“Don’t worry about throwing things away. In fact, you’re ultimately going to have to throw all of them away except for one.  Designers recognize this as the destructive aspect of the creative process; it’s a good thing.”

- Nancy Duarte, on sketching

Create, destroy, create, destroy.

By the end of it, what we get seems more like an echo or evaporating respiration than any sure or concrete expression. Maybe like if you’re lucky, you can look up at the night sky and see the milky way and marvel wordlessly knowing that what you’re seeing is the visual echo of what a star thousands and thousands of years ago looked like.  Or maybe it’s just that when I think of the creative process that way, with a romanticized macro lens, it alleviates the pressure I put on myself to come up with a brilliant idea or concept. Knowing that, light years later, you and your work are probably not going to be anything like it is now. One TA at Mills used to say, “sometimes, it’s your favorite part that you have to let go”. In the attempts to create there’s so much synthesis to sift through, a sometimes turbulent leaving behind of borrowed ideas, inherited biases, old tricks and habits, all kinds of letting go. In the midst of it, especially when your ego is all in the driver’s seat, it can be so frustrating.  When you’re able to reach this alchemical balance of clarity and get out of your way… that’s some good shit.

@ 6334-6316 san pablo ave x alcatraz. oakland

actual café | james & the giant cupcake | a verb for keeping warm
essence of beauty | kinks beauty supply and girly/urban accessories!

FRIDAY   –   JAN.13.2012    -   5-10PM

fresh contemporary art. cupcakes. hella diversity. urban crafts. fierce femmes. beer. sweet community. kid friendly. lo prices. women artisans. girl power youth art exhibit.hot sounds. inspiration. boy friendly. vintage fashions. bike parking. live art. knitting & fabrics. open-hearted bad girls. zines. brand new friends. fresh girly graffiti. local oakland love.

5 VENUES, SIDE-BY-SIDE.

30+ GIRLY/URBAN ARTISTS.
6+ LADY TURNTABLISTS/MUSICIANS.
7+ CRAFTER-FASHIONISTAS.
& all the HELLA LOCAL, WARM, FIERCE, SWEET, OAKLAND COMMUNITY your little heart desires

FEMMES CARTEL JAN 2012:

MAIN PLANNERS/HOSTS:
Femily, Christina B, ElRod, Kimlynh, Holly McG…with major hands-on support from BigC, Lue, Paloma, & initial inspiration from Hil, Warren & Bacca, plus party hosting golden gate neighborhood love from Kristine, Sal, Raychel, AnDrea, Caleigh, and Eurydice!

ARTISTS:
• ELROD: mexikitch art & sparkle
• FEMILY: girly/urban 3-D collage
• KIMLYNH ENGLEBRETSON CHUN: attitude girls paintings
• ASHROSE: artwork/roses
• C. FAY: assemblage of repurposed materials
• ERIN ASHFORD: graffiti girl photography
• JOY WU LIU: mixed media
• LAURA GONZALES: oil paintings
• MAEI THOMAS: photography
• MARIA FATIMA URBI: girly/urban illustrations
• MJ (from FEW N FAR): fresh paintings, urban photos
• MOLLY DECOUDREAUX: toughgirl photography
• REBECCA KERLIN: urban scene photography
• SONYA PHILIP: felt cervixes
• TESSA: diary diarammas
• PAMELA YBAñEZ: textile inspirations
• TINA ZIU: beautyshop portrait
• KEENA RAMANO: 2D projects
• MICHELLE CARNES: fresh, fast, femme fatal oil paintings
• HEATHER CAULFIELD: soulful, urban pop art
• DIANA BLACKWELL: Acryllic life-size portraits
• CHRISTAL TOSHIA: Diaramma

LIVE BODY PAINTING:
• ANANDA ELYCE REEVES: body art

VIDEO ART
• MIX’D INGRDNTS : brand new dance vid
• ELEZA JAEGER: literary projections

SOUNDS:
• DJ CAT-ATONIC
• DJ Panic Room!
• DJ Vida V
• Soul Vocalist Regina Martin
• Songstress Jo Elless
• Wam Bam Ashleyanne
• Ione Angeles (7:30-9:30 @Cupcake)
• & MORE…

GOODS:
• GIRLY/URBAN ACCESSORIES: KINKS BEAUTY
• RETRO FASHION: URBAN VINTAGE
• CHEEKY PINUP CALENDARS: JEN OAKS ILLUSTRATION
• FEMINISTA FEATHER EARRINGS: AMANDA PADILLA
• PINUP BOY BEER KOOZIES: FEMILY
• VINTAGE GLAMOUR FEATHER HEADPIECES: LISA AURORA
• FRESH SEASONAL JAM: INNA JAM
• RECYCLED BIKE TUBE EARRINGS: GIRL ON BIKE
• ALLONEWORD™ HANDMADE CUSTOM CYCLING CAPS

NONPROFITS:
• BIG BROTHER BIG SISTER (in the house to recruit mentors!)

YOUTH ARTIST PROJECT (GIRLS AGES 2-14):
• ALAJAH
• AMOIR
• CANDACE
• DEE
• DIANE
• EMMA
• JADE
• KAIRA
• LACHLAN
• LUCY
• MIA
• MIRANDA
• NIA
• TESSA

FEMME CARTEL IS GIRLY/URBAN ARTS, SMARTS & COMMUNITY.

(history and more info)

Q: what is femme cartel?
A: Hot, local, boundary-pushing, emotionally-on fire, talented contemporary urban artists of all stripes…who happen to be females/femmes/girls/ladies.

