#yes i took some creative liberties with their child designs

[robotbeetle]

Wyllstarion au where they meet at 13 and Astarion’s dream became a bit true (they are still doomed).

This is also in reference to this post. I’m imagining for this au to make sense, Astarion is human but still under Cazador’s grasp. Somewhat similar to Victoria where Cazador has a unspecific ‘little plan’ for him. For the moment, Cazador parades Astarion as his son for publicity reasons I suppose. Wyll is relatively the same.

For angst purposes, I also imagine Wyll still makes Mizora’s pact and gets exiled. Then shortly after his exile, Astarion is officially made a spawn and they’re only reunited post-tadpolization. Doesn't that tie in nicely :)

[yoonyia]

quick sketches of characters from the enderverse. Tell me who I should quick sketch next and who I should do a full piece or comic of :D

if you have any questions regarding design choices please free feel to ask ^^

these are all vaguely based off of the books description but since there isn't much I took a lot of creative liberties.

this book means so much to me and it's characters are all so interesting to imagine. Often times I imagine ender as his child self, yes he matured and yes he's not the same solider that killed the buggers that I fell face first into but he, like the other characters call out, never really changes. Aspects of his outer shell changes but at the heart he has always been the same person. And often times I see this kid about 6 or 12 walking with these adults and talking about such big problems and it makes me so much more invested. All these characters are so much more younger compared to ender but they all grew and changed that they all feel older. And sometimes while reading xenoxide I keep seeing all the kids being grown up and I see flashes of scenes where they just look like kids again. These books are so uncomfortably human and so personally draining that it's one of the few books that made me cry with real sorrow for a lost of character. Not just pity not just sadness at missed opportunities. Litteral loss of people who felt like friends. Some who felt like myself ripped out of my head and left to be free. Worries, hatred, world view all of it. But the story I picked up this book to read is over. And the stories that are left are just pieces and scraps of how this person I spent a whole lifetime with affected others. We often forget that a few hours or maybe days of our lives, gives us enough time to read entire lifetimes. And I wish this book was truly good, that behind it it had all the best intentions. That it's not a trick.

a quote from Andrei Linde

"what if I believe in this just because it's beautiful"

and I drive myself insane that such a unloving cruel person could write something and beautiful as this. That I only believe in it because of the beauty, that I overlook all the flaws and horrible claims just because it marvels me, impresses me, that I'm just a person looking at a trick of the light...

[dementedfilament]

Redacted - Non-Listener OCs

Annnd here are some non-listener characters! Most of which are siblings to the listeners, others just random ones that popped up through a tumultuous series of headcanons. A couple of these don’t have picrews and have actual drawings I made of them that are decent.

Lilia - Baaabe’s little step-sister

- The Sass in child form, Lilia has far too much confidence, and her youth is the only thing keeping her from being the heartbreaker that picks fights at the bar. She loves being with her brother and his boyfriend, and loves to sleep with shifted, fluffy Asher. Even more than that though, she loves teasing her brother by calling him a “Monsterfucker”.

She has a traumatic memory of being attacked by dogs a few years prior, but being near Ash and his therapeutic efforts has helped her work through it. Emmanuel is worried that Lilia’s brashness comes from trying to bottle up her feelings and cope with her chaotic home situation, but he’s not sure what to do about it other than try to be there for her when she needs him.

This kinda came up during the Inversion fic, but she has a tiny crush on Angie.

Aarush Prasad, “Angel” - Sweetheart’s younger brother 

- Chrys’s younger brother. They don’t spend too much time together, but talk often. He works as a stripper under the stage name “Angel”. I don’t have a whole lot on him other than the fact that he exists, since he doesn’t tend to show up much. I also admittedly have a shameless “crossover” OC of mine that he dates for a short time, but that character is from a totally different story.

And yes, I have absolutely thought of how funny it would be if this were David’s “Angel”. I don’t remember how his stage name came about though.

Vivianne “Ava” - Blake’s younger sister

- A powerful dreamwalker on Chrys’s team. Also serves as a flippant, yet slightly sadistic, interrogator. She hasn’t been in contact with Blake for several years, and they weren’t generally too close beforehand anyways. However, as her team delves further into their investigation of CloseKnit, she's beginning to wonder if Blake might be involved. She and her brother are about equal in power.

While I like the “Blake and Elliot are brothers” theory, this character came up through a very strange series of headcanons and I just decided to roll with it, let me live okay-

There is technically a third character that Ava and Chrys are close friends with on their team, but I haven’t really thought on him much yet because I...didn’t really expect myself to commit to making Ava a “character” at all, lmao.

This picrew doesn’t actually come with these colours btw! I took some creative liberties after putting her design together, recoloring some things and made a tiny edit to the hair. My image of Blake actually comes from a specific user on here, so the colours being similar is no coincidence///

Kieran - Chrys and Ava’s partner

This is obviously a future update, but I found a picrew that could do member 3 justice, and I found a name for him! Though I don’t know if there’s ever going to be powers of light/darkness, Kieran’s ability is to manipulate shadows. So he’s a...Shadowwalker? Darkness Elemental? (Since we’re staying away from -mancer terms. Also like the term “Voidwalker”, thanks google.)

Though Kieran isn’t as powerful as his companions, his strength comes from his knowledge of his own abilities. Both parents possessed the same, and have been teaching him how to hone his for as long as he can remember. Thus, he can be a pretty formidable opponent to those who dare cross him.

Despite that, he’s actually a big sweetheart, and is arguably the gentlest of the trio. He’s often the one to remind Chrys and Ava to take care of themselves when they dive into their work too much (or to tell Ava to not be too brutal to the suspects they pull in).

Unlike Chrys and Ava, he doesn’t really have much of a side-plot for himself, and just serves as “the third of the trio”. However, I do kinda want him to meet Lasko for some reason.

Kalila Solaire - 2nd Progeny of William Solaire

- The 2nd princess of the Solaire clan. She and Will met after he approached her in a train station, noticing she was nervous about something and striking up a conversation to calm her down. He decided to turn her after she nearly died in a terrible train accident the same day. After her turning, she’s generally known as the clan cinnamon roll, but seems to have a slightly unhinged side to her.

She works directly under Will, assisting him with many of his daily tasks. I still haven’t decided on her “power”, but I’ve figured that she may have been a Freelancer before turning, hence why she can use different kinds of magic and no I am denying that she’s a mary sue and that I’m bad at writing, lmao.

As of the events of Inversion - Another Story, she has yet to awaken from her coma. I actually have numerous branching storylines with the vamps, but the IAS and Yours in Eternity, My Dearest branch is the one I’m focusing on rn. Maybe one day I’ll write other ones I toy around with. (I have a huge bias for vampires if you haven’t noticed yet aha-)

Ryder

[No image]

- Frederick’s boyfriend. They reunited after Fred’s turning, when Fred learned that Ryder was also living in the world of magic. He was confused as to why Briar hated him so much, but they have since worked out their “differences” and the three of them get along quite well now.

He was actually only supposed to be a five-second mention in A Very Merry Rebirthday, but when I wrote IAS, I kinda wanted to connect the fics together, which meant that Ryder would probably be involved. I only have a vague idea of what he looks like, but I enjoyed writing him. His little portion with Xavier in IAS was both unexpected and one of my favourite parts. There were a lot of scenes I wish I could have expanded on or outright added without sacrificing the pacing of the fic, and more time with Xavier and Ryder is definitely something I wish I could have written more.

Maisie Collins - Sam’s niece

- The last time Sam saw her was when she was a baby, but now she’s an energetic young woman. She’s somewhat of an AU character because I’m a dip and I forgot how long Sam has been turned for, but I’ve already shattered canon with a 10-foot hammer, so I’ve been keeping her around.

I don’t have much to say about her (yet) outside of just being a young girl from the countryside. She was kidnapped and tortured by Quinn to taunt Sam and lure Willow into a trap. I have more plans to expand on this little Quinn-venture that’s happening in the background, and actually ties into another fic I really like that someone else made, but I’m not quite there yet...

: ^ )

This was another picrew I made specifically for this post, as I actually made her in another dressup game originally. I tried my best to capture the absolute chaos that was in the og image, and this is the closest picrew I could find in a very half-assed search that could do her hair properly.

Chelsie Morris, “Chels” by some - Kody’s twin sister

- A K-pop lover that is far too sweet to her brother, whom she emphasizes to that she’s the older twin just to annoy him. She’s dealing with the aftermath of an abusive relationship, but still has her life together more than Kody does. She’s also kind of a party girl and loves to go out and have fun when she has time. I’m not sure if I capture it, but she gives off Sorority Girl vibes despite never going to college.

She offered Kody to stay at her place after the Incident™, and is trying to keep him in therapy. She’s fighting her own demons, but is trying her best to be there for her brother and sway him to follow a better path in life.

The Kody’s Redemption Arc series is still ongoing, I just haven’t gotten around to finishing the next few parts. Even though it’s a bit easier now, it’s still hard for me to write Kody and I just haven’t wanted that in my life for a while, lol.

