Urban Self Reliance

marketing is?

Series at the Seattle Public library that is maxing capacity at least for the DIY and hand sewn workshops that i am giving. This is so nice Check out spl.org calendar of events. (mine are today the 19th and the 22nd)

Other workshops may still have space and maybe they will add more workshops if you ask them, I am sure that they will appreciate your interest.

Changing the world is layered with actions that create mini catalytic energy sparks that fly off and ignite others. The more we do it collectively i figure the higher the energy or perhaps it gains density or both. No matter, we have a lot that needs changing and we each add energy to the whole, the system we feed will stay alive. AKA be mindful of of how, why, what to and where your energy goes.

Speak up Stand up

Look! it is all around - subtle and discreet on the sidelines, playing softly in the background the truth is breaking through all the distractions. Watch the info sprawl, the action that follows. The people's media & arts uprising of 2012 will be, will you?

Fall Equinox 2011

Donna Lough: Sphinx
Paint on wood

DJB multiple mediums
reused, re-purposed fabrics and garments,
recycouture

The fashionRIP Project art show is winding up today. This has been a great, informative and successful experience. (Sales not high but 7x the galleries previous record, so doing a lot right) However the real value of this event is in the relationships formed, the co-operative trump of the competition script and the general, uplifting applause for our work's scope, courage and attractiveness.

I have a bevy of comments and supportive reviews in my head and on paper; like spirit guides prompting me onward, i think this is how the path finds me and i find it. First take the educated, heartfelt risk, then seek the answer, no nets, no insurance and no boring, killer, comfort zones.

OK, a small oasis in between is bliss but it's funny how allergic one can get to staticity once one feels the zing of living "out loud." (E Zola)

With a resounding, exuberant Yes to the Universe, our first official meeting for next year's super gig is planned for the end of October. I will be contacting all "starred" people in the guest book and thank you! We can and will do better than this old Skool drive off the cliff.

The "biz as usual but more so" and the worse "just do it green" scenarios are all that fusty old paradigm has going for it. That is most unmindful and ignorant (as in read books, posts & articles on ecology, food, health, religion, watch Nova, Inside Job, search for truth, everywhere. It is obvious something is rotten and that something is a set of untrue beliefs. Forgive, let them go and move towards the light, it actually responds)

The "Species on the Verge & Other Works w/POV" was compared at least 2 times to Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party" and my installation reminded a recent NYC MoMA visitor of the Alexander McQueen exhibit; mine was on par and or better than some of the 'scenes" in the museum. OK that is heady and braggadocio, but as the fashionRIP message is beyond fashion reDux, beyond visual appeal, way beyond "me" to a deep appeal for sanity in the real world, i am breathing it in and using the energy to buoy the water chapter.

With trust and gratitude, happy Equinox and namaste, the world is still a beautiful place.

more

Cat crochets

Donna Lough:

Bastet, Egyptian Cat Goddess

Avery Milieu: milliner extraordinaire

djb: quilt

Edith Faste: paper, glass, wire ( reuse and slump)

djb: Altered book

Page Day: illustrations in ink

djb: fabric paper, ink markers, beads

Avery at sign detail

Avery Milieu: hats on show,
reblocked, vintage findings and hand dyed plumes

Gretchen:prints and sumi cats (Page D's)

djb: subculture Joe and the fabricators, u mattered!
early temp placing of stitch-istrations

Gretchen: mono prints

8 women on a sustainable mission co-op art show at the Kerf International gallery in the Wallingford Center
A fashionRIP Project act of evolution!

more is more

Diane Baxter: Inuit inspired "finger fan"
to tell the women's stories 'large"
NW native materials

djb: Subculture Joe, homage & requiem

Cat M Condeff : print from original illustration

djb: symbol skirts,
Rachel Carson, Tree of Life, Urban wildlife, Phoenix

djb: tee shirt redux
painted, reverse applique, sequin, tulle

AveryMilieu: Clockwork Crow

Avery M: peacock feathered dream hat

Catherine M C: real leaves and glitter paint,
road kill paper weights

Species on the Verge w/POV

Posted photos of the shows first few days on Facebook. It is going well, very well in so many ways. Better than i ever could have designed top down , control as many points as possible, old style way.

This new minimal framing, dance it with the universe style is once again bringing more than i ever could imagine. Things , people show up when needed, before i knew they were even needed. This is the reality we share.

