As many of you may know, I have a love affair with redbubble. Of all the print on demand platforms I’ve tried, they seem the most user friendly, visually appealing, and reasonably priced. For the past couple months I’ve been collecting photographs of my Express Yourself Artshop students’ work in preparation of opening our own shop, and the time has finally come!
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Joan S.
I actually went to school for interior design, and the former furniture salesperson in me is so psyched about these throw pillows, because a good looking pillow really makes or breaks a sofa (even though they end up thrown on the floor 99% of the time).
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Tracey S.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Christina G.
Artist: Colleen D.
Artist: Colleen D.
I’d recommend that anyone in arts education do this, whichever platform you end up choosing. Many of the students have made the same surprised comment to me, “Wow, I feel like a real artist now!” And many of us can relate to that feeling – I know I can. A piece of art almost doesn’t feel real until it’s shared with the world, no matter how big or small that “world” may be. A drawing or painting on a loose piece of paper is one thing, but when it is matted and framed or transformed into a print product, treated and presented like the work of art that it is, it can take the new artist aback at first – “you mean I really did that?” Whether an artist cares about making money off of their art or not, there is something to knowing that other people are seeing the images they have created, that people even want to take something the artist has created home with them so they can look at it every day! Some artists make art their business, some may donate their art to auctions or causes or give it away to people. Still, the art has a life, it is being touched and seen, not in hibernation in some dark basement or storage closet.
If you’d like to see more, please visit our new shop celebrating artists of all abilities, artists that continue to surprise themselves as they learn that yes, they definitely are real artists!
Happy “Inspire Your Heart With Art” Day everyone! As I’ve told you before, I love holidays – I mean really love them. There is always that slight letdown after the marathon of nonnstop holiday excitement from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years … Who knew there was this fun little holiday to tide us over until Valentine’s Day and Easter? I cannot believe I just learned of its existence this year … !
What a perfect opportunity to send some inspiration out into the world through sharing what my students have worked on throughout the beginning third of my first full semester as program coordinator for Express Yourself Artshop at Creative 360. My students pretty much feel like family members at this point, and I know I mention them a lot. But, for those new to the blog, Express Yourself Artshop is an inclusive arts and wellness program open to all students, including those with physical, mental, and psychological challenges.
I’ve worked with the program as an instructor since it was first established, and I am blown away by seeing how each student has grown since we first met a little over 2 years ago. Without further ado …
A snapshot of our amazing watercolor class! Everyone has such different styles and interests, so it is fun to see what each student comes up with.
Artist: Shelly K., who has never tried watercolor painting before. This was her first attempt! Whoa.
Artist: Colleen D., I love love LOVE bright colors, so always a fan of her work.
Artist: Colleen D., I could see this hanging up in a cabin up North :).
There are quite a few “regulars” each semester in the watercolor class, so we have become like a group of old friends.
Next, the gallery of Heather D.! I call this student and friend my “artistic soulmate” because we share a love of fashion, big eyed girls, and everything retro and vintage inspired.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Heather D.
Artist: Heather D.
Our classes are not all about art for your walls. Tons of cool functional and awesome looking wares are being created in our Woodshop class this semester as well. I love this log cabin inspired bird house, I think because it reminds me so much of childhood Lincoln Logs!
This is Brian N.’s first time in Woodshop, and he took to the techniques right away.
Behold! The finished log cabin birdhouse.
It is so much fun to be able to decorate your home with handmade pieces that are unique, and that no one else will have. You don’t have to be what people think of as a traditional “artist” to do it. The top two pieces, by Colleen D. and Amber E., are canvases wrapped in fabric with a cutout from an art print collaged overtop. The wreath below can be created easy and stress free with any medium sized to large craft punch, a wreath form, a free afternoon, and a lot of hot glue sticks handy.
Proud smiles!
Artist: Louis T.
Artist: Brian N.
Artist: Joan S.
Artist: Joan S.
Creating, whether your goal is to become a world famous artist or just to calm your mind and relieve some stress, is a HUGE confidence booster. It is also an important tool of communication and self expression, speaking from experience myself. I challenge all of you to try to make at least one thing today, even if it is just a doodle. Happy inspiration!
I am an odd mix of being that very low maintenance person (I wake up 30 minutes before I have to be out the door in the morning, 15 for looking pretty 15 for eating breakfast) who is super into fashion and style. I’ve mentioned before, I seriously considered going into fashion design earlier in life, before I discovered that sewing machines were not my friend. In 4th grade, I even started a fashion club amongst a group of friends. We all hated sports, and would stay indoors at recess to work on our magazine featuring all original hand drawn designs. Any group correspondence would be typed in Wingdings font in the computer lab to avoid trade secrets escaping before the next volume of our zine was published.
