The Morning After

The Salon des Refuse will be up once again!  It will take place at Works of Wyoming art gallery.  Check out WOW's blog for more info about the event

Phenomenal Woman

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Maya Angelou

Twitter and Activism

If you like my art or are interested in social justice and/or activism here are some twitter profiles for you to enjoy...Have a wonderful Twitter time this Tuesday!

Of course you should follow me
@FeliciaFollumArt

Poverty Social Justice Activism
@InjusticeFacts
@ActivismTips
@DailyActivist 
@SickBillionaire


Anti Trafficking
@YCHAT 
@ChangeSlavery
@BridgesofHopepc


Womanism and Black Beauty
@EmpowerSisters
@womanistmusings 

Creative Activits
@The_Activists
@Artists4Freedom
@Music4Freedom

In addition to creating art I love love love social media.  If you would like a lesson on how to use a variety of social media sites (including Twitter, Squidoo, Blogger, Pinterest, You Tube, FaceBook, LinkedIn and more) to market your artwork or small business, let me know.  I am also interested in creating small websites that will be easy for you to update and maintain (I did study Graphic Design in school, ya know?).

Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?

Although King and Malcolm had their differences (theological and social) I would like to share a poster I created featuring the famous Malcolm quote "who taught you to hate yourself" in honor of Martin Luther King day.  Malcolm and King were both extremely important leaders in the African American community and the Civil Rights movement and both deserve to be honored.  The goal of my art exhibition was to create dialog about race, religion and the significance of African American history.  King and Malcolm both succeed in pushing this same conversation forward.

The famous "Who Taught You to Hate Yourself" speech by Malcolm X.

Below is an example of how young children have been taught to hate themselves through the images they see and what they are told.

Another video on the topic (great for parrents)

Tweet

Martin Luther King

In honor of Martin Luther King Day I figured I would share this drawing.

I completed a series of African American History name drawings.  

Some are of heroes or African American religious figures like this one

and other are of people who have become famous for a variety of reasons.

I also thought you might enjoy reading
MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail

American Dream: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Truth

American Dream

Though America is great, it is important to remember the true history of our country.  It was built on the backs of African slaves and is currently being built on the backs of underpaid, overworked Latinos and other under-privileged people groups (sometimes slaves). Avoiding reality will not make it go away (as we just saw in "History can't be Undone, But it can be Erased").  The idea of the American Dream is based upon ideas that many will never be able to achieve.

Inspiration for American Dream

This work began as a part of 1892 (post coming soon), a work depicting the large number of lynchings in 1892.  America began with the slave trade.  Laws were passed allowing the murder of blacks and lynchings were a weekly occurrence after church on Sundays.  American Dream depicts how American history and some aspects of culture are so ingrained in the culture and our understanding of what it means to be American (even if some refuse to admit and confront this history).  This work is meant to be a criticism (constructive criticism) of America today as well as a reminder of our history.

The American Flag

I understand that the American flag can be overused; however, it can also be a powerful symbol for cultural values. The flag is the perfect symbol to show our country's history.  I would like to continue to use the flag as a symbol in my next body of work which will be focusing on sex trafficking.  The flag has also been used in mys past bodies of work.  See my Native American history poster "Incarceration." 

Exhibition Feedback

I was talking to a man at the opening; he was reading a slave narrative and this piece really resonated with him.  The book he was reading talked about how breeding with female slaves was just an everyday topic and part of American culture.  One of my favorite aspects of having this exhibition is how many conversations were started in response to the serious topic.  Art is a powerful too for social dialog an change.

On a side, but related not, attacks on the LGBTQ community are becoming increasingly common by the same groups (such as the KKK, neo-Nazis, radical Nationalists, and racialists).


Tweet

Klanstory

Klanstory gives a brief backgroung of the various Klans from a variety of time periods including the present and largest Klan.

This book describes the origins of the Klan and the reasons for their costumes. 

 The video Birth of a Nation played a vital role in the resurgence of the Klan.

This Christian group saw the burning cross as a sign of Christian brotherhood.

Images of Changed Lives from 2011

Just thought I would share some of the most inspiring, heartbreaking, and incredibly beautiful images from 2011.  I am a strong believer in the arts and activism.  These photos are both art and socially conscious.

See the 45 most powerful images of 2011 with descriptions.
For now here are some of my favorites.  Click the link above for more information.

World Water and Haiti

I created this poster in response to my Haiti trip.  The community we were in was incredibly fortunate.  They had their own well (about 1000 people) so that they had drinking water within in a couple miles; however, the kids would pick up our water bottles and pretend to drink.  It was adorable, as you can see.

The idea of a Haitian child pretending to drink from a water bottle creates a sense of cognitive dissonance.  When we look at how many children die each year from bad water and realize that Haiti ranks last in the world for drinkable water.  60% of the population does not have safe drinking water and a child mortality rate of more than 13 times that of the United States (10% of that is attributed to water related skin ailments and dysentery which lead to dehydration).

 
World Water Day is March 22nd, 2012.  Learn more about the world water crisis at the UN site or water.org.

Water and golf courses

My Art Business New Years Resolutions for 2012

Artwork goals

     1. Have a new body of work ready to be submitted to the 234 Gallery.
         i. I would like to have a show (apply for a show) next academic school year in the 234 Gallery.
         ii. This body of work will focus on the broad topic of sex trafficking, human trafficking, sex slavery and/or the sex industry.
             a. See Human Trafficking to track my progress
     2. Create at least 5 posters that are not a part of the final trafficking show.
     3. Create at least 5 (total, not counting the flower drawings) posters or other artworks in response to Haiti. 
     4. Create 25 ink drawings, not involved in an exhibition or another project.  But can be personalized name drawings.
         i. Make 10 social justice related.
         ii. Sell 5.
     5. Create upcycling projects to sell on ETSY.
         i. Post my T-shirt Necklaces or scarves.
         ii. Find maybe two or three other projects (decide how much art should be on ETSY or if I should focus on upcycling).
        iii. Make an upcycling poster to tie my upcycling to my ay art...or discover another way to more clearly tie the areas together.  Although upcycling could really just be a hobby...
     6. Look into creating greeting cards, prints, and a 2013 calendar with my artwork.