Day Jobs and Bringing Back the WPA's Federal Art Project

Hello, dear readers. It’s been a while. I have been working several day jobs until just a few weeks ago, and my blog posts have suffered. I would check into myself to think about what topics to write about, and I came up empty. All of my energy went towards my day jobs and survival, and I did not have much juice left to work on my creative projects. This is why we need to bring back a version of the Federal Art Project from the Works Progress Administration.

Some background: The Federal Art Project from the Works Progress Administration was a Great Depression-era program created by FDR. This program hired artists to create artworks for municipal buildings, hospitals, and schools, as well as theater and arts classes in underserved communities. The precedent of this program was the Mexican government’s support of muralists after the Mexican Revolution. It was seen as a way to build national pride and soothe the country’s psyche, also much needed in America during the Great Depression. Several well-known artists got their start in the WPA: Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Thomas Hart Benton, Dorothea Lange, and Jacob Lawrence, among many others.

WPA artists Helen Forbes and Dorothy Puccinelli in front of their mural for the San Francisco Zoo. (Photo from The Living New Deal.)

There were only two caveats to working in the program: no nudes and nothing overtly political. There were no requirements in style or ability. Artists were given studio spaces, materials, and a living wage. Roosevelt saw the arts as a true marker of democracy, where citizens could express themselves freely in any creative form. He wanted to bring culture and beauty to the average person, and change the perception of art as a luxury. He also believed it was the duty of the government to serve its citizens and lift them up. How revolutionary is that?

Imagine what the world would be like if artists and other creatives were able to create their work without financial insecurity, and the arts were valued as a necessary balm for trying times. What if the best parts of history were repeated and improved, in order to keep moving society forward? Imagine the places we would go!

Things Worth Your Attention, vol. 2

Dear readers, here is a list of things that I have been consuming lately that deserve more attention:

BOOKS
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
The 50th Law by Robert Greene and 50 Cent
These books actually have a few things in common. But first, Rachel Hollis is a mother of four, an author, event planner, a lifestyle blogger/influencer, a long distance runner, and a Christian. Robert Greene is the author of The 48 Laws of Power, which chronicles how historical figures used their gifts to rise to power. He also uses historical examples in his book with 50 Cent, who is a hustler cum rapper cum media mogul. I listened to book of these books via Audible and thoroughly enjoyed reading two books while driving. Audible is awesome!
So, what Rachel Hollis and 50 Cent have in common are the abilities to see opportunity in crisis and to imagine in concrete, specific detail big goals broken down into actionable steps.

Body Positive Power: Because Life Is Already Happening and You Don’t Need Flat Abs to Live It by Megan Jayne Crabbe
This is a must-read for anyone who has ever hated their body. Megan Jayne Crabbe exposes the diet and anti-aging industries lies about our bodies and our health. She promotes intuitive eating, Health At Every Size, self-love and kindness. I am currently reading this via my Kindle app on my iPad, so I’m not finished yet, but it has been mind blowing. Everyone deserves love and respect no matter what body they exist in.

TV
Queer Eye on Netflix
Jane the Virgin, also on Netflix
Queer Eye is the most uplifting, positive show I have ever seen. The Fab Five change lives so that whoever is nominated gets a fresh, fabulous start. The first two episodes were my favorite, but the goodness keeps coming in subsequent episodes as well. I haven’t made it through the first season yet, but I definitely will!
Jane the Virgin is an Americanized telenovela centered around Jane, who is saving herself for marriage, but gets accidentally artificially inseminated. It’s hilarious, heartwarming, romantic, and relatable. I am currently on season four and the show still delivers delight and surprise. Be warned, though: almost every episode ends on a cliffhanger!

MUSIC
Pray for the Wicked, Panic at the Disco
This album delivers both celebratory and sardonic vibes. On the one hand, the band made it, becoming a success after a lot of hard work and believing in a dream despite the world telling them to quit. On the other hand, you can’t trust anyone and the lifestyle can be full of empty pleasures. The literary and pop culture references are on point, and High Hopes is definitely a song to put on your playlist when you get down about not achieving your goals.

Swimming, Mac Miller
This recent album of the late rapper is a dreamscape of beats and poetry. You’ll want to listen to it while you’re creating artwork, driving, or staring out of a window at the rain. It’s chill, but jamming enough to make it hard to keep from nodding your head. Self Care is a favorite jam of mine. Speaking of Mac Miller, his previous album, The Divine Feminine, is not to be missed. It’s sexy, nasty, romantic, and features guest spots by Kendrick Lamar, Njomza, and CeeLo Green.

While I’ve been consuming all of these things, I have also been working on my coloring book. I have three pages left to illustrate before I send it off to get published. Stay tuned for the release date! :)

This month's recommendations

Hi, all!

This month, I would like to share some of the things that I have been enjoying so that you can check them out and add them to your entertainment repertoire.

1. Megan Kearney's Beauty and the Beast (http://www.batb.thecomicseries.com/)
If you love all things Beauty and the Beast, you will love this webcomic.  It takes all versions of the fairy tale and weaves its own mystery and character into it.  The language of plants and flowers begins each chapter, with Greco-Roman mythology and literature references sprinkled in throughout.  The chemistry between Beauty and Beast is palpable.  

