So Ready for Spring

and then the summer blossoms that compliment the bright buildings on Corry Street in Yellow Springs. This is one of my favourite photographs I took of our Mellow Yellow yarnbombing from a few years ago.  We rarely do yarnbombing nowadays, but we are still busy with new adventures.  Hum, let me take that back; I do have a couple of camo yarnbomb pieces ready to be hung somewhere, 

when the weather gets nicer.

We are both working on paintings for the  Fence Art Project.

We have also started a new website dedicated to photographing older women artists.

POWA!

Copyright: Jafagirls Images and Artwork

For the most part the Jafagirls have been fairly flexible with our images being shared for public viewing purposes only on social networks such as facebook, pinterest and personal blogs but increasingly we are seeing our images being exploited and offered for free or used for commercial purposes or by others claiming credit or copyright to them.

  Finding this banner online please don't presume it is free to use, it is NOT free.

I know it's lovely and you would love to use it but just ask us. We are more than happy to consider it, and in the bargain we get to promote YOUR project/blog/website or event too.

This is all over pinterest, no problem, but when it is not linked back to us 

we lose traffic to our site and people don't realize that it is for sale. So again, please understand that we love you sharing but linking and attribution is important and respectful.

♥

If you would like to buy this wonderful hat here is a link.

Village Artisans: Who is Topper?

Old Yarnbomb Photo of the Knit Knot Tree

Sometimes I'll be cruising the net and come across our first yarnbomb from 2007, the knit knot tree. Kind of funny really, been so many years ago, but fun too.

 The photo was posted on wikipedia by shrewdcat, although at the time I guess he/she didn't know it was called the Knit Knot Tree. Anyhoo, these are just a few out of the 249 links listed on google.

In Case You Missed It: Watch London Kaye Yarn-Bomb The L Train

Urban Fabric Softener
 Act Classy

Bloomin' at 60 with Nancy Mellon

Jafabrit is an artist who loves painting, embroidery, photographing, drawing, yarnbombing, blogging and hanging out with her jafapals. 

Jafa T it's time for Ha Ha

"Bloomin' at 60" Series 

Nancy and I were so inspired by Cynthia Korzekwa's blog post on art for housewives about the artist Lee Godie and her photo booth photographs and decided we wanted to do a series. Not the same of course, but the idea of transformation hit a nerve with Nancy.

" Lee Godie and the Need for Transformation" 

Just like Lee, I have a need for transformation. Of my thoughts. My body is transforming all on it's own. You think I would have expected it but it's been a surprise. I became 60 and wondered what am I becoming. Old? Dead? Is it "Bang! you're an old lady now"? Um, yes in some ways that is the way our society perceives a woman after she turns 60. So what does "old" mean to me? It is pretty spooky to me. My mom did not go gracefully into her old age. But if I look at some of the artists I know ....It's filled with creativity and when not creating, it still seems manageable. They laugh or cry and create and transform their struggles into art.  They aren't listening to society, they are listening to their inner voice. 

Part of this aging thing is that I am getting mucho wrinkles and I kind of like the wrinkles. They remind me of my grandmother.  She did aging well.  Her face was a beautifully wrinkled apple doll face. Grandma carved apples for years and dried them by hanging them up like a wash line of tiny shrunken heads. Then she created the homeliest dolls from them. She also kept playboys under a stack of magazines, she sang silly songs and told stories about the pleasure of not wearing a corset. She dressed up for Halloween, made maple syrup candy to give out and fit right in if she decided to go along with the neighborhood kids Trick or Treating. 

My fascination with the changes to my body make me, the artist me, interested in painting and drawing and describing the beauty of old bodies, how they bend and curve, how they are full of intricate lines.  

Lee chose to transform herself into others through her photo series. I found it fascinating and meaningful that she was able to find a way to make choices, to be in control over something in her difficult life.  And in those concentrated moments of choosing and creating another life, she must have felt alive and good. Like Lee using "art to give her madness meaning and direction" I think we can transform our aging selves into art that gives meaning and a chosen direction to go in."  

thanks for dropping by

Crafting: Felt Flower Bouquet

Nancy and I wanted to make a special bouquet to leave in town and out came the felt, the yarn, scissors, glue gun, and a few branches from the garden.

 

After wrapping the branches with yarn and gluing on hand stitched flowers we had our bouquet.

Tim we,like many, will miss your wisdom, kindness and joyful presence.

2003 Art Map of Yellow Springs, Ohio

Welcome to the jafagirls blog, and thank you for dropping by

This blog entry is by corrine aka jafabrit

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was cleaning out my studio and came across an art map that Talitha Greene and I created  2003 when we were members of the Village Artisans Gallery (located in Kings Yard at the time).  We were getting a lot of visitors asking about where they could see art and we decided to come up with this. Very basic but that was all the means we had available at the time.

We gave the template to several local shops who printed out copies for themselves and handed out to customers. 

jafa jumble

As in Nancy has been very busy elf getting the Yellow Springs Arts Council Fundraiser pulled together with her gallery crew.

CHEERS