Source for Inspiration: Corita Kent

Today is the birthday of Corita Kent. She is the author and artist of the above list (except for number 10, which she clearly attributes to John Cage).

I remember seeing this manifesto of sorts as a girl when I didn't quite grasp the audacity and substance of her words. Instead, I was quite taken that it was hand stamped by individual letters which she had carved. At the time my reverence was beholden not to her wisdom but how she got the letters spaced so "perfectly". (This was way before the rubber stamping craze but I did have some cheap rubber stamps and they never ended up where I wanted the image to be.)

Corita Kent was and artist and teacher (she ran the Art Department of Immaculate Heart College) who happened to be a Catholic nun from 1936 to 1968, when she left the order. Her medium was seriography, the fancy term for screen printing. 

She is most known for her works that incorporate typography, sometimes appropriating corporate slogans but many (maybe most, though I'm not a scholar of her work) times it was inspirational quotes or passages. Her messages were ones of love, peace and social justice. Her work is vibrant and spirited with the images as passionate as the messages she portrayed.

For inspiration or just joyful appreciation of her work, go to the Corita Art Center and click through their collection of her work. There are 536 works of art (although some images are not available) so either set aside a huge chuck of time (not recommended) or divide up your viewing time by using the Search feature and searching by year/s (1951-1985).

Her philosophy and instruction of art is inspirational as well (as witnessed by her Art Department Rules at the beginning of this post). Below are two videos about Corita Kent that feature her engaging and stimulating ideology. 

If you would like some more information about Corita Kent, the following are a start:

The Brooklyn Rail

Excerpt from The Spirited Art of Sister Corita

1976 Interview with Corita Kent via UCLA Oral History Collection

One Stamp Art Exchange: April

I need to figure out a cool abbreviation for this. The best I could come up with was "Onstarex" which is the first two letters of each word. Meh. Maybe I'll just decide not to be lazy and cutesy instead.

Here are my completed projects:

(the pictures are deceiving as the top image is larger than the bottom two, which are playing card size)

Here is Gail's:

front side

back side

So, yes, it was more than one stamp to mail this to me but I think we can all understand the need to create a concept we envision, rules be damned!

ETA: I had to email Gail to say I hadn't received my "stuff" for May and she was distressed that I hadn't received it nor the "official" One Stamp project for April. It seems the envelopes became stuck in her mail box so that the postal worker did not see them or was unable to get them and therefore never got posted. So, the above was an extra project, having fulfilled the One Stamp protocol.

Lesson learned: Sometimes being "polite" does both parties a disservice. The funny thing is, we had had a conversation a few weeks ago in which we spoke about how men tend to be more direct in their transactions whereas women tend to over analyze them: "will I hurt her feelings", "what will she/he think of me?" and so on. While I'm not advocating totally dismissing a person's feelings, sometimes it can be a detriment to be too sensitive.

Without further ado, here are Gail's official projects for the One Stamp Art Exchange:

(this is the other side of the picture above)

Unfortunately, they came on a rainy, humid day and the two pictures got stuck to one another causing the little white spots you see. However, I don't think they take away from the wonderfulness!

I think this is the start of a beautiful, juicy, magnificent adventure!

One Stamp Art Exchange

My good friend, Gail, moved to Portland, Oregon a couple years ago. After talking to her on the phone one day, I came up with a plan with which we could connect on a more consistent basis. I wanted a "making" project that would be fun and not any stress. The One Stamp Art Exchange was born! Luckily, Gail also thought this would be fun to do or this would only be some sort of free floating thought concept. (Thanks, Gail!)

The idea is to send each other by the end of the first full week of the month an envelope of stuff that can be used to make at least one finished piece. The envelope of stuff and the one containing the completed piece has to fit in an envelope that requires only one stamp. So, according to the USPS standards, that means a maximum of one ounce, can't be bigger than 11 1/2 inches by 6 1/8 inches, must be rectangular, can't be rigid and can't be thicker than 1/4 inch. There are some other nonmachinable restrictions that would require a surcharge but you get the idea.

So, this first initial month, we sent each other only one envelope containing stuff but the subsequent months, we'll be sending each other two envelopes.

