Grandma's Hands

Ok, let's get back to some adorable pictures of my favorite little nugget, shall we? Her smile is really the only thing making this crazy world make sense right about now anyhow! <3

So where did we leave off?  Early December? Oh...post-Thanksgiving! Let me dig through the archives (aka: my phone photo folder that requires "cleaning out" every few months - oops) and see where that leaves us...please hold...

Aha...it seems this is a timely post after all! Why? Because the first thing OG and I did after Thanksgiving was visit with the GGs (code for great grandparents, for newer readers) - and we just celebrated my grandmother's 92nd birthday!

Also, I am pretty sure I have said this in previous posts, but OG and GGHelen have always had a special bond. And now that OG is getting bigger and can do "human stuff" like talk/walk, it has only made their bond more obvious. Two peas, these two.

For our GG visiting adventure, OG wore:
-Lavender burnout-style shirt
-Leggings with patterned stripes
-Her biggest, goofiest smile

"Momma, don't tell, but I'm about to pounce!"

POUNCE!

"Are you SURE you don't want to come over and play with us?"

I mean...is this picture not melting everyone's hearts?!?  *goo*

GGHelen being hilarious...

Please view this next series of pictures as a frame-by-frame of a conversation that went a little something like this:

GGH: "What is this toy you brought me? An elephant?"

(The face that OG makes when she knows that her elephant toy makes loud noises when
you push it's tummy - and GGHelen does not)
GGH: "What does this elephant do?"

(Elephant makes loud noise - "scares" GGHelen, which makes OG laugh)

GGHelen still putting on her best "sad pout" - OG is loving every moment.

Tee hee - silly ladies!

OG then decided to take GGHelen on a tour of her own house.

Finally goes back to check on GGGil and his remote. <3

And while I realize my grandparents are still very much with us on this Earth (for which I am extremely grateful), this song kept popping into my head as I was writing this post - because, Grandmas <3

We love you very much, GGHelen & GGGil!

Time Capsule: Political Art in The New Civil Rights Movement

As mentioned in my last post, things that are happening in the United States right now are the same things that happened in the 1940s and 1960s. There is a civil rights movement rising, and one of my favorite types of art is political art.  Bold images, bold messages, and a lot of passion are put into these pieces.

It's a politically terrifying yet artistically inspiring time to be alive.

I have decided to share some of my favorite images and designs that have been circulating recently. Some of these are graphic in their nature, but all tell an important story that's worth sharing.
*I will credit artists if I am able; if not, they will go un-credited until I find the names.

Let's begin with the artwork from the DAPL/Standing Rock protests.  This has been a long fight, but it shall continue...#istandwithstandingrock #NODAPL

And I wouldn't be covering the new civil rights movement if I didn't show the art of Black Lives Matter activists.  #BLM
Please note that some of these images are disturbing - but, that's kind of the point.

Art by: Alex Nabaum

Photo taken as a man yells, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” in Ferguson, Missouri, 
while protesting
the death of Michael Brown in August 2014.

Cover from TIME magazine, May 2015

Art by: Ti-Rock Moore

This political cartoon was used to compare how the legal system treated the cases
of Tamir Rice and the Bundy Family trial.

Then, for the Inauguration Day and the Women's March, famous street & political artist Shepard Fairey, with the help of a KickStarter campaign called "We The People", created several images and collected others, waived copyrights and allowed free downloads to anyone who wanted to use them.

Greater Than Fear

Artist: Shepard Fairey

Photographer: Ridwan Adhami

Resilient

Artist: Ernesto Yerena

Photographer: Ayse Gürsöz

Indivisible

Artist: Jessica Sabogal

Defend Dignity

Artist: Shepard Fairey

Photographer: Arlene Mejorado

Protect Each Other

Artist: Shepard Fairey

Photographer: Delphine Diallo

The money they used to fund the campaign also went to placing full-page ads in local newspapers on Inauguration Day.

The Washington Post 1/20/17
Photo Credit: Jane Murphy

Other images were submitted to The Amplifier Foundation's Public Call for Art.  Several were used in protest either during Inauguration Day or the the following day in the Women's March(es) in DC and 600+ other locations all over the WORLD.

– LIZA DONOVAN, “HEAR OUR VOICE”

-VictoriA GARCIA, “RESPETA”

– JESSICA SABOGAL, “WOMEN ARE PERFECT”

– KATE DECICCIO, “EMBRACING EACHOTHER”

– JENNIFER MARAVILLAS, “OUR BODIES, OUR MINDS”

Our local "Sister March" (the one the Hubs and I attended) used this logo on their official page:

And protest posters created by the People:

Green Peace representatives climbed a construction crane to hang this "RESIST" sign.

Here are a handful of other pieces I enjoyed:

Art by Mark Bryan

Art by John Mavroundis

Art by Nikkolas Smith

Art by David Mack

Art by Mark Bryan

Art by David Mack

Art by Hayley Gilmore

And then there were the crafters...and the Pussy Hats. Yarn stores all over the world reported that they had run out of pink yarn (and felt) in the weeks and days before the march.

I love this. When you get mad, take a stab at a craft and make art!

And finally (for this post, at least), in response to the Trump administration putting a gag order on National Parks, NASA, demanding the deletion of all climate reports, and halting their funding:

Only You Can Prevent Alt Facts

Inspired by the alt social media accounts of the National Parks, America's greatest treasures. All designer proceeds will be donated and split between the National Parks Foundation and the National Forest Foundation to help protect those lands and the people that have devoted their lives to them.

Rogue NASA

Science is under attack in America, and we're here to lead the resistance (into outer space, if need be). All of Rogue NASA's proceeds from this sale will be split between Girls Who Code and the National Math + Science Initiative.

It's going to be quite and interesting ride, folks. Don't forget your seat belts. And protest art!