2. R&Bieber playlist on Spotify
If you are a fan of good vocals, great lyrics, and guest spots, you will enjoy this playlist.   A while ago, I saw someone say something on Twitter about Justin Bieber's R&B album Journals being underrated. I finally looked up this playlist and was not disappointed.  With lyrics like "What's a king, babe, without a queen?" and "You don't have to make your mind up now/No rush/No pressure" you will be mid-swoon in no time.  Some of the songs are from earlier in his career and some more recent, but most are great.

3. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truths Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan
This book describes how to develop mastery in whatever field you're in by focusing on ONE Thing first, then allowing the rest of your day to fall into place.  Many of the authors' points are illustrated with bare bones illustrations that hit home.  They recommend planning your breaks first, then the ONE Thing, then the rest of your day.  Taking care of yourself first leads to more productivity.  The main takeaways: One step at a time, build good habits into your lifestyle, and mastery will follow from concentrated effort.  Great for creatives or anyone who wants to be successful in their field.

That's it for today!  As I've been reading and listening to these things, I've also been working on my alphabet coloring book.  I was on the letter N, but skipped ahead to V because I needed to draw some violets while they were in their prime.  Now I am working my way backwards to N before I jump forwards to WXYZ.  I've been thoroughly enjoying illustrating each page, and I can't wait to show you when I'm done.  You can see some of the pages on my Instagram @jenisforlove.  

Tips for Nervous Flyers

Hello, all!  Summer 'tis upon us and with summer comes air travel for many people.  With the people I've talked to on flights, typically everyone is hoping we stay safely in the air.  So, you're not alone if you're a nervous flyer!  It's totally normal to be anxious!  I've only met one or two people in my lifetime who think absolutely nothing about sitting in a chair 37,000 feet above the ground.  I myself stay on high alert the whole time I am in flight, so that I can keep the plane in the air with my thoughts!  On my recent flights this summer, however, I flew armed with a "Relaxation for Panic Attacks when Flying" script from my therapist (http://www.innerhealthstudio.com/panic-attacks-when-flying.html), and it gave me some tools to cope with my anxiety and the confidence to finally say that I might be able to relax more on many flights to come.

Here are 10 tips from the script and from me (towards the end):

1. Focus on relaxing your whole body with focused attention on each part of it, especially the movement of your stomach as you inhale and exhale.

2. Acknowledge all the scary thoughts you have about flying and how they make you feel, then wave them goodbye as you focus on more positive and constructive thoughts.

3.  Repeat to yourself that you are safe and that you are A-OK.  Everything is copacetic.

4. Imagine a happy place down to the very last detail.

5. Imagine yourself arriving at your destination.  How happy, relaxed, and victorious you are: you faced your fears and did the scary thing!

6. Activate the right side of your brain through drawing every detail you see or coloring in a coloring book.

7. Read a book that you've been excited about reading.

8. Talk to your neighbors.

9. Meditate on the wonder that is your hand.  Really think about and appreciate every detail.

10. Listen to music that makes you laugh with happiness, sing along (silently), or dance in your seat.  Here are a few songs on my playlist that invoke positive vibes for me:

Na-NaNa-Na--Nelly
As Long As You Love Me--Justin Bieber
If I Ain't Got You--Alicia Keys
Move Along--The All-American Rejects
Rockin' the Suburbs--Ben Folds
Work It Out (Radio Edit)--Beyonce'
Gotta Have You--The Weepies (helps me picture a happy place where I'm lying on my back in a blue boat, humming a tune. :) )

So there you have it, Nervous Flyers!  Take the scary thing by the horns and remember, if you hit rough air or turbulence, know that it is a natural result of flying through the sky!  Everything is okay!

Mental Health Awareness Week

Hello, all!  This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and I just wanted to say hi and let everyone know that if you need it, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the USA is 1.800.273.8255.  There is help!  Things can change, and as I am slowly realizing, often for the better.  

If someone you love or know has a mental health diagnosis, let them know that you're there for them no matter what.  Emotional supports are incredibly important for recovery, and knowing that you're there means a lot.

Let's keep spreading the word that mental health is just as important as physical health!  Life is a marathon; let's support each other!  

To MFA or not to MFA? (Visual Artists)

So, I was thinking about how at around this time two years ago I was preparing my materials to apply to grad schools, and I decided to write this post.  I have heard mixed reviews from people about the MFA programs they have attended, and ultimately I think that it just depends on the readiness, drive, and goals of the individual and whether one's MFA program meshes with these characteristics.  How to know if you are ready, though?  Here is a list of questions to ask yourself:

1. Do I love to learn?  If not, obviously more education is not for you.

2. Do I know who I am as a person?  Am I comfortable with that?  If you don't know thyself, you're gonna have a bad time.  

