Holiday Break

All the best this

Holiday Season

see you after the New Year.

Happy Birthday to JafaGirl Nancy Mellon

May you have a wonderful BirdDay

#faf Life is like a box of chocolates

It isn't always easy, sometimes it is bitter and unpleasant, other times filled with unimaginable joys.

May the sweet moments in life soothe and sustain you through the not so sweet times. And when you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. Tomorrow is a new day, and a chance to create new joys.

FAFyes clue 

ART SWAP: Free Art Friday in Detroit

and they just posted a pic of the box we sent on their FB page.

 

This is for the Big Art Swap in January in Detroit.

Anybody can join in, and it's not just for the month of January. Click on the big art swap in the orange link above.

Edible MICE, #FAFyes and Ornaments

From Jafabrit

In between Nancy running the gallery for the YS Arts Council and moi drawing and plotting next years art projects, we play.  I've finished making the wedding crackers for my daughters wedding, and last Tuesday was spent making chocolate mice, a whole bowl of them. How we didn't gobble them all down is a wonder.

Nancy saw the idea in an old Family Fun magazine, and an apt title because it was FUN.

Nancy has been busy making felt ornaments and this weeks Free Art Friday Box-ATC Kit, which we left out this morning.

It was raining so we had to put the box in a clear bag, but if you are in town and see the yellow tag, it's finders keepers.

Have a GREAT weekend and thanks for visiting.

Nancy's Notes: Talking Trash

and we love trash
as in recycled trash that is.

Nancy has done quite a few pieces of work that creatively recycle odds and ends. This is a crushed can painting called "huh" that was included in several exhibits and a book.

This is felt applique on a hubcap for the landfill project.

I found this old ceramic from next to the trash one day and gave it to Nancy and it got collaged.

All those little itty bitty pieces of felt scraps are saved and used, so Nancy has a way of saving and using anything :)

Nancy is the gallery curator for the Yellow Springs Arts Council.

Happy Tree

What a glorious sunshiney day in 

Yellow Springs Ohio on Friday

and hanging out with Nancy while she's working at Village Artisans always makes me smile.

Smileys mostly around the Village

Ha Ha said the Fly to the Poop for Free Art Friday

Karma Box has found a home

Congratulations to Jade Wolf who found our Karma Box outside Ha Ha pizza.

Karma Box is made by corrine bayraktaroglu, with a hand embroidered fly, floss wrapped wire, altoid tin, vintage shag fabric and photo of sky. 

Olga the Traveling Bra Story

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2008

BUSTED! at the Knit Knot Tree in Yellow Springs, Ohio

Well, I guess it was inevitable...a big ol' bodacious Bra traveling around all by herself was bound to attract the attention of The Authorities sooner or later!

But who'da thunk I'd ever end up getting BUSTED

for making a public spectacle of myself in peaceful Yellow Springs, Ohio?

Certainly not me! But, here's how it all went down...

I was in Yellow Springs yesterday to check out a

unique art exhibit I'd read about on the Internet....

My Chaperon, Esqueleta (a very old but respected local artist) hosted a little cocktail party in my honor which was attended by several other localceleBRAties...But then Esqueleta (being a big old party pooper) started resenting all the attention I was getting (especially from a cute little bra-ling named Vicky)....
So she broke up the party and made me help her with her knitting!

Hmphf!...I did not think being a yarn holder was very becoming of one

so bodacious as I......so Vicky and I decided to ditch the ol' bag of bones and skipped off to see

what I came here for in the 1st place...the famous Knit Knot Tree!

Woo-Hoo! It was SPECTACULAR!!!I'd read about the Knit Knot Tree on the artist's blogs Jafabrit's Art andJafaGirlArt, and was so captivated by it's beauty, I just had to come and see it for myself!And as I hung upon the brightly colored tree branches, I felt inspired to release my own creativity...as well as my inhibitions...and so - I just let it ALL hang out!

Apparently this was quite entertaining for the local residents, as they were lining up just to get a gander at this wild and crazy bra hanging upon their tree...even Marco Comegys, Yellow Springs' famous local bra model, stopped by to have his picture taken with me!

But then....
I guess things got a bit too rowdy and I was BUSTED

for "wild flirtation with the local men" and being a "public nuisance"!

Oh the humiliation!

Luckily, the Police Chief let me off with only a stern warning

to "control myself"...

...then he stamped my passport to ensure I'd have a permanent record

of my very wild and breastly day in Yellow Springs, Ohio!

The artists/creators of the now FAMOUS KNIT KNOT TREE in Yellow Springs, Ohio are Corinne Bayraktaroglu and Nancy Mellon. They were inspired to start this project by a group of graffiti knitters, called Knitta, who tag inner cities with vibrant, stitched works of art. Corrine, Nancy, and the Tree all have become local celeBRAties in their own right - please read more about the Knit Knot Tree here and here, and see more amazing examples of other tree sweatershere and here!

And in case you're wondering

Why a Knit Knot Tree?

Here's what Corrine says:

"Well it's simple really.