Alrescha

- A sort of AU character where Avior and Stella get absorbed by the Meridian, and this demon is born from their magic. He has vague, hazy dreams where he can hear Avior and Stella talking, but can’t see them or hear their names. He doesn’t know anything about them, but wants to figure out why he’s having the dreams and if he can save the people who seem to have been in danger. He’s friends with Gavin, who’s been aiding his endeavors to find them.

I took some creative liberties with this picrew too, since I already had a specific idea of him in mind from the fic he came from.

I actually don’t really headcanon this character much, since that means Avior and Stella are gone forever, lol. Recently though, I’ve been wondering if maybe this could follow a distant time in an IAS “Cora dies, Huxley lives” route, which is why Gavin seems to be on his own in The Cord. The actual reason he doesn’t mention Cora is because I wasn’t sure how long it would take for a demon to be born after they get absorbed (assuming that that’s even possible...), but if it’s fairly quickly, then hey! Story continuation! Whoo ✨

Giovanni - The Solaire Clan’s librarian

A calm and patient man, he was mentioned in YiEMD a few times. He was stated to have had his desire to tend to their library collection reignited after Kalila began to visit so frequently.

He’s a fairly old vampire, along with his sister, Amalia, who were turned around the same time by someone outside Will’s social circle. Amalia had met a man she fell in love with but didn’t realize that he lured her and her brother into a trap until it was too late. They were both tortured until another vamp saved and turned them, but ultimately wasn’t a good person either, and betrayed them as well. Giovanni killed their maker and vowed to protect his sister from then on out.

When Will found the two, Amalia could barely fend for herself, and her brother was near-feral. However, he managed to convince them to stay with him for a while, and eventually came to the deal to tend to the clan library. It took some time for Giovanni to adjust to the other people that slowly joined the clan, but he eventually became comfortable around them, and loves curating the library for each new face that shows up in their territory.

Amalia - Giovanni’s younger sister, Bright Eye’s Lover

See backstory above.

Amalia is a sweet and gentle young woman, now capable of combat thanks to Will’s teachings. However, unlike her brother who wishes to stay in one safe place, Amalia’s wanderlust never subsided even after everything that happened to them. Once her brother was comfortable enough with it, she began leaving on long trips around the world, bringing back new books for the library if she finds some.

Soon after returning from her latest trip, it was mentioned in YiEMD that she's in a secret romantic relationship with Briar. As of now, Giovanni has no idea that the two have been sneaking out together, since Amalia doesn’t know how he’ll handle the news. Will pulled Amalia aside and spoke with her about it, and promised to keep the secret until she felt her brother was ready to hear it, but did still inform her that he needs to know eventually.

Hestia - Cult leader of The Children of Echo

A somewhat AU meta character, Hestia has been haunted by the voice of our favourite 4th-wall-breaking menace, Echo. She doesn’t know who he’s addressing, but assumes he must be some sort of god-like entity and worships him believing he helps reign over their world. She also believes that her hearing his voice means she’s a “chosen” one, and she must carry out duties in attempt to appease him.

In the fic The Children of Echo, the reader is another such character that can hear Echo’s voice, and goes to meet Hestia to see what her weird cult is all about. She acts mysterious and confident, but is actually rather lonely and struggles with the conflict of whether Echo’s voice is real or something her brain makes up. Meeting the reader gets her confidence back up majorly, with the confirmation that everything that’s led up to that meeting hasn’t been for naught.

I don’t know if I’ll keep this character around in my personal Redacted Fanverse or not. I thought about maybe making her a background character here and there, and maybe she hands out flyers to spread her “message” or whatever at some point. idk, but she’s adorable and I’m glad she got to debut in her own little fic ✨

Lucas - Darlin’s babysitter

Another AU character, this time from the “vamps can have kids and Willow had Quinn’s” one in particular. Lucas is really sweet and soft-spoken, and while I’m not sure if I portrayed it well, he's also autistic. His older sister, which is a part of Quinn’s gang, thought it’d be safer for him to stay with any other group of people, so she left him with the Shaw Pack one day when they were in town. they don’t talk much given the nature of his sister’s association with Quinn, but she cares a lot about him, and thinks their distance is what’s best for them both.

In Branch, Like a Tree, Willow had contacted him to babysit for her, having known him prior through his sister and knowing he could keep her secret. However, with no one else to turn to, she continued to call him over for help. He doesn’t mind though, and enjoys seeing Willow, which is the last remnant he has of his sister, and taking care of her cute little baby.

Kind of random, but I feel like his personal hobbies include baking, and interests include osteology.

Lyra - Lucas’s Older Sister

I do actually have a picrew for the sis too! Which was kind of an accident...but still. Lucas’s sister is pretty brash and aggressive, but has a soft spot for her brother in particular. She and Willow kind of had a thing going before Willow started dating Quinn. I don’t have a name for her yet because idk if she’ll ever really exist outside of an idea and an accidental picrew, but if she’s ever brought up again, here she be.

[UPDATE] ...She has a name now, lmfao. Didn’t think she’d get more appearances, but here we are.

Dana - A ghost from Vincent’s past

[insert info here]

[xx-flowerfker69-xx]

So uhh… I decided to add more characters to the semi-ironic Evillious Chronicles x Undertale AU (Evillioustale? Underchronicles?)

Whether they'll become an angel Or an insane familiar That depends on you standing before their eyes

The Master of the Heavenly Yard brings atonement; this will show the way to Utopia

A follow up to the Master of the court Sans sketch I made a while ago

Here are some sketches w/ color. Sorry guys, I’m honestly dropping my quality lately, I’m not in the zone, hell, I didn’t even want to make an effort to draw hands and paws.

Explanations will be given after the “keep reading” thingy

Warning: spoilers for both Undertale and EC ahead

Master of the heavenly yard: Asriel Dreemurr

Design wise: Here I took a lot of creative freedom for the design, a mix between that one pic of the MoTHY/Behemo? from the back with a coat and inspiration from different outfits from characters who are royalty such as Kyle Marlon and Arth with a pinch of Allen. I wanted to make an outfit that looks like it could definitely belong in the EC universe. The color scheme is based on his robe, but I paired it with a black coat because it looked nice. Yes, he is an adult, if you were wondering. I kept the God of Hyper death horns because they looked cool, mostly.

Why x as x: in the true pacifist ending Asriel breaks the barrier achieving the monster’s biggest dream, going to the surface. I interpreted this as a Heavenly ending where utopia was achieved. I also thought of making him a twin god instead of frisk, but decided no to. After all, I realized that in order to make this work one would need to take a lot of creative liberties and diverge heavily from both the undertale and EC canon, specially in the EC character assignment/ reincarnation aspect.

Hänsel & Gretel: Chara & Frisk

Design wise: very straight forward yet controversial. Before some of you try to cancel me, and I’ve done more questionable things anyways, I want to specify that I’m non-binary myself. That being said, Chara having a dress doesn’t make them a girl, I use and love dresses myself. Injust wanted to make obvious which twin they were. I originally thought of giving both of them the Hänsel outfit, or having them both with their hair down so they didn’t look like the OG Hänsel and Gretel (as in the EC ones) with a different color palette. In the end, I decided to respect the original designs but have them both with their regular hairstyles as well as change the color scheme to fit them. The glass bottle is now a golden heart.

Why x as x: Chara being the first fallen human in my mind translated to the beginning of the story and Frisk is the one who takes the journey and depending on your actions you can make them end the story in various different ways, so they end the story. Also, at the end of the genocide route, if you want to continue playing you have to give Frisk’s souls to the first fallen human and they, so to speak, create a new world, which reminds me of the line “To birth something you have to kill…” in the song Creation Girl Gretel; Therefore, for me it fits that they could be irregular twins. Chara would be the “Creation girl” (Creation child in this case) just like Gretel and Frisk would be the “Ending boy” (Ending child in this case) just like Hänsel. So yeah, they are irregular twins heavily based on Hänsel and Gretel. But another important question arises, if they are Hänsel and Gretel, that means they are failed vessels for the twin gods. I’m still working on making that make sense, but I do have a couple of ideas. Who are their real parents and their “real parents”? Also working on that. Though Toriel as Eve and Asgore as Adam appeals to me.

At this point I do have more ideas for other characters, mainly Master of the Hellish Yard Undyne. But, yeah, enjoy this I guess.

[dakotacrisis]

Pig Nose AU!

Also known as the Penelope AU. Also a thinly disguised Beauty and the Beast AU. Also known as My-Ancestors-Fucked-Up-So-I’m-Paying-For-It AU

Just a blatant rip off of the 2000′s film Penelope with a few creative liberties.

Years ago great-great-great-great grandaddy Graham de Vanily fell in love and got a servant in their household pregnant.

The family was like ‘ew, you can’t marry a poor girl. marry this rich noble lady instead.’