3. Am I confident in my abilities and ideas?  Critiques are an integral part of the artistic process.  You will have to present your work to your peers and professors for their feedback.  You will have to defend the choices that you've made to serve your ideas.  So be ready to advocate for yourself, but stay open to different perspectives for the next question.  

4. Can I analyze information for what is useful to me?  With critiques, you receive vital feedback.  With coursework and research, you will receive oodles of information.  The trick is to filter out what you can apply to your work and practice, and what you cannot.  

5. Am I self-disciplined enough to work diligently and independently?  Typically in MFA programs, you are allowed the freedom to pursue your own ideas.  You do not typically receive assignments for your studio practice, and no one is there to make sure you are working.

6.  Do I want to be a professional?  The MFA is the terminal degree for Visual Arts, so it qualifies you to work in a variety of institutions.  It does not, however, guarantee you a job.  There are many people with MFAs.  One of the most vital things I have learned in my program is that you must create your own opportunities to set yourself apart from the crowd.  You might just discover another career track besides teaching at a university or working in a museum.  

Other vital things I have learned are for another post.  ;)  Happy MFA program hunting!

Book Review: Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland

Art & Fear: Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of ARTMAKING by David Bayles & Ted Orland is for anyone who has considered making art but has been held back by insecurity, as well as anyone who has been making art for a while and needs encouragement.  The questions that guided the creation of the book:

"Do artists have anything in common with each other?  How do artists become artists?  How do artists learn to work on their work?  How can I make work that will satisfy me?  Why do so many who start, quit?" (p. 114)

My favorite thing about this book is that it releases artmakers in any media--whether visual, musical, literary, etc--from comparison with giants of the past.  Yes, Michelangelo was a freak genius, as was Mozart, the authors' favorite example.  But does that mean we mere mortals should never sing, never paint, never write?  Of course not.  We should make what we want to make using our own unique perspective.  

I have picked out five quotes from this book that spoke to me just to give you an impression of the treasures to be found inside Art & Fear:

1. "In a sense, habits are style. The unconsidered gesture, the repeated phrasing, the automatic selection, the characteristic reaction to subject matter and materials--these are the very things we refer to as style...Style is not an aspect of good work, it is an aspect of all work.  Style is the natural consequence of habit." (p.103)

2. "If you teach, you know that you gain as much from the interchange as do your students...Teaching is part of the process of being an artist." (p.83)

3. "...each link in the arts network has a vested interest in defining its own role as fundamental and necessary." (p. 70)

4. "In making art you court the unknown, and with it the paranoia of those who fear what change might bring...Each new piece of your art enlarges our reality. The world is not yet done." (p. 68-69)

5. "The hardest part of artmaking is living your life in such a way that your work gets done, over and over--and that means, among other things, finding a host of practices that are just plain useful. A piece of art is the surface expression of a life lived within productive patterns." (p. 61)

*Bonus Quote* "When Columbus returned from the New World and proclaimed the earth was round, almost everyone else went right on believing the earth was flat.  Then they died--and the next generation grew up believing the world was round.  That's how people change their minds." (p. 57)

So if you would like to read a book written by artists for artists, that provides context for how art gets made and received by the world, I strongly recommend this short, sweet gem.  Happy reading, and happy making!  

Whew, that was a hectic few months. Here's what's going on now.

Just started my second semester at Indiana University of Pennsylvania!  I'm taking Painting, Drawing, and Graduate Studio Critique. I am excited about all of them. For painting, we have to have a binder of 70 art historical/other images that influence our work.  We have to write a proposal for what we intend to accomplish through painting this semester.  I recently wrote an artist statement for a show in Louisiana and in it I stated that I believe that art is a documentation of an artist's experience with and ideas of a particular time and place.  So in my proposal I am going to say that I am documenting my life as it is now and as it was.  Common themes will be me doing things accompanied by my dog, dating and relationships, and serious events that have shaped me into who I am.  I will use a simplified, flat, yet realistic style like in the painting of Bella and me that I painted for my mom over Christmas break.  I have to have 14 paintings completed by the end of the semester.

In Drawing, we have to have 10 drawings per three credit hours, so that means 20 drawings for me.  I plan to continue to work on my graphic novel, my brother's graphic short story, and screen printing life events on soft storytelling objects.  (Printmaking is included in the Drawing department here.)

In Graduate Studio Critique, it's all about our experiences and how our research shapes the work that we create.  We're doing "field work" to gather fodder for our artistic endeavors.  Everything is a possible source for inspiration.  The point is to go and do and make!

It's going to be a busy semester.  I can't wait to see what I make.  In the Interlude between moving back for the semester and starting class, though, I did get the chance to watch Netflix's Jessica Jones and Narcos.  Both are great.  I will probably rewatch Jessica Jones as soon as I'm done with Narcos, which is going to take me a while longer now that school is back in session.  I also watched the Tribeca Film Festival Choice Goodbye to All That on Netflix.  It was great.  It gave me a whole new perspective on dating.  In it, Otto Wall, the main character, goes through a divorce and jumps right back into the dating pool.  It's funny and genuine and good.  I've watched it several times already.  Now to build my watch list as I make all the art!