Film: MissRepresentation

While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors. --MissRepresentation.org

This past week I took my best galpal to a local screening of MissRepresentation: we had LOTS to talk about over dinner. The film doesn't simply focus on how the media portrays women, but delves deeper into how the derogatory messages effect our lives in ways that are so large and destructive they are often difficult to see. MissRepresentation discusses the pornification of women and how it translates into to a larger more powerful problem--dehumanization.

When you dehumanize someone,
you take away their personal power.
Their efficacy.
Their ability to make changes in their community.

The discussion shifts from impossibly photoshoped freaks to the stigmatization and sexist criticism of strong female leaders. (The investigation of the media cruelty suffered by Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin is painful, and fascinating.)

Take a peek at the trailer:

My favorite part of this film is the conclusion: practical ways to counteract the war on women. While the information is goose-bump inducing, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

If you have the opportunity-- see this film.
Bring it to your cities and schools.
Set up showings in your community.

You can find more information about the film and what you can do to make positive changes and help heal our collective media based consciousness here.

Love Note to My Muffins: Never Forget

Dearest Muffins,
I know it's hard. I know it hurts.

It can be difficult to squeak out any kind of sparkling existence when it seems that the world can't see you-- that has been specially designed to shame you. To minimize you.

A world that decides for you. Your mind is made up by angry mobs who believe they are Fathers to the World.

-- a world that wants to cut you down and paint you up in an image that is anything but yours. In a world that assures you that one day, you too will be used up and boring and without perfume and 3,000+ positions.

A world that assures you that if you are alone,
your are lonely and lonely is worthless.

-- A world of perpetual fear of the rapist or the abuser lurking at every bus stop and filling station--a world where outside is the danger, and the Danger is Everywhere. Lock your doors. Go nowhere.

It can be painful to maintain your glowing soul-filament in a world that assumes your illnesses are a result of your weakness, your natural frailty or worse a petty cry for attention or figments of a fretful imagination.

--In a world that assumes you are an emotional time bomb, incapable and unstable.

A world that believes you exist in a fantasy bubble of boy trouble, crocodile tears and desperate housewives-- too romantic to consult the brain but relying solely on the gummy bear heart that insults the Spirit.

A world where success is synonymous with maleness. Tallness. Whiteness. Richness. If you play the game by their rules you are flawed. And if you refuse to play, you're a failure.

It can be devastating to think yourself a leviathan and be constantly reminded that somehow, in defiance of all logic, you are still consulted as an infantalized minority.

--A world that gives you BLACK and WHITE options:
bitch. whore. bimbo. slut. femnazi. prude.

When all you really want to be is purple.
And left alone.

It can be hard to go on when the world can't understand why you hurt.
That doesn't want to see the discrepancy.
That can't get a grip on why you're angry.


It can break your heart, Muffins.


We know better than this. We Are Better Than This.

We are better than this because we will never forget our Sacred nature--that we are shimmering writhing creatures that build cities and spit fire and see the future.

We are better than this because when it appears all hope is lost, we do not snivel and surrender. Instead we become biplanes and grappling hooks.

We will never be extinguished because we travel in Packs. We're just too fast.

We are better than this because we know that flaccid magazine pages are mere cartoons of our glory and we are beautiful in ways that haven't even been invented yet.

We are spry foxes with lipstick and eagle eyes that
read and research and remember EVERYTHING.

We are better because we are magicians: bringing something to where there was once nothing. We make light work of Lazurus, resurrecting ourselves again and again. Reinventing ourselves on the daily. Effortlessly Healing our own wounds while providing witty cocktail conversation.

We will not be corralled and crushed by the insane suits making cake out of our fears because they will be held accountable, have their ankles gnawed and driven out of town.

We are better because we are just as mean as we are pretty. Just as fierce as we are sumptuous. And better dancers than most.

We will not be snuffed as we are all ravishingly decorated with the scars of war and they have made us stunning, sinewy, tough and cunning.

Never forget it, Muffins.