My stuff to Gail.

Gail's stuff to me.

The reason behind one envelope/one stamp was to keep it simple. You don't need to find a proper container, you don't have to go to the post office, etc. Just put the stuff in an envelope, address it, put on a stamp and mail it. (OK, let's not nitpick about what if you don't have envelopes and stamps.)

Rules of the One Stamp Art Exchange:

1. Has to fit in an envelope that requires only one stamp.
2. Send by the end of the first full week of month.
3. Finished project has to use at least one item of stuff received.
4. Other than a substrate, adhesives and mark making, no other materials can be used. Adhesives include, but not limited to, glue, tape, staples, sewing. Mark making includes, but not limited to, paint, pencil, ink, rubber stamping, sewing.
5. If item is used as an installation piece, photographic documentation is sent.
6. Nothing is precious. No requirement to keep unused stuff or even finished item. 
7. No judgement.
8. Have fun. If exchange ceases to be fun, discussion to alter or end it will take place.

The rules were set up to provide focus and reduce stress. This isn't about creating a masterpiece but about making, pure and simple. It's about having fun and playing.

A call to art: If anyone would like to do a similar exchange with me, send me an email using the handy-dandy widget on the right. Even though I'm in the United States, I'd be happy to mail elsewhere in the world.

The Movement that is Eyebombing

About a month ago,I found this little piece of joy at my local Walmart (yes, I shop there, don't judge):

I wrote about this googly eyed treasure in this blog post.

Then, one day, while surfing the internet looking for something totally unrelated, I came across this website dedicated to the Eyebombing movement. Who knew?

The name and crusade, as it were, was created by two Danish gentlemen and this piece by the BBC tells a little bit about it.

Now, I don't know if my eyebombed pickle jar was influenced by this movement or it was just something this individual thought was fun to do, as many people are capable of coming up with the same idea independently. But, as scientists and inventors (and others in competitive fields) know all too well, whoever gets published first gets the glory. In today's internet/meme world, it's whoever gets the first Google search result. Indeed, there's an article on Gawker that points out this isn't anything new, which itself was published two years ago.

It really doesn't matter, though. What matters is doing it, like my googly eye artist.

Spend three and a half minutes watching the BBC video and then head over to eyebombing.com and I dare you to try to resist the urge to run and buy some sticky-backed googly eyes and do some eyebombing yourself. You can't. It's irresistible. It's OK. Give into it's whimsical charm. Who cares if it's "new" or not. Don't be a hipster snob. 

I know what I'm doing with my 40% off coupon. I'll report back when I've joined the googly eye graffiti ranks. Send me a message and a picture if you succumb to the googly eyed siren!

Prank or Art Installation?

Now, I want it to be clear I don't live in a big city or hipster area or even in a college town. I live in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. While it is a perfectly nice city to live in, it's by no means a hot spot of cutting edge creativity and artistic expression.

So, imagine my delight when reaching for a jar of bread and butter pickles, I saw this:

Yes! Googly eyes!!

At first I thought it was printed on the label and was amused at that. When I realized they were actual googly eyes and only on that one jar (I still thought it was some sort of marketing thing), I was thrilled and gratified because 1) Someone in my community thought this would be fun to do and 2) I was the person to receive this gift!

(an artsy shot)

Now, I don't know whoever did it thought it was a prank and would annoy someone or did it in a gesture of gifting a whimsical expression. Although I'll never know, I choose to see it as the latter and wish somehow I could let him or her know that the gesture was greatly appreciated.

A somewhat tangential but interesting side note: via thesaurus.com, the origin of the word "happy" has its roots in "lucky" from "hap" (chance, fortune). A great majority of European words for happy at first meant lucky. 

Thank you anonymous googly eye artist! Your gift  is appreciated every time I eat my pickles! (And I just may transfer all subsequent purchases into this jar.) 

(another artsy shot)

A call to art: Buy self-adhesive googly eyes and place them on random labels, tags, signs (don't be too disrespectful) and know that some people may be annoyed and angered and the rest will have a bit of unexpected whimsy and pleasure injected into their day. Either way, if (one of) the purpose(s) of art is to elicit an emotion, you've done your job.