Not to be confused with this coexisting 1990s era fashion club. ❤ Daria
Though I’m an artsy person, people are generally surprised when they find out how interested in fashion I actually am. I went in blind for a roommate freshman year of college, and got assigned to a girl who actually tevoed America’s Next Top Model and saved it to watch incognito the weekends I went home so I wouldn’t know, because she, I quote, was afraid I would judge her. Until I found out, that is, and was like nah, I watch that show too. Then viewings became a roomie ritual. I’ve honestly never understood why fashion gets downgraded into the position of being a shallower art form. Fashion turns people into living, breathing, sculptures. Yes, aesthetically inspiring clothes aren’t a necessity to life, but is the newest smartphone really either? Plenty of things people create aren’t nessecary, but why live like cavemen or puritans? If something brings joy or interest or the ability for self expression to another’s life, then that’s reason enough for its creation.
Due to my sewing machine phobia, my one stint in the fashion world was at a discount bridal shop. I didn’t know the difference between an empire and an a-line, I had the audacity to suggest a full figured client try a mermaid dress, I don’t get mushy about weddings, and I’m fairly certain my manager had a voodoo doll of me hiding somewhere in her desk. So, I’ve stuck to being an appreciator, and my own personal stylist. Today, I’d like to share with you some of my favorites out there in the fashion world, true artists all.
That is, after this short Flight of the Conchords video from which I ripped the stunning title of this post.
Mana – Moi-même-Moitié
I went through an intense period of obsession with Japanese visual Kei bands. For those of you unaware of what that is, you are not alone, and never fear! I am here to educate you. Visual Kei has been a pretty big subculture in Japan since the 80s, and bands have a personal aesthetic and performance style characterized by heavy makeup, elaborate hairstyles and costumes, and androgynous aesthetics – all good things in my book. The most famous is Mana of bands Malice Mizer and Moi Dix Mois. In addition to being quite the guitarist, he is also a fashion designer. His brand, Moi-même-Moitié, was a major force in popularizing the gothic lolita clothing style in Japan. He is famous for modeling his own designs and not speaking in public, like at all. I have to say, I admire his self awareness – Guess what, I want to get to wear all the cool stuff I make, so I’m going to model it. Other times I’ll just wear a suit, depends on my mood. You know what else? Talking to most people is a complete bore, so guess what? Not gonna do it. If you look at all into the history of fashion, many things that are now considered women’s styles started out as men’s styles and vice versa. For all those who get their panties in a bunch over that sort of thing, it’s all just long term fads that then create social norms, and it will change again.
Alexander McQueen
McQueen is so well known and revered in the fashion world that to have him on this list seems too obvious, but I couldn’t help myself. The surrealism! The whimsy! The kaleidoscope reptile printed fabric!
New York Couture
All of this handmade apparel by New York Couture on etsy looks like it was designed by a 6 year old, then skillfully handcrafted and I love it. Sadly, it’s a bit out of my price range but were I a rich woman, I would rock that owl dress at every occasion.
Madeline Stuart
This inspirational model is 18 years old and wants to change the world. As a professional model with down syndrome, she wants to change the conversation around disability and beauty, and help people to realize that “down syndrome is a blessing, something to be celebrated”. This awesome lady is certainly without limitation, and has already accomplished so much at her young age. She has walked in New York Fashion week, and is the face of cosmetics company Glossigirl. I’m digging the Ariel themed dress.
Carrie Hammer began her Role Models Not Runway Models campaign to highlight women who shake up the traditional images of beauty we are used to seeing on runways, and who are known for more than just being gorgeous (which of course, they all are). They are activists, disability advocates, doctors … In most runway shows, the women are supposed to recede into the background and let the clothes speak. Carrie Hammer was brave enough to let women with stories model her clothing, knowing that their voices would enhance, not detract from her creations. You can visit the above link to meet all of her amazing models.
“Fashion is so close in revealing a person’s inner feelings and everybody seems to hate to lay claim to vanity so people tend to push it away. It’s really too close to the quick of the soul.” – Stella Blum
“Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world’s view of us.” – Virginia Woolf
“Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.” – Bill Cunningham
I have always been the type of artist and art appreciator who tires of complete realism. I abhorred the same old make-it-look-like-the-photo landscape assignments in school growing up. I liked portraiture a bit better, but only if I made it my own, whether desired in the class assignment or not.