For You: Rainbow Goddess Desk Top!

Happy Valentines Day, Creampuffs! To celebrate I have a little gift for you--a rainbow laser goddess desk top! A cosmic sticky note to remind you of your kick ass super powers:

What a strange sparkling and smexy creature you are.

Click for a larger view, kittens. <3 xo

What Would Xena Do?

By Molly. Click for a larger view. :)

Glamor Puss: Flapper Love Tutorial

Hello Bebe Cakes! Do you love getting dolled up to go out? Me too-- especially when there is an opportunity to experiment with a dramatic look.

I don't feel oppressed by make up, in fact it's quite the opposite. My body is a canvas and make up allows me to project what I feel onto my skin! Being a chameleon--that's the dream. Style isn't knowing what's hip and what's not--style is being brave and bold enough to do whatever makes you feel beautiful.

One of my favorite looks is the Silent Film Goddess -- she's a gin drinking-cigarette eating-one-woman-dance-party-flapper on the go GO!

In today's Glamour Puss segment I'm going to teach you how to achieve the Flapper look!


Skin:Start with an all over foundation--matte skin was very popular. If you're not into cream foundations, a little dusting of loose powder will help set your make up.

Brows:The 20's shape was long and willowy. Use a fine brush or pencil to darken and extend the eyebrows. Don't be afraid!

Lids:Use a dark shade: a charcoal, plum or velvety brown and cover the entire lid, blending with a soft brush. You can modernize the look by using a shimmery shadow.

Then with a kohl colored liner, draw along the top lid, your water line and under the eye. Finish with mascara. I chose to add a false lash for a more cinematic touch.

Cheeks:Using a bright blush with a fluffy brush just on the apples of your cheeks!

Lips:Dark cherub-bow lips were very vogue. Use a dark plumy lipstick to accentuate your kisser --or for a more exotic look, line the lips with black liner and gloss with a red lip shimmer. You can experiment with redrawing your lipshape as well....try it...you'll like it!

To really achieve the total flapper flair, try your hand at a finger wave! Check out this video tutorial.

Where are you finding your style inspiration, kittens? Share with us in the comments!

GirlZilla: Destroyer Diary

Hello Ladybugs! I wanted to show you what I've been away working on. We're gearing up for our very first gallery night: scrubbing the studio, fliers flying and paintings exploding all over!

For this exhibition, I wanted to experiement. The goal was to recreate this journal entry on a large scale. I'm being called to my journal more and more and wanted to translate some of that manic process oriented spree into my painting. Here are the results!



I began with a bunch of boxes I scavenged from the dumpster behind the museum. After a generous coat of gesso, the city was sketched in...


















I always default into this stuffy super serious figure drawing mode and it just wasn't working. Still after days of drawing and redrawing, the face was all scrunchy and wrong...so I scrubbed it out -->



















While frustrated with the yuckiness I had achieved, I joked about just making the head GIGANTIC.

And then decided that's how I would solve the problem. :)

























GirlZilla!
























Outfitted with a found cardboard bow and war paint to compliment her rainbow laser-vision, she was ready to crush the rest of the cartoon city. But even with the additions, it wasn't jiving...it didn't have the collage-y vibrations I was going for. It was time for DRASTIC MEASURES!



















So I pulled out the big guns: Spray paint, stencils, chalk, markers, oil pastel and GLITTER! I learned so much about my materials making this painting: what sticks to what, what resists what, what mixes with what. And that stars make everything better...



















Add a little leopard print eyeliner and GirlZilla is ready for Gallery Night!

What have you been making, Muffins?

Glamor Puss!

Hello Bon bons! I'm excited to bring you a new piece on HerSpeak. For those of you who know me in the third-dimension you know that when I am not Art-ing and pillaging the city, I am planning parties and rouging my knees. I find so much inspiration in fashion and night-flights and want to share it with you! With that, I bring you Glamor Puss: a segment that celebrates the silly, the saucy and the snazzy.