‘but i love my poor servant baby mama!’

‘too fucking bad. you want your inheritance then you gonna do as we say!’

So he marries the noble lady and servant that got spurned is sent away from the house never to be seen again. Our poor pregnant lady is obviously pissed about all of this so decides to curse the Graham de Vanily line. Since appearances meant so much to this family then the next son of Graham de Vanily blood will be born with the face of a pig and that the curse may only be broken when the child can be ‘accepted by one of their own kind’.

The family of course shrugs her off but lives in fear for the next couple generations that they will end up giving birth to a pig faced boy.

Despite all probability no one does. They have all girls.

Finally we get to modern day and the latest daughter of the Graham de Vanily house, Emilie, marries a man named Gabriel Agreste. Shortly there after they get pregnant and end up having the first boy in generations.

‘he’s healthy happy...oh dear.’ Gabriel gazed at the crying baby in the doctor’s arms.

‘what?’ Emilie visibly exhausted and emotional

‘you know how you said that your family had a superstition about having sons?’

‘yeah?’

‘it’s not just a superstition. he’s got pig ears and a snout and a tail--oh wait no, that’s just his wee-wee. we’re fine. just a nose and ears.’

‘our son has a pig face! this is not fine!’

they ask the doctor if anything can be done but it turns out there is an artery flowing through the snout that makes removal impossible.

‘so...this is not ideal.’

‘no fucking shit Gabe!’ Emilie is bawling ‘what are we gonna do? i don’t want people gawking at our son like he’s some kind of freak. it’s not his fault my great-great-whatever grandpa pissed off a pregnant witch.’

‘i have an idea’

‘please tell me it isn’t overly dramatic’

‘we fake his death and raise him in secret until he’s old enough for the curse to be broken.’

‘...’

‘so is that a yes?’

'WE ARE NOT DOING THAT!’

They took little pig boy Adrien Agreste home and kept him hidden as best they could from the press. It wasn’t until a very nosy reporter went so far as to break into the house to try and get a picture of the baby did the parents decide to take drastic action.

‘i think it is time we got a bodyguard for Adrien.’

‘i agree.’ Emilie sighed, ‘but that won’t be enough. no matter what people aren’t going to stop clamoring for Adrien.’

‘are you saying--’

‘we can fake his death. there’s a secluded mansion far from here that we can raise him in with no one being the wiser.’

‘YES!’

‘you are way too excited about faking your sons death.’

‘the drama tho! there is not gonna be a dry eye in the house when i give my eulogy.’

‘we’re doing this for Adrien’s sake! remember that you dramatic nut!’

One fake funeral and cremation of good measure the Agreste’s moved away to a nice mansion to secretly raise Adrien. They hired a bodyguard as an extra precaution to make sure he wasn’t seen by anyone outside the grounds.

Eighteen years go by and Adrien wants out of the house bad! Despite his parents trying their best to raise him normally never having any actual friends kinda sucks.

The good news is that he is old enough that they can work on breaking the curse which the family interpreted as ‘being loved by someone of noble birth’ or some bs like that.

So they set up a system to bring girls to the mansion to get to know Adrien without ever seeing his face. To this end they also hire a renowned matchmaker named, Nathalie, to help pick girls she thinks Adrien would be compatible with. Then when Adrien thinks that they have enough of a connection he reveals his face to them.

The results always end in the girls high-tailing it out of the mansion before being stopped by the body guard and taken back to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

One day Adrien is talking to this girl, Chloe. They’ve had quite a few meetings and Chloe desperately wants to see what Adrien looks like.

‘oh please won’t you come out my Adrikins! i want to see what you look like.’

Adrien hoping for the best but braced for the inevitable steps into the room with Chloe revealing his piggy snout and floppy pig ears.

‘hiya Chloe!’

‘NOPE!’ Chloe nopes out of there so fast that the body guard isn’t able to catch her and she makes it home without signing the non-disclosure agreement.

Adrien’s parents who have been watching the meetings via a security cam in the next room sigh as another girl runs for the hills. When the body guard informs them that Chloe got away Emilie is smacking her head against the table.

‘i told you we should have them sign the document before meeting him.’

Adrien comes in and sits down next to his family.

‘i’m not even surprised anymore.’

‘it’s okay, sweetie.’ his mom assures him, ‘we’ll find the right girl.’

‘what if there is no right girl? every girl i meet runs away. it’s never going to change.’

Adrien locks himself in his room to brood and sulk about his unfortunate circumstance.

Meanwhile Chloe is blowing up her social media by telling everyone that the quiet but prominent family, the Agreste’s have a pig faced secret son. Everyone calls her a loon except for one blogger that fully believes that Adrien Agreste is alive and has a pig face.

The girls get in touch and it is revealed the blogger, Alya, has a mom that got seriously injured and arrested for trying to expose the Agreste’s secret. Alya is now obsessed with it so to prove her mom’s suspicions right and teams up with Chloe to expose the truth.

‘you don’t think i’m crazy?!’ Chloe is taken aback.

‘my mama got clubbed with a surprisingly sharp stiletto trying to prove the Agreste kid was a pig. trust me when i say i believe you.’

Here Alya and Chloe come across a designer named Marinette who is struggling to make rent. They promise her a large sum of cash if she can infiltrate the Agreste mansion and get a picture of Adrien.

‘i don’t know.’ Marinette steps away from them, ‘this all sounds really gross and underhanded.’

‘i can give you rent for the next five years if you do this.’ Chloe says.

‘so do these dates have a dress code or what should i wear?’ Marinette doesn’t like the idea of manipulating this guy but rent needs paid and working part-time in a bakery is not covering the bills. And who knows. Maybe this Adrien guy will turn out to be pretty cool.

[cunyappliedtheatreblog]

Countdown Profile: Week 4 Alexis Jemal (’21)

Alexis Jemal, JD, LCSW, PhD, clinical faculty member at Hunter’s Silberman School of Social Work, and member of the MA in Applied Theatre class of 2021, talks with Michael Wilson (’11) about her hunger for justice, finding applied theatre, and how she’s just getting started. 

Okay, we’re recording 

The first thing I want to put out there is that I don’t have all the answers or know how all these pieces fit together. I consider this journey to be a work in progress. That’s how I’ve always led my life and have ended up where I am today. It may sound, I don’t know how it will sound at the end, whether it seems it all fits together… 

I’m a many-interested person myself, from anthropology to theatre, and now photography. There’s a connective logic I feel intuitively, but it might not look like it from the outside. I do believe that we attract passionate, interdisciplinary people to the program. 

Exactly. 

I welcome that complexity. 

It is complexity! Which I have found not always welcome or understood. Even in my doctorate program, for example, they’re trying to fit you in a box. They’re trying to say who you are as a researcher. Do you do this, do you do that?

 At first, I started out in law, because I wanted to help people. The main message in my personal statement for law school was: “stealing bread is wrong, whether it’s done by the king or the man living beneath the bridge.” I had read this passage in a sociology textbook. That made me think about inequity, and how, well, the king will never be prosecuted for stealing bread…

I went to law school because I wanted to be an advocate for the man, woman, child, person who lives under the bridge. I loved law school. But then I had a bunch of internships at places, like in the chambers of a Federal District Judge, at the New York Civil Liberties Union, at MFY Legal Services in New York that provides legal services to indigent people, and the Public Defender’s Office in my home county in New Jersey. And I kept seeing injustice after injustice after injustice. A person who is getting evicted from their house, yes, you could help them not be evicted, legally, but that wouldn’t help with their mental health issues, or their substance abuse issues. It wouldn’t help with the trauma they’ve experienced in their family history, or the macro sociopolitical issues that are harming them.

 So I figured, social work is where I really want to go. I ended up first working at this place at Rutgers called the Center for Behavior Health Services and Criminal Justice Research. That’s when I learned I was interested in research, because we were testing psychosocial interventions within the women’s prison in New Jersey. I was really seeing the intersection [between] the intrapersonal, interpersonal, the mezzo, the macro…everything was interacting. I thought, this is what I want to do. I want to be on the frontlines but I also want to be a researcher. I was one of two students that were admitted to the first PhD MSW program that Rutgers started—one foot in front of the other, the stars just kind of aligned… In my doctorate program, I was not planning to go into a professorship. I wanted to do more the non-profit route. But I began to consider how going into social work education could be advocacy in a way that I get to help shape future social workers. I could be that change that I want to see in social work.

 Thank you for sharing that. I’m inspired by that.

 It all intersects. To me, social workers have no excuse. We are the only field, as far as I know, to have an ethical mandate to address oppression. When any social injustice occurs, we should be the first responders. Instead, we’re trying to be psychologists, or something. 

Technically, at Silberman School of Social Work, I am clinical faculty. I get to, in my class, bring the message of how clinical work and social justice need to be integrated and practiced. Like: “I get it, you guys want to go out and you want do therapy, but you will be interacting with multiple systems, and there’s no way around it. So how are you going to practice with an anti-oppressive lens?”

