The value of art and design

An interesting post came up on a Google group that I subscribe to recently: a call for a contest design for a jersey.

I responded and out of it came a very interesting discussion. I value aesthetics, beautiful art, gorgeous bicycles, well designed and well thought out clothing, furniture...all of it. I often spend a long time making decisions about things because I weigh the looks and design of the thing very heavily. Those things matter very much to me.

I am an artist and a designer, but I don't pay the rent this way. If I could figure out how to do it, I would. In a heartbeat. No question.

So I champion people who make a living for themselves through art and design. And their time is valuable.

An artist named Molly Crabapple taught me that contests aren't great for artists and designers, and I feel strongly that this is true.

Contests, while often good intentioned, ask artists to make work for free on the off chance that their design will be picked. Now sure this may appeal to many, and they can be fun and people may create something for it because they will get something out it. But they still ask people to work for free, which sort of devalues their work. Does that make sense?

I feel very strongly that having a need for design (no matter what it is) is a great opportunity. It is an opportunity to hire someone whose work you like.

It values their work. It allows them to keep paying rent and to make work which will make the world in turn a more beautiful place. It matters. Still with me?

Many of the responses to my post made me see that people don't understand what I'm talking about.

Volunteering to do something because you get something out of it is wonderful, but that's not what I'm talking about.

Thinking that the professionals need not respond to a contest because the amateurs might want to do it for free is also not what I'm talking about.

Also, if we follow this thought to its end, a poorly designed thingamagig is just tomorrow's Goodwill run. Why? Because we don't love and value it the same way as something that was well designed or is inherently beautiful. A beautiful thing often takes hours of thought and many rounds of rework. It is a valuable thing, one that we should want to enjoy for years to come!

What I'm talking about is being in the position to hire an artist or designer to make something beautiful.

People will buy, crave or want something well designed. Look at Apple products. Look at gorgeous bicycle frames. Look at Rapha clothing.

What I want to communicate is that art has value. If you like an artist's work, consider hiring them rather than having a contest. It matters.

If you don't know who to contact, contact me. I will point you in the right direction. Art is a feast for my eyes and I see lots of it. I can give you names of good designers and artists.

This is not about me. This is about what is good for all of us. If artists cannot pay their rent and be valued, this world will be a sad ugly place. I just cannot let that happen.

Complicated Interests

The reason that I put my website to bed and started writing on this blog again is because I realized that my website didn't fully represent all the things that I enjoy doing.
I'm not just a painter, or a drawrrrer. I sew, I bike, I run the San Francisco branch of Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School and I try to balance time with friends and family as well. It can be difficult to balance all the things that I want to do, especially with a full time job.

This weekend I was fortunate enough to get some balance in my interests. Yesterday I went out for a 60 mile ride with a friend. We pretty much followed the SFR Populaire route out to Pt. Reyes Station, but we didn't follow it around to the Nicassio reservoir, we just came back the same way.



We both have beautiful Pelicans!

We did a fair share of flat changing, but oh well.


Constance and Zoë modeled for Dr Sketchy's SF last week. They recreated one of my inspiration photos:
 
We talked about having it in reverse, with Constance playing the 'man' and Zoë helping her up. I love the feminism aspect of doing this pose this way, and I also love the gender flip of having Constance butch it up a little bit.

It was a lot of fun, I feel very grateful that I can help create these scenarios then I get to draw them! Seems like other people were into it as well, we had about 60 artists in attendance.

   

Pondering

On this eve of bike to work day, I have a sore throat and have been taking it easy. I have also been reflecting on several things. 

Maurice Sendak and Adam Yauch passed away this week. I heard and read the phrase 'the Beastie Boys were a soundtrack to my life' several times since then and this is true for me as well. Between high school and college, there were many road trips and life events narrated by those three. And now they are two. 

Maurice Sendak was on Colbert recently and I loved listening to him speak. While he sounded thick, as if we was difficult to speak or breathe, he jabbed in the most charming way with Stephen. And my boyfriend and I listened to an interview with Terry Gross last night where he spoke of people in his life dying and I just cried and cried. 

And tomorrow is bike to work day. I feel emotional and reflective and grateful for what my life contains.

I don't know if I have ever put down on paper exactly what the bicycle represents to me. Lately I feel that I have found some new joy in that I have a completely different kind of bike. It is fixed. It is very fun.

I hear tell it that my father rode me around on the back of his bike when I was a little girl. I find that story very cute. My father taught me a lot, he wanted me to be self sufficient, so he taught me how to fix things. There were many days when I was dragged to GLERC at Lockheed, where my dad needed me along to sit in the driver's seat and pump the brakes on the car. I can't remember doing much other than pumping the brake, then the gas, then the brake again.