Q: what kind of art?
A: 3D collage, oil paintings, fashion, sculpture, poetry, street art, edibles, writing, crafts, spoken word, dj arts, portraits, drawings, comedy, mixed media, graffiti art, video art, textile arts.

Q: what themes?
A: race/gender/sexuality/working women/globality/rebellion/soul-rockin’ true love/femmeness/power/sex/ urbanlife/crushes/intrigue/societal roles/fierceness/sweetness/connection/social justice/Oakland/politics/pop culture/queerness/questions/bliss/secrets/coming home/San Francisco/feminism/rising above/mothers/culture/finding ourSelves/girls/boys/rocking out/launching dreams/challenging authority/finding our bliss/honoring our ancestors/reaching for the stars/stumbling/inner battles/pure joy/dreamy connections…

Anyway.  In 2012 I’m going to try to figure out how to wing the 3-week work month.

Mixed media piece created for the PROKR8 show, opening First Friday @ Somär [1727 Telegraph Ave / Oakland].

Come by to see it up close and see if you can make any sense out of it.

more on the show

Each of 18 artists was given a slab of wood and the idea “procreate” to run with. We were also asked to share some words / thoughts on the process, and our take on procreation… here’s what spilled out:

and disclaimer: i’m a visual artist not a poet. just sayin.

procreation:
building and destroying
a love \ hate process
a constant shifting
a familiar restlessness
clinging and suspension in layers
getting lost and found,
wandering.

it’s therapy
,
a punching bag,
chalk and grit
,
blood and sand,
charcoal, gold dust,
and spilled ink.
it’s my ex-’s doubt
and his fist.
generations of ancestors
smirking in their graves.
it’s that idiot who never called
.
it’s them, lookin at me sideways
casting epic narrative wagers across my back
never thinking that maybe
i’m just shy, and sure
i’ve got issues
just like everyone else
and they are just as profane
and no less sacred than yours.

pro-creation happens in these dark hours.
in the shadows of dissatisfaction.

once in awhile –
i breathe, listen, pause
reflect, forgive, stay open
– trust, surrender –
and in those few moments of peace,
the drive to create dissipates.
somewhere between gasping, stretching,
sinking, and the exhale,
it’s gone.
anew,
anahata.
the desire and the craving,
replaced by clarity and compassion.
but mostly, we struggle.
whether mindfully with insight,
or furiously and clenched.
leaving tracks behind,
in wood, in ink, in metal, in paper.
the process comes from all the struggle,
reminds me of
 my weakness, 
my flaw,
my impatience, and imperfection,
and the courage to step up to meet it
over and over again.

trust,
surrender.

This amazing Group Show is built around the theme of creating, loving and loving what you create – Prokr8!

17 artists from different backgrounds and a wide range of styles — whom we literally BUMPed into, who were on the GRIND – exhibiting art and creating — were selected for the show because of their love, drive and contribution to the East Bay Arts.

Each artist was given a piece of wood and asked to create a work of art around the theme of Procreation – the instinctive need to procreate whether through art or life – which is necessary for survival.

And now finally the conception of our love!

Featured Artists:

• Jimi Evins
• Dickson Schneider
• Amanda Henderson
• K-Dub
• Kaya Fortune
• Joy Wu.Liu
• Ana Bravo
• Eesuu
• Marlon Sagana Ingram
• Anh Didi Bui
• Lisa Pisa
• Michael Orange
• Eric Murphy
• Kimlynh Engebretson Chun
• Bertrell Smith
• Maria Fatima Urbi
• Joanne Ludwig (featured artist and curator)

Please join in the celebration of art and the love for creating!

With Love,
ProKr8

Dear Artist,

During the last while I’ve been giving my two bits worth to several would-be painters. These folks are young, well educated and talented. They want to talk about the business of making art, the possibility of going to art school, their future in art. They also check my modest brain for what I might think galleries want, price points, popular sizes, that sort of thing.

While this is all very nice, I’ve glazed over a few times, and frankly told one of them to paint a hundred paintings and give me a call when she does. There was a significant silence on the other end of the phone–as if it was just around the corner that I might coach creativity into her. “Think of yourself as a factory,” I said. That was the end of that call.

Not many of us can be convinced that working in a factory is a lot of laughs. Being a factory may be even worse. But there’s something to be said for building one and getting into it.

Artist-wannabees need to find a physical place to be. For artists who think big and lofty, an unused loft in a rust-belt town might be the choice. But a factory can also be in a corner under basement stairs, or an easel at the bottom of a garden. Factory is a mental thing.

An art factory is a place where unmarked supports enter on one side, become caressed with the physical manifestation of human imagination, and are subsequently pushed out the other side. Whether these modified supports are commercially destined or not, it’s a process that needs to take place.

When the factory gets the steam up and things begin to happen, the worker becomes hooked. Also, as skills are learned, techniques defined and directions found, the place begins to look like a perpetual motion machine.

Theoretical folks don’t always understand that the factory itself turns its operator back into a student. The factory becomes a school. If you like the idea of do-it-yourself learning, and you are curious about what you might be able to do, a little private factory is one fine institution. If your factory starts small and gets productive, you’ll need a bigger factory. “Room service? Send up a larger room.” (Groucho Marx)

Best regards,

Robert

PS: “You need a room with no view so imagination can meet memory in the dark.” (Annie Dillard)

Esoterica: I often ask folks how much they like working on their own. Funnily, almost everyone says they love the idea. But when push comes to shove, many can’t go long without phoning somebody, or hanging out. It’s a distracting world. It may also have something to do with the interactive way kids are raised these days. Unless aspiring artists are particularly introverted or antisocial, it can be a struggle to achieve the full factory focus that creates proficiency. For some folks it only comes with maturity.