 So that’s the teaching. I’m also a researcher, right? My interventions are always grounded in critical theory, liberation health models, restorative justice-type practices. They’re always about developing critical consciousness. 

For my dissertation, I wanted to create a scale of Paolo Freire’s critical consciousness. As a doctoral student I was developing an intervention called Community Wise, that’s grounded in critical consciousness theory. Community Wise is a group intervention, it’s fifteen two-hour weekly sessions, for people who were recently released from incarceration. It’s supposed to reduce HIV STI risk, criminal reoffending, psychological distress, and substance use. And it’s grounded in critical consciousness theory, meaning that we have these critical dialogues, and we have capacity building projects, where the participants work on some type of project together. 

The theory is called transformative potential: a scale of critical consciousness. The heart of the theory is that…when people [social workers] design interventions, like substance abuse interventions, they’re trying to get these people to use substances less, but really, what we’re arguing, is substance abuse is a symptom. It is not the issue. The issue is oppression. If we can find ways to get at the root of the issue, then substance use will decrease.

 And there’s the Freirian piece: you’re there to challenge people to develop critical consciousness, that’s about reading the world.

 Exactly. We’ve all been socialized to blame the individual. The participants have been socialized that way, as well. “When I come out of prison I should be able to get a job, I should be able to do this…I have all these skills, I have all these certificates.” And it’s like, “dangit, you don’t need another certificate. What you need is for people to stop discriminating against you and give you a job!” 

One of the questions I ask people sometimes is, “could you have done everything right and still things have gone wrong?” And the answer is, well, “yes.” And that tells you it can’t be 100% about you. 

I am concerned with the health of marginalized people. I want my work to be a healing agent. And it always has to be multi-systemic. 

So, that’s what brings me to applied theatre. 

How? 

I saw psychodrama at a social work conference. And I was immediately impacted by it. Everything started to collide in my head. From, role theory…we’re all on the stage, different roles that we play…to, just that art itself, whether it’s dance, whether it’s painting, just has a way of breaking down boundaries. How I see applied theatre fitting in [my work] is that it integrates healing from trauma that’s associated with oppression AND raising consciousness and getting people to act against inequity.

 And I have always been a creative writer…I’ve always felt I didn’t know how to integrate my academic and creatives sides…but applied theatre is the perfect way to integrate both aspects of myself. It seemed to all merge here. 

I have several ideas. I wrote a story when I was thirteen or fourteen about hair. I know that for, especially black women, there’s so much trauma at the roots. Every time I read this story I can’t help but to cry. It’s a tear jerker. I think about how this [the exploration of hair] could be used with theatre as a healing agent for the people who participate in the drama, devising [an original piece of theatre around hair], but also it can impact people who are watching it. 

Telling your story is healing, but also empowering. And unifying. It could build empathy, you could know people in a way that you didn’t know them before. 

Thank you. Thanks for bringing me up to what seems to be a frontier for you now. 

Yes. It seems to bring together all of my interests, from education to consciousness raising to community organizing to healing, to health. To creativity.

 Now switching gears, what does it take to keep going as an interdisciplinary person in a world of siloed work? 

Yeah, that’s…I believe that my work will be more effective [because it’s interdisciplinary], I guess. But I do battle. You know, it’s not like just going into carpentry, where I can just work with the person’s mind, and forget their health, because you know…people can’t be sliced. People can’t be separated like that. We’re complex and we’re a mess and that’s humanity. 

What gets you up each day to keep doing it?

 People are fascinating to me. I could sit and people stare, and guess, what happened there? When I’m driving and see a home, and I can kind of see in laughs—like I’m peeping—I wonder, does that family eat dinner together? Is there violence? My mind wanders. And, I’ve always been a person about justice. I’ve always been a champion for people who didn’t have power, since I’ve been young. To stand up for people, to stand up for justice. I don’t like people to be in pain or to suffer. My name, that’s connected to Alexander, defender of mankind. And that’s how I’ve felt. I’ve always been about justice and equity.

 Okay. Well, as I’m listening, I’m so struck by your accomplishment and knowledge. I really admire what you’re up to. 

Thank you. People think I’m humble or something, but I don’t feel like I’ve done much, yet. People are always in awe of the DEGREES. It’s like, yeah, but the degrees mean nothing if you don’t do anything with them. So I’m hoping that I do make a difference…so far I feel like I’m laying groundwork. I’m in the preparation stage. 

Rapid fire round. A fiction author or book that’s lighting up your imagination? 

That is hard to say, because, I’m so ashamed to admit this, but I don’t read as widely as I’d like. Because, I’m usually reading journal articles and papers. 

Alright, fine. But did you read Octavia Butler at all? 

So that’s the funny thing. I just took this writing course at Medgar Evers in October. It was every Monday night. And I write kind of sci-fi stuff. 

Aah [of course, just like Butler]. 

That’s my genre. I started looking up African-American sci-fi writers, and of course she pops up. So I have several of her books on my kindle but I have not read one yet. But I do know who she is. 

There’s someone else who was perpetually fascinated. And so personal…so interested in each person’s wounds and psychology, and also so curious about social change. She used dystopias that are not so far away as a metaphor for interrogating the present. She used the arts as a reflecting surface for society.

 I’ve been warned that I sound a lot like her…the teacher was like, “I don’t know if you should read her, because it may…” So I’m like, “do I or don’t I?” 

Well you’ve given me a writing challenge, because I have a full article here on your work on critical consciousness and a full article on your reflections on the value of theatre. 

And so I’ll tell you this last part so it wraps it up. I have this research project I’m starting to get into now…with women, they’re going to do auto-ethnography. Researching their own lives and experiences with different types of oppression. And the last part that I’m hoping they do—I’m going to present it to them, but it’s up to them—is to do something with applied theater. Somehow incorporating what they’ve learned from their autoethnographies into some type of applied theatre format. So that’s kind of where it’s going. That’s it. 

For now. Thank you so much. 

Thank you for listening.

[ordinarydaymag]

In a time of transformations

Hey there :) We are still here just dealing with the dynamic changes which are happening in our lives and all over the wold lately. But no, we won't talk about viruses, we won't make any analyses or throw advice in your face ... We are here to share with you one more interesting interview from our last Ordinary Day issue. Maybe it will help you escape for a while from your own routine and give you some inspiration and ideas for experimentation and exploration in your free time.

Let’s meet Marie and her paper creations :)

Marie is a designer, a PhD student and a lecturer, and in her story, we learn how she listens to paper before transforming it into a 3D object. Our conversation starts with a simple set of questions but it quickly takes on a different shape, discussing the purpose and ethics of design as well as the key moments that can make designers appreciate their own work, finding your path, letting go and allowing oneself the feeling of achievement.

Marie, you have a wide scope of engagements – how does your ordinary day look like, and how do you stay organised? What makes an ordinary day extraordinary?

I divide my time between teaching, studying and architectural work. I have a timesheet which I use for keeping track of how many hours I spend working on something — just to know, but I don’t do much time-blocking. I am trying to keep a schedule of one or two evenings a week for my studies. But to go back to your question what makes my day extraordinary: I would say those are the moments when I can rest, I can have tea, do nothing for a little while. When I have time to do something that I really like, like folding or trying something in my sketchbook, those are the moments that make me feel good during any day.

What do you study?

I am studying design – a PhD at FUD UJEP in Ústí nad Labem. I am interested in user research and how services can be co-created with their users. User experience analysis has been used mostly in UX, but what I am trying right now is to find out how it could also be used in product design because that is what I teach.

So you are teaching product design now? 

Well, at Prague College I teach Graphic Design, but in the Design Principles class, there is more space for experimentation. At the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University, I am teaching product design. I am trying to start a new class on user centered design. Next year, FA ČVUT is opening an English language Master’s program focused on Design.

What are your associations with the word transformation?

For me, it is going from something in the past to something new and not knowing what is next, what is coming. That can be scary because it happens that you cannot even control it. So accepting what is coming, feeling okay and saying: “let’s see what is ahead of me.” I guess just taking the risk a little bit. At the same time going with the flow and letting things happen. I realised I changed a lot since childhood. It is changing and not changing at the same time. Trying to be more open to people like during this interview! Getting to know oneself everyday – it is not automatic. I have long been on auto-pilot, let’s say – doing my thing, ordinary day to day routine, getting things done. Having a very long to do list, which I still have. But back then, a time came when I asked myself: “is this the thing I want to do and is it the way I want to keep doing it?”

Tell us more about that moment of realisation the moment that made you reassess your path. 

That was probably when I started teaching but also with the birth of my son. Seven years ago, I was working for an architect and I realised I was clicking at a computer from 9 to 5 drawing someone else’s ideas and that it is not my thing. I learned a lot, it was a great experience but I needed something else. I’ve been thinking for a long time about the ethics of design, the ethics of work. At school, I didn’t do many practical objects. And even before my career started, I knew I want to do things that are really cool, that are perhaps more poetic, that look nice. I was lucky at the beginning, I was working for Dominique Perrault, an architect in Paris who was more of a conceptual architect.