Because we can, because it's fun,

because it makes people smile,

because it brightens up a dreary winter's day,

because children go ooooooh!aaaaaaaah!

because!!!!!! Life is too short to be getting yer knickers in a knot!"

Cycle of Giving and Doorstop Faeries

It happens a lot in our Village and it's one of the many things I love about living here. You put the call out for something and before you know it you find the Doorstop Faeries have left something in your mailbox or near the front door. Sometimes you know who it is, other times you don't. 

In our case we know and we want to thank them.

♥

Sam Eckenrode, Selwa Whitesell, Karen Russell, and Joy Joseph 

♥

We shall in turn make a gift out of your old boxes and turn them into our little BOX-isms for Free Art Friday.

This Friday's box is 

"the fly and the poop"

based on a Kurt Cobain quote.

If you're a really mean person you're going to come back as a fly and eat poop.

If you live in town or plan visiting Yellow Springs on Friday I will be posting a clue where it is on here or twitter, look for the hashtag #FAFyes.

It goes out after 1pm.
Clue
If you find me it will make you go ha ha, but sitting out here it is chilly.

Cheers

A jafagirl is SHAMELESS

Yep, jafabrit, BLUSH! is in Margot Potter's newest book as one of the Shameless one's. 

Book Link

Margot has this wonderful way of writing, which is as fun as she is, and SPOT ON with tips and advice about marketing and branding.

To be honest I wasn't quite sure how I was going to fit in with the theme of the book. I am not selling my work online or marketing a product. I guess I just take some things for granted and it hadn't really occurred to me that the jafagirls have become a brand. It wasn't planned that way. I admit it. I do enjoy shamelessly  promoting the arts, but mine is more altruistic in nature. Which is not to say I don't toot my own horn now and again. I'm doing that right now, yes ;)

 I love creating art, talking about it and sharing it, and that includes running an art blog highlighting the arts/artists in Yellow Springs, Free Art Friday around the world and of course the jafagirls. 

Spreading Good Cheer 

Jafabrit

Online Reviews

Snap out of it Jean!

Crafty Owl in a Box for FAFyes

This is Nancy's contribution for Free Art Friday and what a cutie. Pull the black ribbon tab and inside you will find words of wisdom underneath.

WHOever finds it, I hope you enjoy.

Jafabrit's  Owl BOX-ism is here.

If you see this

on a piece of art hanging around Yellow Springs, Ohio it really does mean it's FREE.

"Hum,"you say, "What's the catch?"

NONE 

Take it, leave it,  or share it!

This week the jafagirls left out a Karma Box.

To peek what's inside the box click here.

Controversial Painting for Sale

Own a piece of YS history! This piece of art “After the Dinner Party” was one of the pieces that sparked the controversy over public art and  will be for sale at the Holiday Art Jumble. Proceeds support local artists and the Arts Council Community Gallery (more info here)

Background History: Here’s the scoop-

On March 1^st, 2012, the visual part of Women’s Voices Outloud, was hung in the John Bryan Community Gallery located on the second floor hallway. This Annual event has been around for 33  years, 20 years exhibits in the Bryan Center. The show is for women of all ages to present stories, journal entries, poems, songs, dance and visual art to the community. 

There was not a lot of work this year, but it covered all ages and many styles, Ceramics by Lisa Wolters, tiny miniature sculptures by Sharon Mohler, a political satire piece by Corrine Bayraktaroglu, a 3D Protest Mannequin called “Hairy Mary” by the Jafagirls, a Mixed Media piece by Patricia Hyde and other paintings, small textile pieces, calligraphy, photographs and drawings. It filled the hallway that goes off the main hallway.  We were hoping that some more artists might put something up later on.

In the days that followed a controversy brewed in which 3 works listed below were deemed disturbing by an employee of the village and the Village Manager stating that they bordered on “sexual harassment.” of employees at the Bryant Center.

• Sherraid Scott’s pencil drawing of a nude female model.
•  The Jafagirls’ mannequin “Hairy Mary”
•  A painting done by Nancy Mellon that was a women’s consciousness raising piece called “After the Dinner Party” that showed the whole internal and external clitoris organ and the whole internal and external organ of the penis dancing together in whimsical, dreamy sort of way.

The ensuing controversy inspired Sharon Mohler, a previous curator of WVOL who had to deal with a similar controversy in 1999, to galvanize support for the integrity of the show and the artists.In a show of support for local artists and freedom of speech Sharon organized other female artists to contribute life studies in all media.  They did not fail to disappoint and the halls filled up  with ceramic nudes, male and female, a polymer clay sculpture of an nude modeling art class, photographs, sketches and many beautiful paintings- all of nudes.   One large painting arrived with the paint still damp. It was an exciting and joyful show.

Over all the years at WVOL other nude paintings and sculptures have been in the visual part of the show.

For the reception another artist in town, Susan Gartner made a tasteful selection of cookies that were bikinied tops and bottoms of the female form.  She also added her own collage of drawings that had been given to her by artists when she was a nude model.  She wrote a paper that spoke of how wonderful it was for women to be nude models.  That it was a great way to learn to love your own body and be content in it’s shape.

