JafaFUN: Hanging Around Artists is Inspiring

We've been busy this week visiting Village Artisans Artist Ann Bain and a recent newcomer to our village in Yellow Springs, Brian Mollar.  Anne will be the next artist featured on our POWA blog and what a fun visit, along the way I also got to see a 2 futuro houses (how cool is that) near Ann's house.  Brian Millar is finishing up a 16 foot painting that he donated to the Presbyterian Church on Xenia Avenue. 

We also helped Beth Holyoke find just the right spot for her beautiful ceramic art in the Yellow Springs Permanent Collection currently showcased at Antioch University Midwest. Here piece is titled

"Family of Refugees"

ceramic, gold paint

The broken image of a small family represents so many, they, like hundreds of thousands more are on their way, to an uncertain road to a new life. Their old world is gone.

Beth and her friend Kaethi spent a month working in a refugee camp in Greece.

So many wonderful and inspiring artists to meet in our wee Village.

Lost Bear and Breast Cancer Exhibit

Lost Bear is my muse, my little scruffy found bear that somehow get's his own place in a show about Cancer. Nancy and I worked HOURS getting this up. Looks simple enough but there was a lot of groaning, and replacing, and arranging, gluing and nailing. By the time we were finished the first day getting the show up we both crawled home with that "don't even go there or ask me or anything" kind of a LOOK. Anyway back to why circles.

When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer last year all I saw was circles and boobs, kind of like pareidolia but with boobs lol.

Lost Bear's Boobtastic cuddlefest with Yarnbombing Boobs and Knit A Tits

I would like to say I originated the term Knit a Tit but after checking the almighty oracle, google, well there is a GREAT group called Knitted Knockers already knitting them, NOT for yarnbombing though. Check and you will see why I need a boobie tree.

Thanks for the great news articles

Yellow Springs News and Dayton City Paper 

♥

More about the show next time

Bosom Buddies Website 

You Are Never Too Old to Play and Identity

Nancy calls me with a tone of urgency and drama and says she has this idea but will share when I go to her house. I go to her house and there on the living room floor is a pile of clothes and hats, and glasses and she is telling me "let's play dress up" and take pics. Errr! okay Nancy lol! I am always game.

Grandma's can be invisible to the world but they never are to their Grandkids
Can you tell your grandmother loves lace?

These are two of my fave shots and have been incorporated into an art piece called "What is GrandMa Doing" for the Yellow Springs Arts Council "breaking the rules" members show.  Nancy will tell you that some of the poses she was breaking out of self imposed rules, as well as creating an art piece that confronts identity and ageism.

cheers from the Jafagirls who aren't actually girls, but women, or theirs, or whatever the  terminology is au courant at the mo.

Hum! jafatheirs just doesn't' quite cut it.

Bosom Buddies Exhibit and Breast Cancer Support

Breast Cancer Exhibit

I have been working on a new website (link above) specifically for our upcoming exhibit Bosom Buddies at the Yellow Springs Arts Council at 111 Corry Street in April 2017. 

Opening Reception will be April 21st 6-9pm

Gallery hours are Wed - Sun 1-4pm

The theme of the exhibit is two friends and invited guests sharing how a diagnosis of breast cancer (including other cancers) affects patients, friends and family. This is an exploration of the creative ways they have dealt with the roller coaster of emotions: of fear, anger, grief, bewilderment, and joy. 

In the gallery we will have a sharing wall in which guests are invited during the month long exhibit to share their artwork, poems,notes and photographs.

The Art Show and Art Mischief by the Jafagirls

Finally got to see the show that was aired earlier in January and really think the producer and film crew did a fantastic job. Somehow out of a full day of blithering on they edited and managed to really convey how we feel about supporting the arts in our wee community. Hope you enjoy having a peek at what makes us tick.

Watch now: The Art Show | Season 6, Episode 2 | ThinkTVNetwork Video

The Jafagirls of Yellow Springs use craft activism to raise awareness of social issues. We visit the Cohen Film Collection in Columbus, where modern technology is being used restore and preserve rare movie classics. The 442s in St. Louis fuse classical music and jazz. Watch online: Season 6, Episode 2 from The Art Show.

So what's NEXT on the agenda

Other than our regular duties as active members of the Yellow Springs Arts Council and Permanent Collection Steering Committee, we will be working on a new post for POWA!

Preparing work for our Bosom Buddies Exhibit

and 

Nancy has some kind of wild photography idea she wants us to do, hum!

thanks for dropping by

Viva La Vulve and The Craftivism Sisterhood

This wasn't a jafagirl project BUT we are all jafagirls at heart and a sisterhood in the art of craftivism ;) Can't remember whose idea it was (yes wait it was Kate) but somehow we decided that since none of us can go to the protest in DC, we can stay home and do something. So for a couple of days we sewed vulva ornaments to be

placed on a tree for the inauguration. Since nobody could be arsed to get up early enough in the morning to festoon a tree with felt vulva art we met 10pm last night instead. Dressed like ninjas all in black and fussing about we were like the flippin' marx brothers in Duck Soup. I tell you we couldn't get them up fast enough.  Dam! Karen forgot her fags so we could just light up, lean against the car and look all nonchalant like if the cops drove by. A car is coming,dang  is it a cop car, look normal. No, phew! So 

we carry on. Oh shit, is that a cop car. Dang, yes it is. Quick act normal ladies. Drives slowly by but good he's passing right by. Did he see me wave? Cruiser stops a few yards away and waits for a min. Shoot is he coming back, what's he doing, phew! he's going. Hurry, says Kate, who swears he will circle around. I say, naw, really! I don't think so.  Well we will just have to say hello and ask him if he wants to help;)

He never did pass by again and after 15 mins we were happily on our way home secure in the

knowledge that some people will get a kick out of our wee protest art. On the other hand many may not even know what the heck they're  supposed to be.

Please take NOTE: Our tree installation was not designed to represent ALL women. It was designed to represent OUR feelings as three cis women, who were objecting to the inauguration of a cis male who bragged about grabbing cis women by their privates.

 

'Pussyhat' knitters join long tradition of crafty activism - BBC News

Donald Trump is causing a yarn shortage in the United States, where many Americans just can't get their hands on worsted fuschia pink - because many of the world's knitters are using it to protest against the incoming president.

I have to think Britain's First Feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, would have been proud. 

Meanwhile in Boston Yarnbombers have added 'pussyhats' to the Make Way for Ducklings statues. Not to be left out Lost Bear has joined in and has his very own hat too.

Be Safe Sisters

SISTERHOOD POSTCARDS SOLD HERE

Sisterhood and the PussyHat Project

About

The Women's March on Washington D.C. is happening January 21, 2017! The Pussyhat Project launched Thanksgiving weekend! As of now, we have 12 days to knit, crochet, and sew 1.17 million pink pussyhats. Join the movement!

Unfortunately health issues did not allow for me to go to DC or any other protest march BUT after a prod from a friend, who supplied me with yarn, I got to knitting hats that will be handed out at the women's march. 

"Sisterhood"
by Corrine Bayraktaroglu

The pattern is genius in it's simplicity, cute as heck, and I've managed to knit three in three days. It's wonderful to see so many women/girls of all ages come together and knit, crochet, and march in sisterhood. 

And Now From Pussy Riot

and

a word of warning for Americans