It was a very big office, 70 people from around the world and we each got the chance to work on interesting projects. I was part of the interior team and we got to cooperate on a large variety of projects. You could see the different approaches to design. There was computer work too, but also meeting the clients, working with the materials. But I realised if a concept stays a concept, it is not enough. People either don’t get it or only people that read your 100 page book where you explain what it is about, but when you see something physical like either a house they can visit or an object they can use they will get it more and then they can choose what they like. Selling just a concept is not easy.

And this is how the paper installations come to the world?

I started a long time ago because I worked with paper in my Master’s degree. I experimented with paper even before that; at home with my mother and grandmother, we made origami objects.

Two years ago, my former colleagues from Eva Jiřičná’s office (esté architekti) asked me to do some installations for their project. They were renovating restaurants and I created installations for several of them.

You work with space…

Yes, I work with the space. We discuss what is needed, what is possible. My colleagues are also creatives so they have strong ideas, very minimalistic, white. I like colour, but I agree with them on this. I then go on to prepare lots of models and they choose a couple of them. I work small first and then full scale, to see how they work in the space.

And the process? Do you have an idea in your head and shape the material to match your idea or are you more inspired by the material itself?

 It mostly comes from the material, seeing what comes and just playing to create some shapes I have in my mind or something I want to try. I try in small and then try to make it bigger. Just as I like to work at my paper workshops — playing a bit first and then “listening” to the paper or the material and see what is coming out.

Transforming a sheet of paper and seeing what you can do from it, something that comes naturally during childplay…

That’s what I like about folding paper and other materials, you have the sheet material, the flat “thing” in a standard format and you can cut it and then it becomes 3-dimensional and something that becomes sweet. What I am trying right now is to add movement to it. I can show you here — it is a rectangle that is cut and there is going to be a crystal ball attached to it to add flare...

It reminds me of a dune.

I was thinking of a bird’s wing. The architect showed me pictures of clouds for inspiration so I took it from there.

I imagine paper has its transformational limits, is that correct?

Well it is hard to break paper, but it does crease. What is great about paper is that is an inexpensive and easily available material, you can work with it at home, you don’t need special tools. All that gives you liberty in the creation process. But I started to need more space. [Marie laughs] I love paper but I am also trying other materials — how the objects would look like in metal, for instance.

.........

That takes me back to what you said earlier about transformation — that it is about not having too much control.

When you talk about control, for me since I have a child it is about stopping, refusing to control.

I cannot influence this person. I can try to be a model, do things the best I can but I cannot say you need to be doing the things that way. Accepting that is difficult. So doing more art, taking it easy and going with the flow. I don’t know what is coming next and I accept it.

More about Marie and her work you can find at: www.mariedoucet.com & @design_poetics

The full interview you can find in print from our stockists.

interview: Jana Krchová

photos:  Iva Borisova 

work: Marie Doucet

[limejuicer1862]

Wombwell Rainbow Interview

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.

The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Amy Shimshon-Santo

a writer, educator, and urbanist, believes the arts are “a powerful tool for transformation,” both socially and personally. She connects the arts, education, and urban planning in her work. Holding a PhD and MA in urban planning from UC Los Angeles, an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and a BA in Latin American studies from UC Santa Cruz. Amy is an associate professor at Claremont Graduate University where she heads the Master of Arts Management program. She has been recognized on the National Honor Roll for Service Learning. Amy lead the ArtsBridge program for UCLA Arts and her efforts provided the foundation for the University of California’s first visual and performing arts education degree in the state. Amy represented the State of California at the National Endowment of the Art’s Education Leadership Institute, where she was a founding member of Create CA. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in creative nonfiction and Best of the Net in poetry. Amy’s essays have appeared in Entropy, and have been published by SAGE. Her work has also been published by University of California Press and State University of New York Press, and can be found in Rose Quartz Magazine, Public, Teaching Artist Journal, Tiferet Journal, Critical Planning, Entropy, Yes, Poetry, Zócalo Public Square, and Lady/Liberty/Lit, and more. Her book of poems, Even the Milky Way is Undocumented, is forthcoming with Unsolicited Press in 2020. Amy is found on www.amyshimshon.com

shimshona4@gmail.com Twitter: @amyshimshon IG: @shimshona http://www.amyshimshon.com/

The Interview

1. What inspired you to write poetry?

Poetry was my first (written) language. I intuitively wrote with line breaks since I was a girl. I didn’t call it poetry, but it was how I wrote. A kind of birth mark.

What has changed in my relationship to poetry is how I read, and my entanglement with editing. Writing is natural. Editing is more like design, or how I imagine carpentry. My brother is a carpenter. My grandfather was too. I just build things with different materials and tools. Words instead of wood. Punctuation marks instead of nails. When I edit, I want the poems to look me in the eye, sound good on the tongue, and tell some kind of story.

Essays are another matter. I know precisely when that started. I had to write an essay to apply to college. It felt like ice skating in outer space. Complicated, maybe even impossible. Now, I’ve grown to appreciate the process of writing essays, and am almost always tinkering with one. They help me observe and think. Essays are architectural, 2D dwellings for bigger ideas and worlds. I see a light and run into them without a plan, get lost in the chaos of the experience, and finally figure out what wants to be said. I feel a sense of wonder and satisfaction when they are done.

I write poems every morning, and whether they are “good” or not, they’re my medicine for living. They are my thermometer for authentic living. They help me know myself, and seek freedom despite whatever may be limiting me in the material world.

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

The first poet I remember hearing was Maya Angelou. Listening to her wasn’t just witnessing a vocalist and spoken word master, it was witnessing a woman being phenomenal herself. That’s what I remember first and foremost — “Oh! Look, a woman! Maybe I can be one too!” Hearing her made me feel like it was a good thing to be a woman. She was tall, with a wide arm span, and a voice that commanded attention. She took up space, but trampled no one. She wrapped her hair in stamped cloth, and wore canvas cargo pants. Her poetry was music, a polyrhythmic bumpa-dee-bump-dance of living. She baked Quiche Lorraine. I went home and found a pair of canvas cargo pants my own size. She’s been a lifelong inspiration.

I studied in Nicaragua and Mexico in my twenties, and dove into works of César Vallejo, Nicolás Guillen, Pablo Neruda, Roque Dalton, Ernesto Cardenal, Claribel Alegria, and Giaconda Belli. I read their poetry aloud to myself. That was how I developed an intimate relationship with Spanish, and, later, Portuguese via capoeira music. I was raised in California, and heard Spanish on the yard in school. Eventually, I picked it up, and poetry helped. The poet Francisco X. Alarcon welcomed me into his Spanish for Spanish Speakers class, and poetry came flooding in. Reading aloud, I loved the sound on my lips. Learning a language is a kind of love relationship. This happened to me in three languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese).

My mother’s first language was Hebrew, but my dad was monolingual English. He lost his mother’s native Russian, and I lost my mother’s Hebrew and Yiddish. I wish I’d learned the languages of my own origins (Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian), but I picked up the ones that loved me back, the ones I lived with.

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

I don’t want to feel dominated by anything, even great poets. If anything, poetry is about freeing myself from all kind of domination. I don’t seek to dominate or be dominated. I seek equilibrium and honesty. I seek wonder and gratitude for living.I am grateful for the presence of older poets. Since I am getting older every day, even my silver hair is a flag to the aging process. Thich Nhat Hanh said, “I am of the nature to die.” I watch older poets to see how they navigate living, and, also, aging. How can we live and write well at every stage of life? How can we be creative at every stage? I read and listen to ancestral poets, and I embrace my relationship to the archive. I feel them as extended family — people who were whispered into, just like me. Adrienne Rich. Mary Oliver. Toni Morrison. Zora Neale Hurston. I don’t compare myself, I just feel related. Living well is not a competition. I’m not trying to achieve or prove anything, just take advantage of being alive.

Unlike Bob Kaufman, I don’t want to disappear when I die. That is not because of ego, it’s because I want to remain in relationship with other writers always, whether I am living or not. The archive has unfathomable dimensions.

Intersectional women deserve to be in there along with everybody else. I want to be a part of that, even if I am just one tiny blue-green thread, or a strand of red-tangerine.

4. What is your daily writing routine?

My knee jerk reaction to that question is, “If I told you I’d have to kill you.” I guess I’m protective of the creative process. It’s a mysterious thing, not something you can just pick up in a supermarket by the dishwashing liquid. Although, maybe that could make a good grocery shopping poem.

I have daily and seasonal writing routines. As a working person, and head of household, I start my day early with writing and ashtanga before work. With limited time, I accumulate small pieces of writing throughout the academic year and rely on the slower summer months to piece mosaics together. I value my job, but my writing life needs time too. So, when other folks dream of summer vacations, I long for stretches of quiet time off the grid. Nine months a year belong to my students. The summers are mine, and I am loyal to them because writing is a necessity.