During the week that the new art was going up the Interim Town Manager contacted Arts Council repeatedly and told them that YSAC would have to censor any public art for politics and sexuality/nudity if they were going to be managing/using the JBC Gallery or putting up any Public Art in an outdoor venue in Yellow Springs.

Women’s Voices Outloud is not run by the Arts Council.   The month long gallery show and the one night performance that make up WVOL have over the years been handled by Volunteer Coordinators, Laurie Dreamspinner, Liz Hale and others.   But the Arts Council for 20 years has managed the gallery.

Two of the JBCC secretaries went to the YS News to tell them about the controversy.

Megan Bachman of the YS News wrote an article.  She also took pictures of the event. A picture of one of the nude painting was placed on the front page of the Yellow Springs News.

The Village Staff and Town Council were told to not speak to the news.  So from the village, the article only included a quote from the YS lawyer.  He said “the Village needed to honor the artists First Amendment right to free speech and also to protect its employees from a hostile work environment.” 

No one has been allowed to put up a show at the John Bryan Community gallery since the end of March 2012 and a Public Art Policy is still in the planning stage.

Free Art Friday: Box of Smiles

hand stitched lip Pin, jafa booklet of fun,

 smiley cd, bubble bottle

  Oh where oh where will this box go?

I know, how about next to a yellow bike rack.

fafYES BOX-isms

Stitch Up: Owls

Nancy needed to make some Christmas ornaments for Village Artisans Gallery tree, so we wing stitched (as in winging it) up a batch.

This is when scraps in the studio come in handy and trust me Nancy never throws away scraps of felt, she's got BAGS of the stuff.

Nancy made  up her own owl template but if you want to make some yourself, I found this free template courtesy of blue sky confections.

How to make a Plastic Bag Flower

Mine is not as elaborate as Tim Coffey's, but his tutorial is excellent for showing how to recycle plastic bags and make flowers.

Old yarnbombing image, but still used

It always surprises me when I come across an image of our Knit Knot Tree when browsing the web.  I don't know the person who took this photograph

 but it's used for the Yarnbombing Wikipedia  page. I came across it again in this  interesting article titled It's Not a Hobby, It's a Post-apocalyptic Skill: Space, Feminism, Queer, and Sticks and Strings.

There has been a LOT more tree cozies (amazing and wonderful) since the Knit Knot Tree gained international attention in 2008, but it's nice to see an old fave pop up now and again across the web.

When you get a Yen for something

You just have to go with it and I got a terrible yen to make my nana's Traditional Christmas Cake.  So my son and I spent Sunday baking up a batch. I knew ONE person who would seriously appreciate a cake, jafapal, aka KAOS Queen, Karen Jane Russell. She did remind me of one trick I had completely forgotten, soak the fruit overnight in tea. Oh well next time.  I dropped it off this morning and I was right.  

Karen has her own yen's going on

 and right now it's felting. She is going bonkers doing it and I am enjoying being the recipient of a couple of pieces.  I scored this lovely table mat in exchange for the cake. Trading is so FUN. 

She is currently working on the scarf below, and she wasn't kidding when she said her scarf looked like streaky bacon.

Jafagirls are getting Plasticized

at  Trash Fashion show and exhibit

Nancy will be modeling an original Plastique 

and MOI will be wearing a jafabrit original  called "pollution polly"

 modeled here by my skeleton in the closet Esqualita

Free Art Friday: BOX-isms

The jafagirls have started a new series of  Free Art Friday pieces called BOX-isms, which are a mixture of recycling,  found items, art, craft and creative altruism all rolled into one little box.

Kick OFF BOX

Hairy Man Thoughts

Made by Nancy Mellon

Box, cardboard, faux fur, old buttons, mini bird ornament 

 The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. Thich Nhat Hanh

Jafagirls have been leaving out free art since  2005. Jafabrit runs the Free Art Friday Blog highlighting free art being left around the world by groups and individuals, as well as links to the founders of the movement and various sites.

To view a slideshow of past jafagirl free art friday pieces click on image below

One of the pioneers of the FAF movement, los dave, shared some thoughts about free art friday with me HERE.

Jafagirls say BOO!

 Reverse Painting and collage on Plastic by Jafabrit

Have a fang-tastic night!

Archive:Hairy Mary at Bryan Community Center Gallery

in Yellow Springs, Ohio

as part of the

Women’s Voices Out Loud 

RECEPTION March 17th more info HERE

The Jafagirls would like to thank the Bryan Center for allowing women to have a voice and hosting Women’s Voices Out Loud.

We couldn’t think of a more appropriate event and month (Women’s History Month)  to share Hairy Mary in honor of Mary Wollstonecraft,  a pioneer and advocate for women’s rights and  wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. 

Hairy Mary Hairy Mary is a work in progress and is a Protest Mannequin.   She stands for a women’s right to be perfect just the way they are.

“One person’s expression of what it means to be human is for someone else the manifestation of something so repugnant or offensive it must be removed or destroyed.” 

-Jennifer Higgie, The Art Newspaper, “Free Speech”, June-August 2011

As reported in the Yellow Springs News complaints of obscenity by village employees