to wrap a present for my mom. There was already a perfectly good roll out on the desk that I could have used. However, the thought of all the packages being wrapped in the same paper just felt blah. It wouldn’t be the joyous cacophony of pattern under the tree. It just wouldn’t be as fun. I decided it was worth it to put forth the extra effort. Suitcases were moved, doors were opened, digging was done, and voilà! More lovely wrapping paper. More fun. Worth it.

I hope that in this holiday season, whether you are near or far from home, you encounter a thing that requires a bit of effort, that delivers some kind of small reward that makes it all worth it. I also hope that you take some deep breaths, take care of yourself, and treat yourself to something a little fun, whether it’s bubblegum or a bubble bath.

Speaking of fun, if you enjoy learning and my collages, you can now sign up for Collage-Lab’s Virtual Mixed Media Collage Retreat, happening the entire month of April 2023! I’m teaching a workshop about creating dreamy unified landscapes with depth and color. You can find out more on Collage-Lab’s website. Early bird pricing is $125 for a whole month of collage fun! I was an attendee last year and I loved it. I hope you can join us!

Happy Holidays!

Enjoy the Journey, Not the Destination

Recently I came across someone’s favorite quote on Reddit:

“The man who loves walking will walk further than the man who loves the destination. When you fall in love with the journey, everything else takes care of itself. Trip, fall, pick yourself up. Get up, learn, do it over again.” This is from a tweet by Jonathan Byrd, five time PGA tour winner.

This quote struck me at the right time. In society, results and the bottom line are considered the epitome of success. Many people believe that if one’s endeavors don’t end in money and fame, then the endeavors are not worth the time. I wholeheartedly disagree. I am applying for multiple opportunities in the near future, and as I prepare my materials, I think about what a great experience it is just to prepare them. It helps me to focus on what I want and where I want to be in the future. As artist Jen Hewett said in an interview on Lisa Congdon’s podcast, little decisions make up the trajectory of life. Applying for this opportunity now will help me to apply for more in the future. Gradually I will build the life that I want, and thinking about that makes the journey even more enjoyable and exciting. Take your time and take your steps. It’s okay if it takes longer than you think. The point is you enjoyed yourself along the way, and that’s what life is all about.

Be like a turtle. Enjoy the journey. Cool runnings.

Collage for Coping and for Play

Now that it is May and World Collage Day is almost upon us (May 14!), I wanted to share an insight that I’ve discovered over the past three months.

First, we had Februllage, (@februllage), an entire month of collage prompts organized by Miss. Printed and Rhed Fawell. Then there was Marchollage, organized by Rachel Morris (@FiveByFiveCreativity) because Februllage became a lifeline for her after her parents’ passing. She created Marchollage to cope and to connect with other artists. She is not alone in creating collage as a coping method. I am one of them, and we are many. I was unable to participate in Marchollage because I signed up for CollageLab’s Spring Fling, a month long collage extravaganza, but I will definitely try to participate next year!

In getting to know the other artists who were participating in CollageLab’s Spring Fling, many of them had a similar story to mine and Rachel’s: crisis led them to collage. I began collage at the beginning of my struggles with mental health, and several participants and instructors in the Spring Fling echoed that they had taken up collage to cope with mental health issues, the pandemic, or personal crisis. Now that I am a part of the Pittsburgh Collage Collective (@pghcollagecollective on IG), several members have also said that collage helped them get through their mental health struggles, whether from circumstance, brain chemicals, or addiction.

Collage is mindfulness meditation in action. It’s very satisfying to take unlike parts and create something entirely new. The action of cutting requires all of your attention, as does the composing. It’s hard to think about anything else but the present moment when cutting, composing, or looking for that something yellow that needs to go just right there. It’s creating order from chaos, or the other way around. It’s also a way to play! In the Spring Fling, we learned about just playing to see what kinds of effects we could create with different materials. Collage can be anything that is attached to another thing, and the options are endless. No rules except your own. If you have been struggling in some way, tear something up and glue it back together. It may help a little. <3

A small collage I made just to play.

Day Jobs and Bringing Back the WPA's Federal Art Project

Hello, dear readers. It’s been a while. I have been working several day jobs until just a few weeks ago, and my blog posts have suffered. I would check into myself to think about what topics to write about, and I came up empty. All of my energy went towards my day jobs and survival, and I did not have much juice left to work on my creative projects. This is why we need to bring back a version of the Federal Art Project from the Works Progress Administration.

Some background: The Federal Art Project from the Works Progress Administration was a Great Depression-era program created by FDR. This program hired artists to create artworks for municipal buildings, hospitals, and schools, as well as theater and arts classes in underserved communities. The precedent of this program was the Mexican government’s support of muralists after the Mexican Revolution. It was seen as a way to build national pride and soothe the country’s psyche, also much needed in America during the Great Depression. Several well-known artists got their start in the WPA: Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Thomas Hart Benton, Dorothea Lange, and Jacob Lawrence, among many others.