5. What motivates you to write?

I have a writing self that wants to be expressed. It is my duty to care for her by letting her write whatever she wants. I write to fumble around in the dark and pull out stories. I write to face these times, and shine some light on living in the 21st century. Writing satisfies my adventurous spirit, and helps me feel less powerless as a woman, as a single mom, as someone from an immigrant family where many of us have gone unnoticed, injured, or completely erased. I write to be surprised. It’s the shake-shake-shake of a brown paper sack with something hidden inside. Once I was in Panama working on a popular education project. There was a carnival tradition that involved a pillow case. You fumbled your hand around inside, landed on an object, and pulled it out. Jumbled inside the sack were everyday items and things that were taboo (For example, an enormous blue dildo). Face the mystery. Take a risk. Laugh. Gasp. Weep. Feel something. Write.

6. What is your work ethic?

Fierce. I’ve been called a work horse, and I think that’s pretty accurate. Maybe a work centaur. I write every day, even if it’s just 20 minutes of jottings, so that I know how I am, and what I am thinking about on a deeper level. If I did not need a job-job, I would wake up, do yoga, write all day, and take a walking meditation at night. My idea of a good time. Throw in some dancing and we’re set. Because of writing, even if one “job” ends, I’ll just return to my real-forever-job which is stringing words together. Writing gave me my life back. Wouldn’t you work hard for something that gave you such a gift?

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

The books that I read to my children when they were young influenced me as much as those I read when I was a child. They gave me a second childhood, perhaps one I never had. I collect books and try to adopt their courage. The stacks are to get lost in. Find a stool and pull out a book. This also applies to music and dancing. This applies to visual art and film. This applies to ferris wheels and lagoons. It applies to public libraries and the internet.

8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

I spent months this year in the clutch of Toni Morrison’s On Self Regard, before she passed. Her intellect is expansive. Just. Expansive. Among the living, I am enriched by the enthusiasm of local writers Adrian Ernesto Cepeda, Genevieve Kaplan, and Ikia Noel because they are great practitioners, advocates, and instigators of writing. Gayle Brandeis, Deena Metzger, and Dan Bellm are guides for me toward how to write and be an upstanding human. I delight in the work of Gloria Carrera, Natalia Toledo, Aracelis Girmay, Ross Gay, Tiana Clark, Natalie Diaz, Nikky Finney, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Yusef Komunyakaa. They crisscross different cultures and languages. Their sentences break things open. They inspire me.

9. Why do you write, as opposed to doing anything else?

I used to be a dancer and choreographer. Dancing required having a big open space, limber bodies, music, costumes, lighting, gels, sound equipment, a van, crates of costumes props and instruments. I needed 30 minutes to an hour just to warm up, and then hours for rehearsal.

Writing is a creative practice that is accessible to me at this stage of my life. All I need is a pen and notebook. With those two things, I can go anywhere.

10. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

Write. Read. Observe. Express. Welcome the sound of your voice. Listen attentively to the world. Truth is a good pair of shoes. Don’t be afraid to put your work out there. Leap.

11. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

My debut poetry collection EVEN THE MILKYWAY IS UNDOCUMENTED will be coming out in 2020 with Unsolicited Press. My son and I just recorded an audio book version and I’m excited about that. Recording that was memorable. I sat down at the microphone with him at the console. Yikes. Then I realized what I was about to do and what he was about to hear. “I am sorry. Some of this is hard,” I said. “I am honored,” he said. Just wow. Spoken word is a very particular kind of conjuring that I enjoy. Not enjoy. Adore. I don’t sing, but I will seduce the fuck out of the world with a sentence. It’s good fun. Serious magic.

I completed a collection of essays that is under review, have a new essay in the brain-que-que, and a collaborative poetry book on the horizon. I don’t want to say more until they are fully formed, but I’m really glad that writing keeps coming. That’s the whole point of completing things — make space for what wants to come next.

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Amy Shimson-Santo Wombwell Rainbow Interview I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.

[anndelize]

It is my great pleasure to introduce readers to British artist Michele Clamp, scientist turned watercolourist.

The Interview

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Michele Clamp and I am a watercolour artist.

Why do you do what you do?

I am tempted to reply ‘Because I can’. If you had the opportunity to create beautiful things that reflect who you are as a person and how you see the world why wouldn’t anyone? But maybe that’s too glib an answer. On a day to day basis painting simply makes life worth living. Even when the work goes badly (as it often does) it is still worthwhile. Painting is difficult, frustrating, unpredictable, and often not taken seriously by many. And objectively I am unlikely to go down in art history and sometimes it seems unlikely I’ll make a living at it. But none of that detracts from the satisfaction of setting your brushes down at the end of the day with something new on the easel. If, as I am lucky to have happen, other people want to take your work into their homes and it gives them pleasure in their lives so much the better.

Hare Today. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

Rose-breasted grosbeak. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

How do you work?

Regularly. That’s the main thing. I have a routine – go upstairs to the studio, put the lights on, put the radio on. Open the palette, top up any colors that are running low. Arrange the brushes and get the water pot filled with fresh water. Tape a fresh piece of paper to the empty board resting on the easel. It’s almost a ritual and it’s necessary. I am then in the right frame of mind to prod around in my subconscious to find out what I am itching to do.

As I am a watercolour painter and paint quickly I almost always complete a painting in a single session. This creates a lot of forward momentum as the weeks go by and I can move from subject to subject quickly. Other times I’ll work in series over a month or so. It could be birds one month, cityscapes another.

Even if a brush isn’t put to paper on any given day ideas are bubbling through my mind. These could be ideas for subject matter, design or style. A big portion involves reflecting on past works that may or may not have succeeded. What do I like, want don’t I like. Did I capture the light or the mood? Did it capture something about the moment that I didn’t expect and can I build on that.

Cockwomble. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

Puffins. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

What is your background?

Like many artists my interest was sparked in childhood. My father was a talented amateur artist when he was young but only had a limited amount of time to spend on it when I was a child.  Even so I remember sitting beside him as he sketched outside. I had my own small sketchbook and tried to learn from him as he drew landscapes in the Essex countryside, marking in color and lighting notes as he went. These were intended to be preparatory sketches for larger oil paintings but sadly these almost never came to pass. However, I had almost no detectable talent at that point. My mother is still incredulous that I’ve ended up painting as she often remarks how bad I was in those years. It turned out that the art bug didn’t bite me hard until I was about 13. Somehow something clicked in a school art lesson. Mrs Amner our art teacher had put a group of us in front of a huge old mechanical typewriter and we were instructed to draw it. Not an easy subject for us but the longer I looked the more the complex mechanical shapes made sense and my pencil followed suit. I’d discovered the pleasure of truly seeing something and representing it on paper.

I loved painting and drawing throughout the rest of my school years and did them both in parallel with science and maths. When it came to deciding on college I plumped for science and went on to do a degree in physics at Oxford followed by a PhD. Art was on the back burner for many years. I had a wonderful career in science and worked in many interesting areas including the Human Genome Project. My science career took me from Oxford to Cambridge to MIT and Harvard and I was extremely lucky to be part of the genomics revolution over the past couple of decades.

I always knew I’d come back to art at some point although I didn’t know when. It’s little appreciated that science is a hugely creative endeavor. Like art it’s also all-consuming – you can’t dabble and expect to do it well. So after emerging 5 years ago from immersion in the research world I needed a creative outlet again. And watercolour was there waiting.

From 2012 to the end of last year I balanced painting with working. This year, however,  we bit the bullet,  quit our jobs and I get to paint full time.  It’s bliss.

Sunflowers. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

Brass callipers. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

What is integral to the work of an artist?

Ah. There’s a quote about science by the famous physicist Richard Feynman that pops into my mind here. ‘The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.’ So honesty, humility, and at least an attempt to keep the ego on a short leash.

What role does an artist have in society?

Wow.  That’s a biggie.

What has been a seminal experience?

These are all hard questions but this one stumped me for a long while. I have to admit that I am not one of those artists that hate everything they do. Not that I’m uncritical (not at all) but I’m usually pretty positive about the work I produce. Very rarely does something emerge that is totally worthless in my eyes. I am self-aware enough to realise that I am hugely biased and lucky enough that I don’t need huge amounts of external validation. A year after I had returned to painting, however, something happened that made me think this wasn’t just an activity to please me. I used to go to a lot of classes at the local adult education centre in Cambridge, Mass. and they’d regularly run shows with students work.    When I’d been painting for about a year I managed to get 8 pieces into their summer show. I’d put prices on them but really had no expectations in that area.  When I arrived at the opening I was astounded that 3 had already sold.   As the evening went on 3 more sold and I was emailed by someone later to buy another one.  One painting was so popular the  organisers emailed me to ask if I had anything similar as they’d had so many requests.   It gave me huge confidence that this wasn’t just a solo journey.   