Circa 2005 – Oh noes! The punk’s left eyeball has cracked and now little rainbow glass shards are floating out into the universe towards the viewers eyeballs, surely meaning to skewer them!
I always believed art should only show us what we cannot see in reality, or else what was the point? However, how much of reality do we really see, and how much simply slips from our view unnoticed? Human perception is a funny thing. You could have two people walk down the same stretch of sidewalk in a park, and if in the end you asked them to describe the scene they just participated in, I am 99.9% certain that they would each describe it completely differently. We notice what draws us, and ignore what repels us. That idea is the basis of the following artists’ work, work that shows us the marginalized and disenfranchised; the very people who often slip to the periphery of our awareness either consciously or unconsciously. Viewing these works, we are shown a reality that seems like a completely different world.
For his “Underexposed” series, Aaron Draper captures lit photos of the homeless, aiming to portray them in the most pleasant, visually appealing way possible. Draper sites author John Steinbeck as an inspiration, and admires how he used his craft to highlight the plight of the poor, and expose social issues and inequities. With this series, Draper is using lighting to draw viewers towards the person shown, causing the subject to be viewed with humanity and compassion. Draper says, “When it comes to social activism, you achieve greater public awareness by communicating hope as opposed to hopelessness”.
Famed photographer Diane Arbus takes almost the complete opposite approach to the previous artist. The black and white photographs of her subjects seem to be developed in such a way as to accentuate each imperfection, every wrinkle, blemish, and flaw. Her work turns its lens on society’s outsiders : those with physical abnormalities, nudists, transgender individuals, those with extreme tattooing or body modification, and rarities such as twins. Unlike Draper’s work, there is a darkness to it and a definite surreal quality (One of her photographs of twins actually inspired Stanley Kubrick’s iconic “The Shining twins”.). She is certainly a disputed artist. Some argue she was voyeuristic and exploitative , her photos no better than the circus “freak shows” that thankfully no longer exist in this day and age. Her motives and connection to her subjects have been called into question since her photographs were not necessarily being used to communicate a social purpose or to inspire a change in the treatment of the individuals, but more for striking visual interest. Additionally, her series in which she photographed individuals living in group homes for those with mental challenges, of which the above is a part, brings up a consent issue. Since the photographs were taken between 1969 and 1971, a time when individuals at such institutions were given little to no rights, the permission to photograph the residents was not given by the individuals themselves but the institution. Such a project would not be allowed publication by today’s standards. Others argue she is possibly one of the most misunderstood artists of the 20th century. Consent between photographer and subject is important, and I cannot speak to the validity of the permission she received. However, to me, Arbus wasn’t looking at her subjects with revulsion and disgust. They don’t appear isolated or lonely but confident, happy and uninhibited. They are comfortable in their own skin and are completely unaware of how they appear to others. Arbus had a great respect for her unusual subjects she sought out, saying “Most people go through life dreading they’ll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They’ve already passed their test in life. They’re aristocrats.” (though I do flinch at the way she throws around the “f-word”.) If anything, it was the so called “normal people” Arbus portrayed as lonely and disconnected and silly.
The subjects of Johannessen’s “Looking Out, Looking In” series are individuals who don’t identify with any gender, male or female. An article in Independent about her show describes the portraits as “challenging the onlooker defiantly to try and categorize them”. All photographs are untitled, the subjects unnamed. The goal is to draw the viewers in to whom each individual is as a person, rather than the viewers obsessing over the single facet of “Are they male or female?” This is an interesting concept to me as someone who has always felt gender is about the last thing I notice about someone. This has led to some interesting social kerfuffles in the form of myself ending up on dates I never knew I was on. I pretty much am this comic below anyway, only with brown hair and zero barista skills.
All that aside, the point is once again using art to bring humanity to those who are often misunderstood or ignored. Everyone struggles with identity crises from time to time, but most of us can’t even imagine feeling that such a basic component of our personhood is alien to us. Many of us can’t imagine the feelings of confusion, isolation, and despair such a conflict would bring. Individuals like the ones in Johannesson’s photographs often get treated like unicorns, an interesting idea, but they don’t really exist. This series confronts those misconceptions head on. No matter what we each individually believe, empathy and above all love is possible, and I daresay required.
The goal of photographer Debbie Rasiel’s “Picturing Autism” series is to explore what autism looks like across language and cultural barriers. The series spans New York, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia and Iceland.”I wanted to offer those not familiar with autism an opportunity to see what autism looks like, a safe space where social mores would not prevent them from staring,” Rasiel stated in an article for The Huffington Post. Again, art has urged people to lock eyes with and confront images of individuals from whom they normally may avert their gaze due to unfamiliarity or uncertainty.
