Posted by nullthread on Nov 30, 2021
Unsure how to describe the last few weeks other than a "slow whirlwind" - a sluggish but strong inevitability. I have at least two anthology submissions and a handful of tiny zine projects to complete this upcoming month, then I will be lost in the world of SMT V for a hot second before returning back to pencil marks on trace paper.
Anthology Submissions: Scarfff "Internet of Things" & 666 "Blood"
A few months ago I did a page for Scarfff's "Martial Arts" issue. I ended up drawing a soldier cat longsword-fighting a bunny with a chest piece (old english script "DREAD"). I had a lot less time that I thought, so I went a cartoonish route. Yes, I get that sounds funny considering that's what "cartoonist" means - but I wanted to try another style. Luckily I get to try that again - but this time for the centerfold!
A whole lifetime ago (back in 2018), I made some graphics for a socialist candidate running for city council. My favorite, which I also found to be the most strikingly Seattle, was a monochrome scritchy-scratchy render of the typical view of houses and trees on a hill, but overlayed on a two-axis line graph of rents vs. time.
I don't think the campaign ended up using the image, which you can see in the "collage" above on the bottom right. I had once again, less time than I thought I did* and wasn't as nimble as I wanted to be. I naively didn't think political campaigns were as ass-to-the-wall as they actually are. Life in the Scarcity Model - who knew that if you aren't rich, you gotta hustle EVERYWHERE you go, even for righteous representation.
This concept of landscape-as-infographic is tied to the base of my centerfold. What you see above is the raw image without detailing. I quickly drew it this past weekend with fat acrylic markers on a 24" x 18" bristol paper on a too-small light box. Instead of the land exponentially rising over time, it's now water - a city drowing in accelerating cost of living brought upon by the triple threat of wealth inequality, systemic racism and climate change.
This issue's theme is "Internet of Things" in black and teal (blue-green) on newsprint and although such theme has a literal meaning (internet-connected devices), I'm taking a very abstract read on it - how land ownership is tied to capitalism and imperialism wrought by English settler-colonialism. Although the raw image is black and white, the final will not. Once I take it into Ph#tosh#p, the water and trees will be processed teal, while the built environment and text black. Manifest Destiny, the figure on the right**, will be both. I should be finished next week!
The other submission I've been incredibly slow at. I'm slowly releasing the pages here, the first you can see below or here. It's for Really Easy Press's 666, a new horror anthology. I'm combining two concepts for this short 36 panel horror project: slime videos and kill(er)(ing) cops. Have to learn to draw some gore... stay tuned.
* - It happens to be I have clinical depression - and the time I continuously count on to have is never there because of it.
** - I am taking her visage from the painting "American Progress" by John Gast where she is a giant symbolic figure, following settlers, laying down electrical wires on utility poles.
Stop Talking to Cops
The last pre-pandemic festival I attended was the anarchist bookfair at the Vera in early December 2019. I recall being annoyed with myself I didn't attend any of the workshops. I picked up quite a lot of books though - and since it's been 2 years since then, I'm hoping I've read them all.
I also remember Detritus Books were selling a red sticker with white text that reads "TALKING TO COPS". I don't remember if I bought it, traded for it, or if someone gave it to me, but I put it up somewhere in the neighborhood where it took at least 3 months to be taken down. I applied that same concept to two words: Sweeps and Evictions.
I ordered 500 of each which I am selling at cost here.
Images to Represent Yourself By
I've been in the logo and graphic design "business" recently. The most recent have been House Our Neighbor's logo (watch this space!), my own logo for Ti-ra-de-ro (you're in this space!), as well as for various mutual aid circles and community campaigns that want their own image to represent themselves with.
I'm finishing up our mutual aid circle's zine, which the back will be an 11x17 spread of what items we like to give and share to neighbors living outdoors. Preview of the first pass below!
I'm also doing some drawings for a tenant union I volunteer with. Inspired by Don't Evict PDX, some comrades from Puget Sound Tenants Union started their own court watch for King County. If you're local, and interested in lending your ears and mind weekday mornings, sign up here. We're watching you, landlords!!
Lastly, Comradery will be rolling out tiered subcriptions soon. All of you are currently donating montly to me - which I'm hella thankful for. Ideally posts like this would be behind a paywall since I'm showing unfinished art work - as well as notes on the process. I do love sharing these, as that's how I learned to do art: sharing with my peers. Sometimes however, shit's still tender, and I'd like to hide in the shadows. As well as show you extras that don't get used.
No action needed from you now, but wanted to flag it so you know what to do next time!
-Myra