Has everyone heard about my new zine?
It's part of the All Of Them Witches project that I launched on Halloween.
The zine is full colour and features images of all 12 witches I created out of felt!
It arrived last week from the printers and it was a bit different for me as it was the first zine I made NOT using my trusted cut 'n' paste method but mocking it up on a computer, and sending it off AND getting it stapled, what a luxury!
Although it was a lot quicker to make then I thought it would take me (learnt new skills, yay!) the whole process took a lot longer than I thought it would and I don't think I'll be giving up cutting and pasting anytime soon!
The zine is the bargain price of £3, limited to a print run of 50, and can be bought from HERE!
Halloween saw me launch some new art, All Of Them Witches.
A.O.T.W is a collection of 12 fictional characters who have all been witches at some point, rendered in felt form!
From Winifred Sanderson to Elvira, Willow Rosenberg to Grotbags and lot's more in between.
The original art (4x4" felt pieces) are available to buy, alongside an A3 art print and zine of all the works!
Get them HERE!
Yes that's right!
This Halloween I will be launching a new project called All Of Them Witches!
It will include, limited zines, art prints and original art work of everybody's 12 favourite witches!
Coming this Halloween, all available HERE
I have done workshops, shown friends, and just generally played around with one page mini zines, but I realised the other day I have never actually made one (that I can recall if someone pulls one out that I made when I was like 17, then well done, but I don't remember making it!)
So I thought seeing as it's International Zine month maybe now is the time!
The Importance of Becoming an Artist follows up a blog post I wrote a few years ago. It's a mini zine about being a self taught artist, finding my place in the art world and why I make art!
It's available HERE!
Last week saw me take a solo trip to New York. I saw a lot of inspiring things, whether it was street art or just the sun! But I did also take in some art in galleries. This is all my favourite stuff....
WHO: Carrie Mae Weems
WHAT: Three decades of photography and video
WHERE: Guggenheim
I had never heard of Carrie Mae Weems until I saw her work here, in fact I didn't have a clue what was on at the Guggenheim, I went because I was given a voucher for free entry, I am so glad I did go.
Photography/video is not usually one of my favourites, I like it, but there is normally something I like more.
But this made me smile so much.
Weems is a black artist from Portland and all her work focuses in on race, gender, sex and class, so it was pretty much a given I was going to like it.
From her shots of children shot in black and another colour entitled 'colored people' to her kitchen table series.
One of my favourites was Ain't Jokin' which featured portraits of people with text underneath, the text ranging from playground chants to racist stereotypes.
Another favourite was work from the American Icons collection. everyday household items, shot within the setting they would be used, but just so happen to be racist paraphernalia.
SO GOOD!
WHO: Jessicka Addams/Lindsey Way/Lori Nelson
WHAT: That which does not kill you...
WHERE: Cotton Candy Machine
This show was one of the main reasons I made my trip to NYC and it did not disappoint.
So many great pieces of work I could get right up close to and stick my face in (I love to do this, getting so close I can see the lines!).
First up was Lindsey's work, which was a series of paintings (gouache on wood panel) featuring women, creatures and volcanoes. Far removed from her previous work of paper diorama's (that I too loved). The works were filled with sadness, adventure, empowerment, science and love. But most of all they made me want to go home and make the world's greatest quilt!
Then came Jessicka's work (now I me be biased as she's been pretty much a hero of mine since my mid teens!) but when works of art feature cat's and girls, I'm most likely going to be a fan!
Acrylic on panel, vivid colours, cat's and girls looking forlorn and lost, fell totally in love. Especially with one piece called Sad Purple (yes it is the piece of a brown girl!).
Lastly was Lori's work. I was unaware of her until this show, and let's just say she made it a triple whammy of greatness.
Her larger pieces, which I think were mostly oil on wood and were like looking at illustrations for children's nursery rhyme books, but with a dark twist.
She also had pieces that were little plaques with a resin coat, of all sorts of creatures (reminiscent of carnival freakshows) children with scales or hair or several eyes, all in prayer, I loved these
WHO: Kara Walker
WHAT: A Subtlety (or the marvellous sugar baby)
WHERE: Domino Sugar Factory
This one BLEW ME AWAY!
Set in an old sugar refinery (a place where they turn brown sugar white!), that had previously had a fire there, so when you arrived it just smelt like burnt sugar, this was enough to win me over.
You step inside and you're basically in a huge empty warehouse and created by life size figurines of children carrying baskets, made from what looks like brown sugar!
At the end of space is a giant Sphinx/woman.
A sugar sculpture of a racial stereotype mammy face, with huge oversized breasts, fingers toes, vagina and all.
It is one of those seen to be believed pieces, speaking about race, gender, sexualisation, wealth and probably so much more!
I am so glad I got to see this piece (it was touch and go and squeezed it in just hours before my flight).
I just finished a new zine (and my first of 2014!) entitled Brown Girl.
As the title suggests it's all about being a brown girl. Featuring several stories of personal experience, family life and of course hair!
I have also re-stocked my Without you I'm Nothing zine (the one about me being a massive Placebo obsessive for a good chunk of my life)
Pick 'em up at MY ZINE SHOP HERE!
I thought I'd do one of those yearly round up things, more for me to see what I've done in the past year and to think what I'm hoping to do in the next year to come!
To start off with, I've just put a new zine up for sale in my zine shop! Before it sounds like I'm super productive and managed to knock out a zine in the first 4 days of the new year, fear not I made this last year. It's a colouring book A-Z for my friend Nickie that I made for Christmas. I thought whilst I was getting a few printed up to gift to her, I might as well print a few more in case other people wanted one!
Speaking of zines, 2013 was a good year for me making them. As always 2 issues of Sugar Paper came out (both some of our best too).
A zine I collaborated on with Alison Erika Forde came out. I wrote a story and she illustrated it. I worked on Putrid Paints a while ago, but came out in 2013.
I also collaborated with my friend Em to finally get collective zine Poor Lass, of the ground. We put out 2 issues of that and currently working on getting the third done, whilst taking submissions for the fourth!
I also made a for A charitable scheme, NUM (National Ugly Mugs) who work to keep sex workers safe. I got to take all the literature and information about the project and put it into a cool little zine to be handed out at an event they were having. I really enjoyed working on that.
I managed to put out two zines of my own, both ones I worked on real quick. I'm currently working on a few zines now, as well as contributing to others. I think 2014 is the year I put the word FAN back in fanzines. Hoping to make a couple with my oldest zine friend Holly Casio, mostly about being fans of things!
It wasn't just zines I was making. I managed to bag my first exhibition! A lot of the work I was showing was quite old (some of it I made when I worked at The Beadshop/ pre Black Parade post revenge (for those who don't know my CV or the MCR discography that's around 2006)) so was keen to work on lots of new things.
I got to do that by forming an art collective with Kandy and Alison, Yiiikes! We got an installation quite quick after we formed and it was really good to work on something in a short space of time and see it shown quite soon after. That's definitely how I like to work.
I also got to work on a few commissions, which I always like to do, hold some workshops for post 16s and get some products up in my shop (who doesn't love a badge and postcards!).
2014, I hope you have all of this and more, much more!!!
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