This weeks minxy morsel is a bit of mixology. This drink is sweet, unexpectedly savory and simple to make! I haven't named this cocktail yet:

*Muddle a spring fresh rosemary at the bottom of the glass
*Fill the glass with ice and a few slices of cucumber
*Add a shot...or two...of Bombay Sapphire Gin
*Top off with lemonade

I ask you, dear readers--What should we call this drink? Leave your ideas in the comments!

What spirits are tickling your fancy?

Book Love: Home Rockanomics

You should read this book because:


1) It has 54 projects that cost practically nothing. Really--half of them are garbage.

2) It's pink.

3) The variety of projects it proposes are impressive: sewing, crafting, arting, and cooking. I can't decide which are my favorites: the vegan bike tire belt, the handmade wall paper or the x-ray lampshades.

4) There are ACTUAL instructions, not a collection of perfectly primped pictures of projects no one with a day job could actually recreate.

5) The lady who wrote it, Heidi Minx, created Built on Respect--a non profit group dedicated to raising human rights awareness.

My only qualms with this book is that some of the projects are a little obvious (make patches out of fabric and safety pins...) and some of photographs are difficult to see-- the zine aesthetic is fun and entertaining, it kind of zaps the eyeballs. Despite these minor details, it's a marvelous resource.

What are you reading, my dears?

She's Lurking: No Bait or Bullets

It's around the corner,
Lurking... Where you least suspect it.
Always sneaking--
That Beastie:
the Chance to do something electrifying and cunning.
Build something exquisite.
To snatch it up, sculpt it and skillfully execute
the sparkler-waving, distilled watermelon snowstorm of Potential.

That creature, that chance, that moment see's you.
She Always sees you.
She's not hard to catch--
She requires no special bait or bullets.
No elaborate snares or sales pitch.

The real trickery is in seeing her first.



*Miss Marney Pants as "the Chance".

Stuff That's Totally Doin' It For Me Right Now

Hullo Lemon Drops! It's been a big week at HerSpeak Headquarters: putting together an exhibition, moving into a new studio space and adjusting to a new job. In this segment, I like to take a few moments to meditate on and share the little things--the perfect things-- that are totally doin' it for me right now.

A cuppa hot cocoa with my brother and beau at my favorite french cafe.

A bouquet of roses and orchids left over from a wedding at the museum that have a new home on my breakfast table. I love my job!



This song has been swooping about in my head like a swallow. The video is as hypnotizing as the tune. I'll be wallpapering my bedroom with maps. :)

A silly sparkle-tip manicure was my DIY mid-week pamper moment. So easy--try it!

These lush and luminous photographs by Manjari Sharma. At first glance, I though these were paintings--they are actually elaborate staged photographs. Enchanting!

What's doin' it for you right now?

MINX MIX TAPE: Volume #12

Welcome to Minx Mix Tape --a digital dance party devoted to celebrating women making awesome musical contributions. Let's get to the tape!

We'll start off with a solid rock track from Girl in a Coma. The band is made up of three sisters from San Antonio Texas. They just released a record this fall on Joan Jett's label--check them out!



Next we have the stipped down and straightforward stylings of Candian indie outfit Magneta Lane. These ladies have a record due in early 2012. Can't wait!



I saved my VERY favorite for last! Listening to Iwrestledabearonce is like being covered in rainbow sprinkles and then smothered to death by fire ants. METAL.



What are you listening to? Got a song you want to add to the tape? Leave a link in the comments!

Video Blog: Setting Up Your Own Shows

Hello crumpets! Today we're talking DIY Show Set Up: useful tidbits for makers of all kinds on how to get your work up and out in the world. :)



It was a glorious day--that moment I realized that I didn't have to wait to be allowed into a secret society to have my artwork on display or play music for a crowd. That day my friends and I decided we were going to take our own making-destiny by the horns and do it our way! The journey has been amazing--it gets better every time and we learn more with each try.

What have your experiences been? Any advice you'd like to share with the class? Questions? Ask away!