Trinity College, Oxford. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11

Baptist Church, Marlborough, MA. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

How has your practice changed over time?

The big thing was understanding how important just showing up is.

What art do you identify most with?

We live in a very noisy world. So shouty art is not my thing. Art that screams at you and grabs you by the lapels is not for me. I like art that slowly gets under your skin. Art that creeps up on you over a period of time. Art that you come back to after years away and go ‘Ah yes now I get it’. Subtlety, nuance, layers, longevity. I’m British – what do you expect?

What work do you most enjoy doing?

Oh that’s easy – good work. Definitely good work. Seriously though it’s easier to answer that by thinking about the work I don’t enjoy doing. And that is work that I do when I start taking myself too seriously. Stuff that I plan when things are going well and I think I’m really getting to the next level. I get really ambitious and start large complicated paintings and work really hard and all the fun goes out of it. I start fooling myself in other words. I learned early on that your really good work comes from painting what you want to paint. However you don’t consciously choose what you want to paint – it comes from somewhere below the surface and it takes practice to let that side of yourself free.

Sunlit. Michele Clamp. 11”x14”

Liberty Boat. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

What is your favourite artwork?

That is far too difficult a question to answer. If I absolutely had to pick one it would be John Sell Cotman’s Chirk aqueduct. It’s a watercolour (of course) and I first came across it as a kid in one of my parent’s art books. It has everything I love – subtle colors, strong design and I enjoy it a little more every time I come across it. The composition is slightly off kilter – it looks as though it doesn’t quite fit on the page. It’s a little disconcerting the first few times you come across it but it’s that little bit of quirkiness that offsets the restrained colors and apparent lack of action.

Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?

Hmm. Is it any lonelier than all the corporate nonsense I’ve had to deal with elsewhere? Performance reviews, 360 assessments, endless pointless meetings, snotty emails, deadlines and justifications? Nope, not really. Just don’t look at the bank balance.

Hethersett Church, Norfolk UK. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 8”x10”

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

A few months after I’d started painting again regularly I was showing someone photos of what I’d been doing on my phone. I was still feeling my way but some were good, some not so good, but there was definitely something worthwhile there. On one photo they stopped – it was a quick watercolour still life sketch.   I’d managed to do something with lush colour and broad brushstrokes and it had confidence and ease and energy. ‘Oh Michele’ they said, ‘If only you could live your life the way you paint’.    That comment has always stayed with me.

What wouldn’t you do without?

My husband James Cuff.  Constantly supportive and encouraging even when things aren’t going well.  And makes a mean gin and tonic.

  Thank you for the insightful interview Michele. To see more of Michele’s work please contact her on the details below.

Website :       micheleclamp.com

For Sale:        micheleclamp.com/paintings-for-sale

Instagram:    @micheleclamp

Email:             michele@micheleclamp.com

Facebook:      MicheleClampArt

  Beauty, one brushstroke at a time.

  Artist Interview: Michele Clamp It is my great pleasure to introduce readers to British artist Michele Clamp, scientist turned watercolourist.

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: Updating Ukiyo-Prints and Medieval Art with Allusions to Fast Food and US Politics

Masami Teraoka, “Sarah and Octopus/Seventh Heaven” (2001) (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic)

HONOLULU — Masami Teraoka was just seven years old growing up in Japan when he saw a strange sight on the horizon: two suns, one from the east and the other from the west. It was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II.

Now 81, Teraoka has become a contemporary artist known for creating strange, absurd sights of his own — merging traditional fine art styles and techniques with modern themes. His works can be found in over 50 public collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate Modern, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC.

Masami Teraoka, “McDonald’s Hamburgers Invading Japan/Chochin-me” (1982)

Teraoka’s first major series after coming to the US from Japan in 1961, McDonald’s Hamburgers Invading Japan and 31 Flavors Invading Japan, examined the expansion of American consumerism culture worldwide with Ukiyo-e woodblock print images of Japanese geisha tripping over hamburgers and devouring ice cream. In the 1980s, he broached the AIDS crisis in a series of paintings featuring frustrated samurai and geisha wrestling with condom wrappers, literally blue in the face. It was Teraoka’s goal to shed light on AIDS at a time when doctors and politicians were covering up or avoiding conversations about the disease in the public.

Recently, Teraoka shifted his art style to create The Cloisters, triptych altarpieces in the style of religious Renaissance and medieval art, confronting topics such as Monica Lewinsky and the Clinton impeachment, clergy sex abuse scandals, artistic freedom in Russia, and the threat of nuclear war. While his past works may have evoked the likes of Utamaro and Hokusai, Teraoka’s new art draws from Brueghel and Bosch: giant, graphic murals featuring contorted figures including Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin, and the geisha Momotaro, in passionate, disturbing scenes.

At times, Teraoka seems like he’s hitting you over the head with the obvious associations in his work. But his subjects are so rampant in the collective public eye —from news headlines sensationalizing political sex scandals to giant billboards advertising fast food — that a loud approach seems fitting.

In March, Teraoka teamed up with Pussy Riot choreographer Viktoria Naraxsa and costume designer Masha Kechaeva for an experimental performance of Shakespeare’s Tempest at the Honolulu Museum of Art School. Currently, Koa Gallery in Honolulu is presenting a retrospective of Teraoka’s career as well as new work by the artist.

*   *   *

Installation view of Masami Teraoka at Koa Gallery, Honolulu

James Charisma: Where were you in Japan when you saw the atomic bombs being dropped?

Masami Teraoka: I grew up in Onomichi City, which is in Hiroshima Prefecture. But my sister and I were evacuated to the next town because Onomichi was a middle-sized city and thought to be targeted by air raids. It wasn’t because I think it was too close to an American POW camp. We would see them while going to school and we would say, these people are so tall! And blue eyes.

All the kids liked the MPs because they were friendly, they gave us chewing gum and chocolate. My dad used to say that we are all humans. Wars are only between governments; we don’t really have to be fighting each other. That was his philosophy, so I think he made it comfortable for the Americans to visit. My mom used to cook potato chips. When she gave some to the Americans and they ate them, we couldn’t believe it. When I came here, I learned everybody eats potato chips.

JC: You seem fascinated by junk food. You have an entire series dedicated to ice cream and cheeseburgers. What inspired that?

Masami Teraoka, “The Two Suns Series/Cherry Blossoms and Koko Head” (2017)

MT: After I came to America in 1961, I met this girl who asked if I heard of hamburgers and I said no, so she cooked some for me. It was delicious. So when everyone was talking about McDonald’s, I tried their burgers but was disappointed because they were tasteless. Later, I had gone to Vancouver and saw so many [Golden] Arches. I thought, oh no, they’re invading Canada too? And Japan. Eventually I knew they were going to invade all over the globe but I didn’t want America to bring such a lousy hamburger worldwide.

This was during the flower child generation where everyone was recognizing their own background. So I thought if I was going to paint, why not paint in the format of my cultural identity? So that’s what I chose: ukiyo-e woodblock print style. My series, McDonald’s Hamburgers Invading Japan and 31 Flavors Invading Japan, was because I knew that American capitalism is so invasive all over the world, I didn’t want hamburgers to wipe out ethnic cuisine or Disneyland to be all different levels of culture. Another series is New Views of Mount Fuji Series/La Brea Tar Pits, which is about what a businessman might bring back from America to sell in Japan: La Brea Tar Pit as Disneyland.

Masami Teraoka, installation view of the artist’s Ukiyo-e print collection (2017)

JC: Your work has always tackled issues of the various eras, from AIDS in the 1980s to the sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. Is response to your work usually positive or is there ever backlash?

MT: I would say that 95 percent is positive, only a few people have actually complained to me. It’s all based on fact, so not even the Catholic Church can accuse the work of being incorrect. And the attitude I have is that I’m not interested in making something easy just to please my vision. I’m interested in what’s going on regarding individual liberties and freedom of creative expression. I’m trying to express anything related to human rights.

One of my triptychs featured Monica Lewinsky and the Bill Clinton impeachment trial. I depicted one of the lead investigators in the mural — Kenneth Starr — and I actually had a chance to meet him at an ACLU event. I told him I painted him in the piece and he said he was interested in seeing it. So I showed him a folded, four-page brochure of the composition while he was standing there with his wife. He was amused. He used the word “extraordinary” and I had to ask my friends what that meant because my English wasn’t that good. I was so happy to hear that because if he didn’t like my painting, he could’ve told the security guard to arrest me and I could still be in prison.

Masami Teraoka, “Angels and Transgressors” (2017), installation View

JC: How did you connect with Pussy Riot?

MT: My primary gallery director in San Francisco, Catherine Clark, gave my Ascending Chaos book to the manager of Pussy Riot at a performance. I was interested in their group and where they were coming from because I think we share thoughts about human rights, gay rights, same sex marriage… I later contacted Viktoria [Naraxsa] and asked if she’d be interested in coming to Hawaii because I was working on a Pussy Riot-themed exhibition. She said yes, when? This was maybe three years ago when that dialogue started. It took a long time to get to the March performance.