The balance is where the research and education come in, or maybe that just builds the courage to take that step out on the limb, to spread those wings and jump.

ch ch changes

This is the latest flyer as the closing date is now Sept 23rd, Tin tin was booked for the 26th- unbeknown to us. Voila, we are ousted by a cartoon, now that is an American Distractions giggle.

Ok so much is going on in the real world. If you are visiting this blog and it is the 7th - please pop by and see us during Art Walk 5-8.

Art and living art has superseded my own posts. Will have a dedicated page for the great Co-op Art Show of 9/11. That in itself speaks volumes as far as change, action and the new stories we are telling in this fantastic organic show. Playing the cards the universe deals is a rush, a delight and a dance that super managed events cannot come close to. We are proving co-operation, resource sharing and support works. We are creatures of a social nature that light up in this happy bounce of reflection. We are evolve worthy.

Show Opens Tomorrow

Fragile Hearts- Misunderstandings

The Bomb, the Heart and the disappointment that crashed it all, RIP Joe Sprinkle, you are remembered. You put your heart out there, exposed, vulnerable, misunderstood...that is heroic.

Nice Work

photo of sign on Aurora walkover, 8/16/11
& i needed that message! Thank you magic post people

Android Homme shoes, posted a great art message video. I will be back with my take on how they support or smack the ideas of which they "speak." There is a huge disconnect in the system and the more we point it out as the outrageous flaw that it is, the better abled we will be in our transformative measures.

People Lose

Sub Culture Joe, Westlake Park. Stitch illustration with fabric paint and old jewelry bits.

Westlake Park was closed to cars in 1988. This urban oasis was short lived. As Frederick and Nelson's and I Magnin's closed their doors for the last time, the street was re-opened.

Sub Culture Joe and the Fabricators saw this as a form of public sabotage. It was suspicious how the city center commons lost favor just as Nordstrom's conveniently moved into the spacious, elegant, well maintained building that had been the home of their former rival, F & N.

City Hall conveniently voted to re-open the street in 1995. SC Joe and Fabs planted a heart in the park as their visual commentary. They were Spirit Rebels.

The tunnel that will shanghai taxes for the next x years appears to be another act against the public good. Seattle is in a fault zone which is really hard on tunnels and cost overruns are par. So who or what really benefits? Who or what stands in the way of true progress?

FYI: Japanese citizens are marching in the streets, calling out for change, questioning a lifestyle that jeopardizes life. They are recognizing the irony of self destruction.

The active Chim Pom artist;s collective, -are global wake up messengers, that started 6 years ago, inspired by the US movie, "Jackass." Focusing now on the nuclear meltdown, they "updated" a famous atomic horror mural, donned Haz Mat gear and raised a nuke flag among other premeditated acts of healing. They are the new Spirit Rebels, forcing the hand of perceived reality. Bravo.

Killing Us

A Beautiful Rebel, part of my On Busses photo series

I had a wonderful conversation last Sunday with a friend of mine. We meet along with one other friend, for coffee talks on a regular basis. He is Oxford educated, taught eastern philosophy and is now at Microsoft and she is a former Pilates instructor married to an MD who came to the US at the age of 4. We have the best chats. Time flies as we learn and appreciate each other and what we bring to the table. I highly recommend this do-able act of sharing, caring.

I had brought up the schizophrenic nature of modern culture that is connected to the current sociopathic economic model that systemically built what can only be called USA Inc.. Step by step, over time, i think western culturel became immersed in a machine designed under the influence of a faux Darwinian legacy. This justified creating wealth for the few at the expense of the many and the environment. Now we are experiencing the chaos of the reality check.

However:

As major media is controlled by the largest benefactors of the crusty, old dysfunctional machine we are unfortunately still inundated with messages from the source of the problem. Even as corporations recognize their environmental errors they seem reluctant to face up to the emotional, physical, spiritual, social health and welfare of an interrelated, connected living system we call Earth.

So, in the course of the conversation my friend asked for the link to "Killing Us Softly" a video lecture of the series on women and advertising. I had mentioned the Madonna/Whore dichotomy that American women are still plagued with ( i know, hard to believe that silliness is still around!) and the schizophrenic culture that swallows it without knowing what exactly is in the bite.

Killing Us Softly #2, #3 and #4 are all worthwhile and a great way to start understanding the consumer model of economics. Thank you Jean Kilbourne for your pioneering work.