My Home Away From Home in My Home

Hello BonBons! My fort project has evolved! It is now a room-sized boho inspired installation that takes up my entire parlor. It's a smaller house inside of our existing house--a tented living room or sorts. We've been enjoying it thoroughly: having dinner picnics, morning coffee, cat naps and slumber parties in it all week long:

When I wake up, I want color all around me.

Coffee for two is best in a tent.

Milo and I enjoy the sun spilling in--

Let's curl up for a few late morning winks.

Milo chose the sheepskin for his snooze.

Piping-hot afternoon tea for three.

My parlor is now a palace for gypsy-queen-kittens on the prowl.

What are your creature comforts today?

Inspiration! Fashion is: Art Every Day

Hello duckies! This knocked my giggle socks off and I HAVE to share it with you. Watch and fall in love:



I'm scampering to my closet right now in search of something smothered with sequins! Better yet, I'll be dusting off some of the dapper hats that have fallen to the back. Do you have a signature look? How will you play today?

Find more of these goodies at www.advancedstyle.blogspot.com

Fort Nacho: A Survival Guide

Hello, my Hot Tamales! This week required serious silliness to counteract the serious business. The following photographic essay is packed with survival tips for the urban nomad. You can play along at home: The only requirements for this adventure are bed sheets and friends as dumb as you are:

Solid construction is of utmost importance--the elements of an apartment can be brutal: unpredictable weather patterns, dust buffalo and drafty windows. It's wild out there.

These pennants serve two purposes: they provide essential pinks and structural stability.

Garland will improve your fortress' integrity and deflect most birds of prey.

He is not napping--he's trancing. All proper caravans must have a medium.

Choose supplies carefully. The winter is long.

Blinking Christmas lights allow you to communicate effectively with other forts in your vicinity.

The Boyfriend Bartender is an essential member of the the caravan
even if he only knows one recipe: hooch & rocks.

Do not rule out knit equipment: Crocheted bedspreads provide proper ventilation
and an excellent view of the ceiling sky.

VOILA INTRUDER!

Treasure Chest: Medicine Bag: New Friends

Hello Crumpets! As you know, my medicine bag is always growing--adapting to what I need at the moment, what interests me at the time, expanding with new experiences and dusted and restructured as often as I change socks all depending on what it is that spirit needs at the moment. Here are a few of the latest additions:

Homemade lavender oil that's been steeping in the window sill.

An amazing mass of rainbow candles from my grandmas house.

Acorns gathered up from an oak tree growing from the scattering pond of a Kentucky cemetery. Not sure what that means...but I couldn't resist them. :)
What's in your medicine bag? Don't have one? Now is the perfect day to start!
You may also enjoy a previous discussion--take a peek in my medicine bag! What are you being drawn to? :)

Stuff That's Totally Doin' It For Me Right Now

Hello Kittens! As usual, the three-ring-flea-circus that is daily life at HerSpeak Headquarters continues on with the gusto of a twelve piece UmPah band. I wanted to take this rare moment of sanity to share a little inspiration with you, show you all the "squee" worthy tidbits I've been enjoying!


First--Tom Waits new record "Bad As Me" has been my soundtrack for destruction: full of distortion, clanging pans, fat sax and warbling falsetto--gets my genius gears grinding and the makin' stuff factory in full swing!



I've been stealing slow moments at one job or the other to feed my latest guilty pleasure: making dreamy inspiration boards on Pintrest. Check out my latest assemblage "Places We Should Be Now". It's brimming with all things good & warm...and chocolaty...


Oh yeah--Glitter. Glitter is always doin' it for me...


AND finally--conspiring with my mum on Skallywag Fashions' latest runway show: "Swizzle". The vintage cocktail inspired style showcase will be the highlight of our next collective exhibition--Kitschmas! This week we had the pleasure of snooping around in resale shops for treasures to add to the line up.

What is inspiring you this week, my pets? Tell us what's doin' it for you!