28.2.12

Big Fat Flea

Just finished a logo for NYC's Big Fat Flea 2012Formerly the Fat Girl Flea Market, the Big Fat Flea is an all-genders fatshion rummage sale for fat folks who like a bargain! All proceeds benefit NOLOSE.
24.2.12

train sketch.

 
20.2.12

AF3IRM flier



I recently finished this flier for an International Women's Day event for the amazing organization AF3IRM.

The Association of Filipinas, Feminists Fighting Imperialism, Re-feudalization, and Marginalization (AF3IRM), is a national organization of women engaged in transnational feminist, anti-imperialist activism. AF3IRM is committed to militant movement-building from the United States and effects change through grassroots organizing, trans-ethnic alliance building education, advocacy and direct action.
I recently completed an interior mural in acrylic at Park Slope Collegiate High School through Groundswell Community Mural Project, who paired me in collaboration with the incredible artist Jules Joseph.  We worked with a design and fabrication team of 18 brilliant middle-school and high-school aged youth from PSC, Secondary School for Journalism and Secondary School for Law to research and design a mural for their school based on the theme "College for All".

The research and design phase was largely based on a peer-to-peer interview approach, augmented by questionnaires answered by over 50 students.   The youth in the design team learned interviewing techniques, and engaged in dialogue with family members, friends and fellow students to uncover complex perspectives on access to higher education and what young people need in order to confidently engage in their journey to college.  The design phase also included conversations and interviews with experts.  Bill Gaskins, a professor and lecturer at The New School and Essence Rodriguez, a Parsons alum, offered unique dialogue around structural inequality and the central role of finding mentors and learning to navigate systems.  Jill Bloomberg, the principal of PSC, and Adam, the college counselor, held an in-depth conversation about Park Slope Collegiate's mission of college-readiness for all students, and discussed both the current climate around access as well as strategies for success.

After discussing and sharing our research, the group worked on collaborative drawing exercises to reveal common themes and visual language that would form the foundation of our mural design.  All of the text in the final mural is based off of quotes from the youth.

To see photos of the youth and school community celebrating the dedication, you can go to Groundswell's FB Page.

I am deeply grateful for all of the incredible young people I worked alongside on this project, who openly and honestly researched and developed the conceptual material and eagerly worked on painting.  The PSC community was extraordinarily warm, welcoming and collaborative.  Jules Joseph was an engaging, tireless and inspiring collaborator.  And, of course, many thanks to Groundswell for making it all happen.
Sketch depicting one of the youth artists.

Sketch depicting one of the youth artists.

Sketch depicting one of the youth artists.


After combining the ideas, individual sketches and collaborative drawings, I do a number of compositional sketches and then begin inking a final design.



The initial final design; a number of edits were made to this to make the piece more conceptually sound.



Jules Joseph working on the mural in the ever-fashionable yellow smocks the art teacher,  Ms. Jaffe, so kindly offered.

Working on the mural.