WPA artists Helen Forbes and Dorothy Puccinelli in front of their mural for the San Francisco Zoo. (Photo from The Living New Deal.)

There were only two caveats to working in the program: no nudes and nothing overtly political. There were no requirements in style or ability. Artists were given studio spaces, materials, and a living wage. Roosevelt saw the arts as a true marker of democracy, where citizens could express themselves freely in any creative form. He wanted to bring culture and beauty to the average person, and change the perception of art as a luxury. He also believed it was the duty of the government to serve its citizens and lift them up. How revolutionary is that?

Imagine what the world would be like if artists and other creatives were able to create their work without financial insecurity, and the arts were valued as a necessary balm for trying times. What if the best parts of history were repeated and improved, in order to keep moving society forward? Imagine the places we would go!

My New Book is Available on Amazon! Scribble & Sketch!

Hello, dear readers! My new book, Scribble & Sketch: A Creative Journal and Sketchbook is available now on Amazon! Click here to get your copy!

Scribble & Sketch is half drawing prompts, half writing prompts. Drawing prompts include things like: “Draw how rainbows are made in the land of trolls.” And its corresponding writing prompt is: “What is a really cool thing found in nature that fascinates you?” Half imagination, half reflection, Scribble & Sketch is all good fun!

If you get a copy, let me know what you think! Enjoy the rest of your week:)

A Visit to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC: Photography, Plus the Sonya Clark Exhibition

A few months ago I had the opportunity to finally visit the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC and it was an absolute pleasure. The museum itself was gorgeous and easy to navigate. I spent a little over two hours there and the roster of artists exhibited included almost every rock star of women artists that you would want to see, as well as new-to-me artists that I want to know more about. Rock stars include: The Guerilla Girls, Lavinia Fontana, Mary Cassatt, Amy Sherald, Cindy Sherman, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Marina Abramovic’, Clara Peeters, Judith Leyster, and Sonya Clark! New-to-me artists included photographer Ruth Orkin, painter Marie Danforth Page, sculptor Patricia Piccinini, painter Hollis Sigler, painter Remedios Varo, photographer Sharon Lockhart, and photographer Mary Ellen Mark.

I was extremely impressed with the emphasis on photographers, but of course, women have been taking photography to the next level since its earliest beginnings by Sarah Anne Bright, Anne Atkins, Julia Margaret Cameron, and beyond. Mary Ellen Mark was included in a special photography exhibit about Girlhood that included various photos of girls in action throughout her travels. My favorite piece was “Batman and Little Barbies at the Toys ‘R’ Us Holiday Parade, New York, 2002”. The exhibit will be up until August 8, 2021, when the museum will be closed due to renovations. If you are a fan of photography, this museum’s collection of significant photography is a joy to behold.

The main temporary exhibit was Sonya Clark’s “Tatter Bristle Mend” and it sadly closed on June 27. Sonya Clark is a textile artist with a social practice that weaves Black history and culture back into world history. It was informative and eye-opening to understand the connections between money, sugar, cotton, hair, racism, the slave trade, and modern day society. Ms. Clark treats hairdressing as a foundation for fiber art and as an expression of the politics around race and gender. She holds a mirror to American democracy and points to the oppression of people formerly treated as commodities and Other Than. Yet, the African Diaspora persists and flourishes. Her work appears so simply presented, but the narratives that unfold from further study and information contain multitudes. My favorite pieces were the ones that encrusted $5 bills in sugar (“Sugar preserves, but it also rots. Lincoln abolished slavery in the USA. What remains of the institution is sugar coated.”—Ms. Clark) and put the perspective of what the artist herself would have cost at the height of the slave trade in modern day currency. The latter piece was a stack of blank bills made from sugarcane pulp with the price $36,683 printed on the paper band around them. That would have been the cost of an actual person if it were in 2016 money.

I felt those pieces because they make greed concrete. People sold people, hurt them, profited off of their labor into the billions of dollars in today’s currency, and fought to keep their rights to do so because of money. The mastery with which Ms. Clark drew parallels between the slave trade and the rot of modern-day systemic racism was incredibly compelling, and I look forward to seeing more of her work in major museums across the globe. She deserves the recognition, and the world needs her to further educate and bring into perspective how much the slave trade of the 16th-19th centuries continues to affect the globe to this day. I love the three words that make up the title of the exhibition, “Tatter Bristle Mend.” It describes how history and society as a whole must unravel and be built up stronger and anew. It’s pragmatic and hopeful.

I look forward to visiting the National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC again! I can’t wait to see what else they have in store. I won’t be able to make it before the renovations start on August 9, but if you’re in the area, please go. Just be aware that their store and library are currently closed to the public. You can plan your trip by visiting their website here. Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful week.