Custom printed DVDs

I screenprinted a bunch of blank DVDs today.

I started by designing them in Illustrator on computer:

Then I burned two screens ( two on each design ), and then printed the designs by hand, onto a bunch of DVDs.  Check them out:

It's really satisfying to go through a process all in one day.  I can't wait to burn these discs for people and give them out.

Published!

Great news!  I've been published!  I just took this picture today, too!

"poetry is not a luxury"

over the past few weeks, i've spent some time going through my older writing for a couple sharings of my spiritual journey (for cell and class) when i came across this one. the piece is a reflection on an essay by audre lorde (african-american womanist "poet warrior", as she calls herself), and you can find her work on google books. it was convicting for me to remember "poetry is not a luxury."


Reflection on "Poetry is not a luxury"

In the beginning, in the dark emptiness, the Creator used His voice to break the darkness and give name, life to what was becoming a new creation. With a few simple words, God revealed part of God’s soul with the birthing of the world, for six days whispering “let there be, let there be, let there be” and calling us into shape, knowing both the joy and pain of what was about to be created; with the first poetry, God revealed part of God’s soul as labor pains
formed the light and the skies, the dirt of the earth and the flesh and blood of humans. And then, on the last, God breathed that restful sigh, “Yes.”
* * * *
Throughout Audre Lorde’s piece “Poetry is not a luxury,” Lorde uses her own poetic writing to remind her audience that poetry is not the noble privilege nor protected domain of the Canonized “white fathers”; rather, poetry is the necessary, uncomfortable disclosure of one’s own feelings and dreams, formed into tangible realities through language. Poetry is not structure and metered lines but the soul’s wrestling with what we are doing and who we are
becoming; not an act of composing for the well-trained writer but the act of creating for the soul of the creator; not a luxury but a necessity to live fully. For it is this venture into a human’s deep longings that “forms the quality of light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action.”

Even though I believe the truth of Lorde’s words, I too often forget the “necessity” of poetry and my journal is left behind for sleep at the end of long days, for the act of creation/creating is both tiring and frightening. What will I find when I crawl to the depths? What emotion is waiting for me there? What have I seen today—the silhouette of the homeless man sitting in the rising steam of a manhole; the boarded-up homes and schools that line the streets near
my church; the tired woman on the crowded bus trying to hold three children at once—and where will I find the holy in these places? Where was God’s face revealed to me—and did I turn my head when Jesus’ eyes met mine? Indeed, Lorde is correct—poetry is a “vital necessity of [my] existence” for the act of writing poetry is the revelation of my gut and heart, drawing me to the raw, honest places of my being that I fear. And yet, it is in that unveiled brokenness that
I am created again (renewed in hope?); there, I am breathed forward by the breath of the Creator; there, I am molded into who I am called to become.

From this place, poetry creates “sanctuaries and spawning grounds for the most radical and daring of ideas” that urge me to realize that “becoming.” Indeed, my words reveal who I am—named and beloved—but this is not enough. If I were to travel to these depths of who I am and who God is for the sake of the journey there, then my poetry would be a luxury, a writer’s game. Rather, poetry as necessity is taking pieces of what I have found there, putting together
hopes of what could be, and taking that idea back into the world, however frightening that may be. Perhaps it will only be a few bold words; perhaps it will, over the years, result in more weary work than joy, but the “farthest horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives.” Perhaps this work of creating poetry is the most hopeful thing I have, as I humbly imitate my Creator in shaping dreams into words, words into ideas, ideas into actions and return again, at the end of the day, to writing this poetry in my journal by my bed.
* * * *
In the early morning, Miss Mary and I met in the dark church office to pray for the day ahead. Her deep, rough voice rolled with quiet strength through that dark room. In her voice, she carried the words that crafted her life as a black woman living in East Baltimore; in her words, the Spirit rose and fell, groaned with her humming and “dear Jesus.” Her voice created a sanctuary around us, a safe space to cry and petition, to hope for the kingdom and to be a part in its becoming, to be formed in our own becoming. And when she said “amen,” I breathed my “amen” in response and flipped on the lights—we had the world to walk into, now that we had spent time sharing our poetry with one another. The work of the kingdom was ahead.

Lettin' the ART outta the bag?

Should we invite others from the church to check out this blog? Now that we are posting more regularly, is it time to let others be inspired? Do you want to wait/why? Make your thoughts known by commenting...

inspiration.beauty.community

alixa + naima are an inspiration to me.

i wonder how wide and deep this tree's roots are

that her branches are able to reach so far and low.

mother earth sheds tears because

her caretakers make her shed blood.

i went to the hills on saturday to be inspired by snippets of beauty.

i'm learning that even things

that aren't quite ripe are beautiful.

and i'm reminded of

what community is for.

Mosaic Method

I was preparing for a big talk at church this past Sunday. When I was thinking about how to communicate the beauty of the diversity of our church, a mosaic was a perfect metaphor: many unique, colorful pieces arranged in an interesting way, forming something beautiful and functional. Below are some pics of mosaics from Park Guell in Barcelona which inspired me:

   

A mosaic is a pretty tangible/tactile/concrete thing---so it was natural to set-up a worship station where the congregation could participate in creating one together.  The idea is that the square, colored tiles (cut-up paper paint chips from Home Depot) represented those of us at New Hope already:

Below is a bowl of hand-shredded paper tiles in irregular shapes.  I asked people to think about who they had a heart to reach out to...those who are "missing" from our faith community.