JC: Sexuality plays a huge role in your art. How does it influence you?

MT: Human sexuality inspires me. When you start going out with a new partner, you let go of preconceived ideas and attitudes to get to know that person. If you don’t fall in love and get to know someone on a sexual level, you miss this opportunity to open your mind to different individuals and cultures and ethnicities. It’s a window for learning.

JC: What are you learning about and focusing on now, in your latest works?

MT: One is North Korea. The way I see, their leader is a crazy, spoiled boy. But he can still actually wipe out the Earth. And that means all our education about humanity and everything won’t have any relevant meaning. Two suns … it’s nonsense. With an imminent nuclear threat, nothing makes any sense. Everything becomes nonsense.

Masami Teraoka continues at Koa Gallery (4303 Diamond Head Road Honolulu) through November 9. 

The post Updating Ukiyo-Prints and Medieval Art with Allusions to Fast Food and US Politics appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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[anndelize]

It is my great pleasure to introduce readers to British artist Michele Clamp, scientist turned watercolourist.

The Interview

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Michele Clamp and I am a watercolour artist.

Why do you do what you do?

I am tempted to reply ‘Because I can’. If you had the opportunity to create beautiful things that reflect who you are as a person and how you see the world why wouldn’t anyone? But maybe that’s too glib an answer. On a day to day basis painting simply makes life worth living. Even when the work goes badly (as it often does) it is still worthwhile. Painting is difficult, frustrating, unpredictable, and often not taken seriously by many. And objectively I am unlikely to go down in art history and sometimes it seems unlikely I’ll make a living at it. But none of that detracts from the satisfaction of setting your brushes down at the end of the day with something new on the easel. If, as I am lucky to have happen, other people want to take your work into their homes and it gives them pleasure in their lives so much the better.

Hare Today. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

Rose-breasted grosbeak. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

How do you work?

Regularly. That’s the main thing. I have a routine – go upstairs to the studio, put the lights on, put the radio on. Open the palette, top up any colors that are running low. Arrange the brushes and get the water pot filled with fresh water. Tape a fresh piece of paper to the empty board resting on the easel. It’s almost a ritual and it’s necessary. I am then in the right frame of mind to prod around in my subconscious to find out what I am itching to do.

As I am a watercolour painter and paint quickly I almost always complete a painting in a single session. This creates a lot of forward momentum as the weeks go by and I can move from subject to subject quickly. Other times I’ll work in series over a month or so. It could be birds one month, cityscapes another.

Even if a brush isn’t put to paper on any given day ideas are bubbling through my mind. These could be ideas for subject matter, design or style. A big portion involves reflecting on past works that may or may not have succeeded. What do I like, want don’t I like. Did I capture the light or the mood? Did it capture something about the moment that I didn’t expect and can I build on that.

Cockwomble. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

Puffins. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

What is your background?

Like many artists my interest was sparked in childhood. My father was a talented amateur artist when he was young but only had a limited amount of time to spend on it when I was a child.  Even so I remember sitting beside him as he sketched outside. I had my own small sketchbook and tried to learn from him as he drew landscapes in the Essex countryside, marking in color and lighting notes as he went. These were intended to be preparatory sketches for larger oil paintings but sadly these almost never came to pass. However, I had almost no detectable talent at that point. My mother is still incredulous that I’ve ended up painting as she often remarks how bad I was in those years. It turned out that the art bug didn’t bite me hard until I was about 13. Somehow something clicked in a school art lesson. Mrs Amner our art teacher had put a group of us in front of a huge old mechanical typewriter and we were instructed to draw it. Not an easy subject for us but the longer I looked the more the complex mechanical shapes made sense and my pencil followed suit. I’d discovered the pleasure of truly seeing something and representing it on paper.

I loved painting and drawing throughout the rest of my school years and did them both in parallel with science and maths. When it came to deciding on college I plumped for science and went on to do a degree in physics at Oxford followed by a PhD. Art was on the back burner for many years. I had a wonderful career in science and worked in many interesting areas including the Human Genome Project. My science career took me from Oxford to Cambridge to MIT and Harvard and I was extremely lucky to be part of the genomics revolution over the past couple of decades.

I always knew I’d come back to art at some point although I didn’t know when. It’s little appreciated that science is a hugely creative endeavor. Like art it’s also all-consuming – you can’t dabble and expect to do it well. So after emerging 5 years ago from immersion in the research world I needed a creative outlet again. And watercolour was there waiting.

From 2012 to the end of last year I balanced painting with working. This year, however,  we bit the bullet,  quit our jobs and I get to paint full time.  It’s bliss.

Sunflowers. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

Brass callipers. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

What is integral to the work of an artist?

Ah. There’s a quote about science by the famous physicist Richard Feynman that pops into my mind here. ‘The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.’ So honesty, humility, and at least an attempt to keep the ego on a short leash.

What role does an artist have in society?

Wow.  That’s a biggie.

What has been a seminal experience?

These are all hard questions but this one stumped me for a long while. I have to admit that I am not one of those artists that hate everything they do. Not that I’m uncritical (not at all) but I’m usually pretty positive about the work I produce. Very rarely does something emerge that is totally worthless in my eyes. I am self-aware enough to realise that I am hugely biased and lucky enough that I don’t need huge amounts of external validation. A year after I had returned to painting, however, something happened that made me think this wasn’t just an activity to please me. I used to go to a lot of classes at the local adult education centre in Cambridge, Mass. and they’d regularly run shows with students work.    When I’d been painting for about a year I managed to get 8 pieces into their summer show. I’d put prices on them but really had no expectations in that area.  When I arrived at the opening I was astounded that 3 had already sold.   As the evening went on 3 more sold and I was emailed by someone later to buy another one.  One painting was so popular the  organisers emailed me to ask if I had anything similar as they’d had so many requests.   It gave me huge confidence that this wasn’t just a solo journey.   

Trinity College, Oxford. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11

Baptist Church, Marlborough, MA. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 14”x11”

How has your practice changed over time?

The big thing was understanding how important just showing up is.  

What art do you identify most with?

We live in a very noisy world. So shouty art is not my thing. Art that screams at you and grabs you by the lapels is not for me. I like art that slowly gets under your skin. Art that creeps up on you over a period of time. Art that you come back to after years away and go ‘Ah yes now I get it’. Subtlety, nuance, layers, longevity. I’m British – what do you expect?

What work do you most enjoy doing?

Oh that’s easy – good work. Definitely good work. Seriously though it’s easier to answer that by thinking about the work I don’t enjoy doing. And that is work that I do when I start taking myself too seriously. Stuff that I plan when things are going well and I think I’m really getting to the next level. I get really ambitious and start large complicated paintings and work really hard and all the fun goes out of it. I start fooling myself in other words. I learned early on that your really good work comes from painting what you want to paint. However you don’t consciously choose what you want to paint – it comes from somewhere below the surface and it takes practice to let that side of yourself free.

Sunlit. Michele Clamp. 11”x14”

Liberty Boat. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 11”x14”

What is your favourite artwork?

That is far too difficult a question to answer. If I absolutely had to pick one it would be John Sell Cotman’s Chirk aqueduct. It’s a watercolour (of course) and I first came across it as a kid in one of my parent’s art books. It has everything I love – subtle colors, strong design and I enjoy it a little more every time I come across it. The composition is slightly off kilter – it looks as though it doesn’t quite fit on the page. It’s a little disconcerting the first few times you come across it but it’s that little bit of quirkiness that offsets the restrained colors and apparent lack of action.

Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?

Hmm. Is it any lonelier than all the corporate nonsense I’ve had to deal with elsewhere? Performance reviews, 360 assessments, endless pointless meetings, snotty emails, deadlines and justifications? Nope, not really. Just don’t look at the bank balance.

Hethersett Church, Norfolk UK. Michele Clamp. Watercolour 8”x10”

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

A few months after I’d started painting again regularly I was showing someone photos of what I’d been doing on my phone. I was still feeling my way but some were good, some not so good, but there was definitely something worthwhile there. On one photo they stopped – it was a quick watercolour still life sketch.   I’d managed to do something with lush colour and broad brushstrokes and it had confidence and ease and energy. ‘Oh Michele’ they said, ‘If only you could live your life the way you paint’.    That comment has always stayed with me.

What wouldn’t you do without?

My husband James Cuff.  Constantly supportive and encouraging even when things aren’t going well.  And makes a mean gin and tonic.

  Thank you for the insightful interview Michele. To see more of Michele’s work please contact her on the details below.

  Website :       micheleclamp.com

For Sale:        micheleclamp.com/paintings-for-sale

Instagram:    @micheleclamp

Email:             michele@micheleclamp.com

Facebook:      MicheleClampArt

  Beauty, one brushstroke at a time.

  Artist Interview: Michele Clamp It is my great pleasure to introduce readers to British artist Michele Clamp, scientist turned watercolourist.