Role Models: Lori Leaumont

My badass lady friend Talia over at Conduit Press did this write up about me and my work on her blog, and I just have to share it because it made me cry. Not like a single, glistening anime-style tear, either.

Through all my art and passion projects, I often wonder if any one is paying attention, and if any of it will make a difference. Reading something like this reminds me to keep it up.

Thanks for the love, Talia.

Role Models: Lori Leaumont

While you're clicking about, check out Talia's creative reuse of books! Nich and I have one of her flask book safes on our shelf, and it makes me feel like I live in a mystery. One day I'll rig it up so it'll sit right next to a bust of Beethoven that is actually a lever for a secret room.

Conduit Press

Big Car's 5 x 5

I'm excited to announce that I've been selected as one of the final 5 presenters in Big Car's 5 x 5 event! Friday, February 8th at 7pm, I get 5 slides and 5 minutes to convince the audience and judges why they should give me $10000 to create a mobile workshop. Wish me luck! 

Here was the proposal I submitted. Whether I win this or not, I'm gonna make this happen! 

Thanks to one of my backers for sharing his daughter's story about my Star Girl jar. I think it made my proposal complete:)

The Action Girl's Storytelling Workshop

"The star is where it's from. I want Patch the Puppy to play with Star Cat. I want Star Cat to be a cat. I want Star Cat to be a Star Cat. She likes to be Star Cat...playing with me. [I would] pet her and play with her. Mostly like to pet and mostly like to love and tell stories and tell stories. She loves me." - Star Cat, a story made up by a 4 year old girl

From the time we can speak, human beings tell each other stories. Ask a little girl to tell you a story, and she'll spin a wild yarn off the top of her head without hesitation. However, as girls grow up into teens, and then adults, something changes.

Despite the fact that girls make up half of the world's population, the world is short on female storytellers. In 2012, only 9% of the top grossing films in the US were directed by women. But more surprisingly, male characters outnumber females in kids movies 3:1. Why is this a problem? Because when girls don't see themselves reflected in the stories they consume, they are taught that girl's stories don't matter.

The wonderful thing about the world we live in today is that big budget movies and network TV are no longer the only media available. Thanks to the internet and social media, people from all over the world are creating the kind of content they want to see independently, and sharing it with the world. Human beings are now able to connect and communicate on a scale never before possible in human history. We live in an exciting time!

But if we want half of the world's population to be a part of this global conversation, we have to empower girls to speak up, to create, to lead.

The Action Girl's Storytelling Workshop is an idea to create a mobile art studio and media project, designed to empower girls all over Indianapolis to create stories by girls, for girls, and then share them with the world. Using public spaces such as libraries, classrooms, and community centers, the mobile studio will provide video and camera equipment, art materials, and a safe, fun environment that will encourage girls to be creative, take risks, and make something real. It will connect students with creative mentors that will teach them how to turn their story ideas into reality. Most importantly, student storytellers will be able to share their creations via the Action Girl website, specifically created for this project. Their stories will be shared and enjoyed by the world. 

By using art to empower girls to value their voices, we will be giving them the tools they need to be active members of our community, to be leaders, makers. They will grow to be women of action who will make Indianapolis a better place because they believe they have something to contribute to it, and because their stories are a part of it. Because girl's stories matter, they are a part of who we are, and they can change the world. 

Girl Stories art show part deux

Girl Stories show tonight!!!

Tonight is the first of two gallery openings showcasing the Girl Stories project. Here's my artist statement for the show tonight. If you're in Indy, it's at Beech Grove Clay Works from 5p-8p. The address is 339 Main St, Beech Grove Indiana. Hope to see you there!

About the Girl Stories Project

 

I am an artist whose work has always revolved around storytelling. As a lover of stories in all media, my work involves elements of illustration and narrative, telling visual stories on the surface of my porcelain pots and sculptures. I love folklore, pop culture, and stories meant for children, so my work has always looked like something out of a children’s book – bright, colorful, and sometimes a little strange, but fun. Stories, especially fiction, interest me because they are treated as entertainment, but they both reflect and influence the culture we live in.