I was worried the cross wouldn't get filled...but I think people really engaged with it.

Thanks to chia, shee shee, bibily and celia for all their help prepping this project last week. I'm inspired to create an ceramic and concrete tile mosaic cross for our church modeled after this one. Looking for help!

calendar art

for about a month now, i've had "calendar" on my list of things to get...but each time i've gone to purchase one, i haven't felt like spending $5-15 dollars. so on the last venture to purchase a calendar, i ended up buying a bulletin board to make a calendar.

other than the obvious needs for a calendar to help keep track of time/activities, i'm hoping this one will also serve as...

a reminder to be mindful of and present in the time that i'm given. i have small post-its to list the activities of each day...and if the post-its overwhelm the picture, it's probably a sign that i've taken on too much.

a reminder that venturing into my creative self can be simple and can be daily.

Mississippi Burning

I went to Mississippi about a month ago to shoot and attend a friend's wedding.  It was pretty awesome:  being in the South again, and being in a quieter place.  I think city life is overrated.  Here's a snapshot of some of the pictures I've worked on so far.  I have a lot more to go, and my hands hurt, but I'm really happy how some of these have turned out.

Once I get them done, they'll show up on my Flickr.

Morning Routine

I'm trying to get back to my first love, writing...

-----

The engine warms inside the whirl of a white van, boxy and cased with chilled windows. Me and him, cup of black coffee and automotive hum, and always a wave and one-word conversation. Tall, lanky, and predictable. We waved for weeks on end, before we met halfway in the middle of the street.

She brings out their youngest, and it’s the first time seeing him since he was in that rocker. Holding him under his armpits, he kicks facetiously — his bumble bee body like a bopping bouquet of flowers in her mother-hands. His head is full and tall with nappy hair, as full as my baby sister’s hair when it stood up straight for years. We were very simple once, I remember this from photos of a time ago — a tropical beach with its warm sand and murky lapping waves. She laughed loud, her chubby face in a perpetual grin, just as he does now. Under this gray blanket of clouds, on this worn wooden porch, I know, I know that I am lucky to see this.

The UPP

I also made invites and a comic thing for my Birthday.  Here's a snapshot:

The links will take you to a land of details.  Process?  Well, I designed the invite in Illustrator and then screen printed them by hand at Laney.  I made the comic using ComicLife.  Here's some of the originals: 

"Late Bloomers"

Here's an article shee shee wants to pass on. From Malcolm Gladwell, the New Yorker columist who wrote two of the books (The Tipping Point, Blink) in my personal top twenty list...if I had a top twenty list.

"Best Friends Forever"

It's my son's birthday this month, so I designed some party favors/thank you cards for his upcoming dinner/dance party. He's gonna be 3.

I simply cropped a photo and "pixel-ated" it using a simple editing program that came with my Epson printer. Here's the back:

Look closely - I converted the front photo to ASCII art. Kinda cool, huh? (It looks like he has horns because it converted the text above his head too...) You can do this is ANY photo using this site. Have fun!

gocco print

Hello all, Steph here. Just wanted to share a little print I worked on tonight, using my gocco (a screenprinting device). A little while ago I had signed up to participate in a gocco swap, and I'm glad I did (even though I managed to leave it to the last minute!). I love printing and it was only my second time using my gocco so it was pretty fun. (For those of you who don't know what a gocco is, here is some information. Also I did a little demo/explanation of how it works at my blog.) 

Anyway, here it is:

I made about 60 prints...

If anybody is interested in gocco-ing with me, or if you'd like to borrow my gocco sometime, let me know! It's pretty fun, easy, and best of all -- pretty satisfying results.

Chapter 1.Creative Affirmations?

One of the best ways to fight negative beliefs in our desire to nurture the artist within us is to invoke affirmations that support our creativity. Read the author's list of ""Creative Affirmations" below. Which one SPEAKS to you most right now? Why? Which seems the most DISTANT to you? Why? Respond by COMMENTING to this post.

1. I am a channel for God' creativity, and my work comes to good.
2. My dreams come from God and God has the power to accomplish them.
3. As I create and listen, I will be led.
4. Creativity is the creator's will for me.
5. My creativity heals myself and others.
6. I am allowed to nurture my artist.
7. Through the use of a few simple tools, my creativity will flourish.
8. Through the use of my creativity, I serve God.
9. My creativity always leads me to truth and love.
10. My creativity leads me to forgiveness and self-forgiveness.
11. There is a divine plan of goodness for me.
12. There is a divine plan of goodness for my work.
13. As I listen to the creator within, I am led.
14. As I listen to my creativity I am led to my creator.
15. I am willing to create.
16. I am willing to learn to let myself create.
17. I am willing to let God create through me.
18. I am willing to be of service through my creativity.
19. I am willing to experience my creative energy.
20. I am willing to use my creative talents.

GroupPoem.1

I make a lot of stuff,
I don't know where to put it all,

The reflection of the maker is the image that reflects
When what is lifted up is made by,

Lord, make me an art work that makes art,
I don't have to be a masterpiece,

You make the heavens
And our souls,

It's important for me to do,
My soul, my community

Creating beautiful things
By making what we love.

Introduction.What's Our Story?

The urge to create/be creative is common to everyone. Do you remember the most creative time in your life? When did you stop being creative and why? Why do you want to "start up" again? Respond by commenting on this post.