Art not only has the ability to show us things we can’t see in real life, but it has the ability to force us to see the unseen, and that is a wonderful and magical thing.
I know I promised sculpture in my next Artist To Know! post; I even had all the images picked and everything! But, with another semester of Express Yourself Artshop coming to a close, it seemed like a good time to share some of the empowering art about disability and mental health I’d been archiving. I hope these images encourage, inspire, and maybe get you to think a little differently about the people you encounter in your day to day life.
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about”. – Wendy Mass
Kelly (inspired by this beautiful video – I implore you all to give it a watch. I never cry during touching videos but this one had me tearing up).
Lorena
I have been in love with Carol Rossetti’s “Women” project since I first discovered it. Since then, her incredibly personalized drawings have gone completely viral, and I’ve been seeing them everywhere in the great, vast world of the interweb! Her pieces highlight different women’s stories of judgement, with a response of affirmation from Carol herself below. Many of the stories are about women who have been judged based on their age, physical appearance, or life choices; but I’m so glad she also decided to include women with disabilities. Clicking the link on her name and also visiting her facebook page, which shows all of the stories, is worth a look. Some of the women’s stories I found myself nodding along with thinking “Oh my god, I know exactly how she feels!”, others were as far removed as can be from experiences I’ve had or decisions I’d ever find myself making. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? We all have stories to tell, and judgement gets us nowhere, it just blocks our ears from reading and our eyes from seeing a new story different from our own. As well as hurting others, we miss out on reaching out and forming important connections.
20-year-old Christian Hopkins says he was never good with words, which is why he loves communicating with pictures. He is studying biochemistry, but has had to take some health leaves due to severe clinical depression that he has dealt with for the past 4 years. This struggle is the subject of his photography. Though his work has gotten notoriety, Hopkins says photography for him is just a hobby, and a medium through which he can express himself. He has never had a single photography class or any form of instruction, which is pretty amazing when you see his intense, moving images. Using creativity as a means to come to grips with personal struggles, and explain parts of your life you find hard to talk about with others is something I wholeheartedly believe in, and one of the reasons I have such a passion for art. Creating is so much more than making pretty pictures.
This Latvian singer and model was born with a dislocated hip and leg. She endured terrible bullying at school because of her disability, and underwent 15 unsuccessful surgeries. She moved to London for better medical care, but still the surgeries she underwent didn’t help. Finally, weary of surgery after surgery that did nothing she convinced doctors to amputate her leg. She has never looked back. She has more confidence now after what she went through than she ever did, and is living her life doing exactly what she loves. She is the first widely known amputee pop star, and is paving the way for other talented individuals with disability to take their turn in the spotlight.
The tagline for Rosenfield’s powerful photography project is “Building security through insecurities”. Rosenfield himself didn’t start out in photography, but network administration. He describes how his former self of over a decade ago as “a very opinionated and materialistic person with a huge ego”. He never shared his feelings or insecurities, afraid that they would shatter his carefully constructed image, and this left a lacking in both his relationships and personal happiness. Fed up, Rosenfield began to “research” why he was so unhappy through reading and journaling, trying to get to the bottom of the lack he felt. When he found that the key was honesty, compassion and transparency, he quit his 9-5 to travel the world and start over. A friend he met in France got him into photography. In his series “What I Be”, subjects are exposing a side of themselves normally hidden from the world, and proclaiming “I am not my ____”. It isn’t about whitewashing over their struggles, but admitting that though they have these issues in their lives, the struggles do not define them. “I am not my amputation.” “I am not my cycle.” “I am not my fatness.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed another art immersion! Lastly, I’d like to leave you with some work from some super cool artists with disabilities that I know personally through Artshop, my wonderful students. We’ve had another great run :).
Adorable mixed media birds
Bright watercolor flowers
Cool collage mandalas
Watercolor tiger
Naked no more! These bears have a snazzy new wardrobe thanks to the sewing class.
This Latvian singer and model was born with a dislocated hip and leg. She endured terrible bullying at school because of her disability, and underwent 15 unsuccessful surgeries. She moved to London for better medical care, but still the surgeries she underwent didn’t help. Finally, weary of surgery after surgery that did nothing she convinced doctors to amputate her leg. She has never looked back. She has more confidence now after what she went through than she ever did, and is living her life doing exactly what she loves. She is the first widely known amputee pop star, and is paving the way for other talented individuals with disability to take their turn in the spotlight.
Allise Nicole's Artistic Explorations 