It was incredibly boring, but neat. He never treated me like I couldn't do things because I was a girl, so I became very self reliant. I was different than a lot of other girls my age, that was a gift and yet also difficult. The smell of oil and orange hand cleaner makes me think of him. 

My dad also taught me to ride a bike. That 'ah ha' moment where he was no longer supporting the bike and it was all me is still right there for me. I can recall it right at this very moment. 

My first bike for school was a fucking tank. It was bright blue and he insisted that I have a huge basket on the front for practicality, I think of that bike and frown.

The first day that I rode that bike to school it had a drivetrain issue about 3/4 of the way. My friends drove by and their father forced them to help me, it's a sad story as they used that incident to tease me for years. During the 80s, they had sexy ten speeds with white brake lines, I don't recall what I rode at that point, but remember being jealous of their slender geared frames. I believe that they were green and sparkly.

In college, a friend bought a green vintage Schwinn with baskets on the back. She used to ride on the back and I would drive us around town. We had a lot of fun doing that. It was also green and sparkly.

On my 21st birthday, my parents bought me a BMX. I was infatuated with low riders and BMX bikes at the time, I thought they were SO COOL. 

When I moved to SF I had a car. In 2006 it failed the smog test, so I gave it to my parents. I bought a hybrid bike in 2008 with the intent to start commuting, but then I got scared. I could not conceive of how I would safely ride down Market Street. 

I thought surely that I would die and that it would be painful, and that everyone I knew would be sad. And then I met a girl who rode her bike all the time, and I started to ask her questions and really consider it, and then I started riding. 

And it changed everything.

I used to give an hour to get anywhere in the city because MUNI is unpredictable. Now it takes me 15 minutes to get to work.

I used to have problems with my asthma, now I can breathe.

I have become obsessed with bicycles, because they are absolutely beautiful machines. 

I ride distances of 70 miles and meet up with people whom I barely know to ride these rides. And then we tell each other stories of our lives. And I learn new things all of the time.

Bike riding, i.e. cycling, feels very important to me. I feel that it is a cultural movement. There is a self organized protest ride every month in San Francisco (critical mass). It is controversial. Riding bikes is sometimes political. Sometimes unpopular, sadly hated by some. It makes me sad. Of all the ways that I can move my body around this city, the bicycle is my most favorite. 

I hope that more people try transporting themselves by bicycle in a regular basis. I wish that everyone (cyclists, drivers, peds) would slow down and be safe and respectful.

My dad riding my BMX.

Art for ALC

Hey so I drew a little something to help two rad ladies who are doing this little jaunt from SF to LA. You may have heard of it...Aids Life Cycle.

Tomorrow they are having a fundraiser at Nooworks at 395 Valencia, SF. 2-8pm. Pedal Savvy fashion show happens at 6pm.

Sunday Streets is also happening and the weather promises to be outstanding. I hope to see you there. 

Dr Sketchy's on Tuesday

We're drawing Mistress Marla Spanks with her balloons and cowgirl chaps finery on Tuesday.

It is first Tuesday, so you can hit the free museums and then come draw with us. Will we see you there?

Post weekend report

Gah I don't have any time to scan drawings right now. I scribbled a bit Friday night at Tease-O-Rama, then scurried out the door Saturday for our official Dr Sketchy's event with all the performers.

It went really smoothly! We had a great lineup of 7 performers, eventually I will have more digital imagery for internet perusal.

For now, I give you Twinkle Toes McGee:


The folks from Sketchcrawl joined us about halfway through the event. We had about 60 artists. That is Coco Lectic posing in the background behind Johnny Crash's hat.



Diane and I met the Sketchcrawlers afterwards at Ghirardelli Square and looked at each other's drawings. We had another full fabulous night of Tease-O-Rama and I was done.

Sunday all I wanted to do was sew:



I'm very close to having this pattern fit perfectly and I am pleased. My goal is to make many of these little shirts in time for my trip to France in June!

Tease-O-Rama

The Tease-O-Rama burlesque festival kicked off last night with Hubba Hubba at the DNA. I didn't make it because I went on a great ride with Ely. The weather was fantastic and I took this at Ocean Beach:



The Tease-O-Rama showcase events start tonight. Between tonight and tomorrow night, we'll see probably 12 hours worth of amazing burlesque. It's the best of the best in the biz.

As part of the festivities, we are having a Dr. Sketchy's drawing marathon with SEVEN performers. They will model back-to-back, all 15 minute poses, with no breaks. We are going to have some fast and furious drawing and it should be super fun. I'm looking forward to it!

I hope to see you at 2pm tomorrow at Holiday Inn Fisherman's wharf. Map: http://g.co/maps/3cqdz

Quite an exciting week

I am now happily entrenched in the cult of iPhone, and over the weekend I began my exploration obsession with Instagram.

Below are the fruits of my labors:

I tried on some bikey shoes, the kind with cleats. Still deciding on what is best for me...


