Poverty and Crime

I created this handbill design in response to the controversy surrounding a "law criminalizing the homeless" which was passed in Denver this past May. 

I have always enjoyed being around homeless people, helping them, and learning from them.  Experiences while living in Rapid City included volunteering monthly at the Mission, reading the Bible with a couple people when I worked at a downtown Bible and Book store, and volunteering for Food not Bombs.  These experiences in addition to spending time with various homeless people in downtown Denver have given me a unique perspective and understanding of individual's situations.

Many of the stories I have heard help one to see the humanity in those living in poverty.  Once you start to hear and understand why someone is living on the streets, it becomes easier to empathize with them.  Many homeless are war veterans struggling with addiction and mental disorders, or women and children who escaped abusive situations. 

TO lean more about the law check out the following links

Troubling Increase in Criminalization Laws Continues

Homeless Camping Ban: Denver City Council Passes City-Wide 'Urban Camping' Ban

Found my Art Online

Just found my Black Jesus poster on this site "as the Cracker Crumbles.

Check out my Make it Plain series on Facebook

Rocky Mountain Water Lily

As many of you know I have been creating a series of artwork focusing on the water lily.
 This video is composed of my Rocky Mountain Water Lily photos from this summer.
I took all of the photos in Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone National Parks.

Which photo is your favorite?  I like the colors in the last one the best.

Open Studio Tour

My open studio was a hit.

I had a large variety of work on display.  My current work took up about half of the space.  Snakes and lizards on one wall and water lilies and lily pads (see image) on a second wall.  I had some of my posters as well as a portfolio of my Make it Plain show on display. Some photographs of the building just for fun and jewelry were on display as well.

I am so very thankful for everyone who came to my Open Studio night. We estimated that between 60 and 80 people trickled in and out. The studio space is pretty small so it stayed full most of the night which made the evening go quickly.

If you were not able to make it, be sure to subscribe to my monthly newsletter, follow my Facebook page and keep up with this blog to see some of what you missed.

It was great to share my art with everyone.  There will definitely be another studio night in the future.

Open Studio Today!

Open Studio

I am excited to announce that I will be having my first Open Studio this month.  From 3-7pm on August 17, 2012 my studio will be open to the public and clean.  This is an excellent opportunity to see some of my in progress works, finished or nearly finished work, as well as the way I work in my studio space. 

In addition my studio has been selected by Downtown Laramie to be a part of the Upstairs/Downtown tour.  To see the other homes on the tour you can purchase tickets here.  If you would just like to stop by my studio there is no fee, just come on in.

Watercolor Paint Palate

As an artist it is always interesting to see the process, tools, and work area of fellow artists.

My watercolor palate started with 17 basic colors (the green on the left through the blue on the right, and white in the corner).  As I learned to paint I have slowly added more colors on the outside.  Since then I have also added colors to the inside of the large spaces.

You can also see my travel watercolor kit.

Why I Like Art (and My Job)

Hi my name is Felicia Follum. I am a Cooper Center staff, artist, social media junkie, and am currently teaching the blogging class (this first sentence was written by the class).

When Maggie (a student in my Blogging and Social Media class at the Cooper Center) asked me to write about why I like art, I knew the topic would be a perfect fit for a guest post on the students’ blogs (since their blogs are currently set to private, I thought I would share this guest post on my own blog as well).

Why I like art… As most artists would say, I have always been an artist.

In high school I wanted to be an art teacher because I loved watching my friends and peers who didn’t enjoy school light up and really thrive in the art room. I have always liked helping people and saw art as the perfect way to relate to my friends and others when they needed a little extra encouragement.

Since attending the University of Wyoming as an art and conceptual graphic design student, I have become passionate about using art and creativity as a tool for social justice, activism, and communication. Art can make a political statement much more clearly and directly without being a “slap in the face” than a good portion of the political dialog around us.  People tend to THINK about beautiful art rather than becoming defensive and belligerent. When we can create a work that consists of both concept and aesthetic beauty we have created a powerful tool and made a difference in the lives of those who have engaged with the wok.

I suppose my simple answer to the complex question “why do you like art” can be summed up in one sentence. I like art because it is a wonderful tool to help make the world a better and more beautiful place.

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to use art, creativity, and innovation to work with such beautiful and wonderful people on a regular basis. The Cooper Center (click to see photos the Hip-Hop class I teach) is a perfect example of why I like art. We are using the arts to better the lives of people with disabilities (and all who come in contact with their work) every day.

PS I would like to thank Maggie, Nik, Eleanor, and Molly for inspiring this blog post.