My first iPhone panda shot.


Babycakes at Sunday Streets!



And don't forget that we draw tomorrow! 7pm at Chicken John's. Bring your adult refreshments.

Buy your tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/238970




Saturday we draw at Tease-O-Rama. 2pm-4pm @ the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf. 1300 Columbus. FREE admission. (we're asking for tip money)

Details are on the site: www.drsketchyssf.com

XOXO!

Johnny Crash photos & my drawings of the Sisters

Editing down these photos took some real effort on my part. I had about 51 favorites, but I know editing is best, so I narrowed it down to about 31 in flickr.

The entire set is on Johnny's site. If you have a little time and love the Sisters as much as I do, then go there and spend some quality time: http://www.johnnycrashphotography.com/DrSketchysSF/Sisters-of-Perpetual

I really enjoyed hearing about the process of becoming a Sister.

Sister Sharin' Dippity talked a lot about how important community is, which is something that we are also trying to cultivate at Dr Sketchy's. We believe that artists need to have a great place to practice.

She also talked about how many people in the LGBT community (or anyone really) come to San Francisco having not had a place to fit in spiritually wherever they are from. Many people come here without roots. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are celebrating their 33rd anniversary this year, they established their roots on Easter Sunday in Dolores Park in 1979.


Sister Mae Joy B With U


Sister T'Aint a Virgin

Sister Sharin' Dippity

Sister Jezabelle

And our lucky prize winners!




My drawing of Sister Mae Joy!

Tonight we get to draw the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

This is one of my most favorite Dr Sketchy's of the year. The Sisters are a group of queer nuns, who do wonderfully irreverent things, while garbed in full-on nun drag.

This is part of their statement: "We believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty and we use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit."

Did I mention that I love living in San Francisco? And I love that at Dr Sketchy's we can celebrate and capture our amazing and vibrant culture on paper.

Tonight we'll be drawing in the loading dock at YBCA. We've been promised at least four (maybe five!!) Sisters. We're talking about setting up different stations around the space so that we can all get up close and personal with our sketchbooks.

Draw with you soon!

Butoh photos

Johnny Crash posted his Butoh photos. They are gorgeous:
 You can see the whole set here: http://www.johnnycrashphotography.com/DrSketchysSF/Butoh

Butoh drawrrrings

Last night we drew in the new YBCA space, every seat was taken and the final count was 46 total artists. Not bad for a rainy San Francisco night.

 We drew Deborah Butler, she is a Butoh dancer.

Butoh is fascinating. It started in the 50s in Japan as a sort of rebellion against traditional forms of dance. It is very avant-garde and interesting to see. During the breaks she shifted from one pose into the next using the movements of Butoh and I was transfixed. I couldn't take my eyes off of her and she held her face and hands in great shapes. It was inspiring.

The white makeup proved to be challenging to draw, and her costume had lots of volume, texture and transparency. I had trouble initially with white conté crayon on gray paper, the lines of the conté were too hard for what I wanted. I switched over to white watercolor on the gray paper and that worked out pretty well.
 

And today Constance and I went riding on our Pelicans. Her bike is set up for touring, she had an epic tour last year. We did the Paradise loop. I brought some home made rice cakes from the The Feed Zone and a lemon line homemade sports drink from Brendan Brazier's book Thrive. I'm testing out nutrition for the Populaire next week.

This month we draw Butoh & Burlesque

YBCA presents Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School: San Francisco

Join Dr Sketchy's SF at our new space at YBCA to draw Butoh; a visually striking avant-garde form of dance and movement.

Saturday, March 24th
5-7pm * All Ages
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 mission St (at 3rd)
San Francisco, CA

Tickets:
$12 in advance, $15 at the door*
Discounts for YBCA & YBCA:YOU Members
Go to www.ybca.org/dr-sketchy to purchase (should be available this week)

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Dr Sketchy's SF presents Ophelia Coeur de Noir

Draw 'The Petite Phenomenon!'

gypsy / burlesque performer / cancan dancer / actor / fetish model / choreographer / singer / costumier / apprentice tattoo artist / renaissance woman / girl of all trades

Tuesday March 27th, 2012
7-10pm.  21+
$12 in advance, $15 at the door*
Buy your tickets:


Chicken John's Warehouse
3359 Cesar Chavez St
(between Van Ness Ave & Mission St)
Map: http://g.co/maps/yq59k

It's Populaire Time

I had a little something to do with this poster:



http://www.sfrandonneurs.org/2012-spring-115k-populaire.htm

Ride with you soon, yo?

Johnny Crash's photos from February Dr Sketchy's SF

We drew Ben Ahn at Utrecht Art Supplies as a post apocalyptic samurai.



And then we drew Leigh Crow and Ste Fishell of Vice Palace: The Last Cockettes Musical at Chicken John's Warehouse.