I’ve always been annoyed at the lack of diverse female characters in the majority of movies, books, and video games that I loved, but having a daughter of my own brought my interest in girl’s stories to a head. I wanted stories for her that depicted girls as more than just princesses or damsels in distress, and while they existed, they weren’t nearly as plentiful as I’d like. I began researching gender bias in the media, and it influenced my artwork so much, I decided to do a project.

In August of 2012, I launched a fundraiser on an internet site called Kickstarter, calling for backers interested in my project to donate money to help me make my project a reality. My original idea was to create a series of girl character jar sculptures with stories to go with each. I smashed my goal of $700 in less than 24 hours, and ended with over $2500 by the end of the month. I definitely wasn’t alone in my desire for better stories for girls.

Since I received more money than I needed, I decided to use the surplus to encourage other girls to tell stories with art too. I teamed up with Beech Grove Clay Works and Big Brothers Big Sisters to make a free workshop available for girls and their mentors. I was inspired by Girls Rock Indy and the Girl Scouts, both programs who focused on single sex environments to encourage girls to feel safe expressing their ideas and try new things, without feeling self-conscious or shy.

I hope to continue this project, making workshops available to girls who need them most, and who might otherwise not get an opportunity to use a ceramics studio, or may not be able to afford it.  It is my hope that by creating artwork that tells good stories about girls, and encouraging more girls and women to tell stories of their own, the next generation of artists, filmmakers, programmers, scientists, writers, and leaders will come from girls who learned to value their voice and ideas, and tell stories of their own.

“The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is - it’s to imagine what is possible.” 
― bell hooks

Reflections on doing my Kickstarter

It is 7:00 on a Monday morning. I am sitting here with a cup of coffee, determined to get some work done like a real, live adult. I'm downloading writing software for my iPhone so I can write stories while Maddy is asleep (her crib is in the same room as our computer). I don't know how long it's been since I've posted to this blog, but it feels like an age.

Most of my energy has been directed towards my Girl Stories project, which is SUPER SECRET. I've only been sharing my updates on that with my backers, which doesn't leave much artwork to share here. Everything else I've felt like sharing has been everyday Facebook type stuff - lots of stupid MS Paint style drawings, and videos of Maddy. There's not much left over for the blog.

The one thing I've been meaning to blog about but haven't is a wrap up on my experience with running a Kickstarter. 

One of the coolest things about doing that project was that it forced me to reach out to a lot of people. I don't just mean asking people for pledges, either. I mean that it gave me a reason to contact organizations, fellow artists, and friends to talk about the work I wanted to do. That's something I've always struggled with - putting myself out there, believing in what I'm doing enough to tell people about it. Suddenly, I find myself less intimidated by the idea of calling a gallery or the director of an organization. This project gave me a laser-light focus for my ideas, and a framework to talk about them that got people excited. I realized just how many people  I can link up with to get things done for girls and for myself; whose interests and passions line up perfectly with my own. I don't think I realized how much my shyness was holding me back, making me miss out on opportunities that would enrich my life and my work.

Doing this project made me realize that what really gets me fired up is storytelling and human connection. I've always been turned off by the elitism of the art world, and have found traditional gallery settings cold and disengaging. I am drawn to the low brow, to art that is accessible to the masses. Not that I want art dumbed down - I don't think that public art has to be unintelligent, and I think its foolish to assume that because the general public is not educated about art in a traditional sense, they are stupid and unable to enjoy it. I just want to make art that is authentic, not contrived. I want art to be placed in the hands of people who feel the least like they have a story to tell. I want to connect with those people, and figure out how best to have a conversation with them.

My friend Courtney just shared a TEDtalk with me given by Brene Brown (http://www.smartpeoplepodcast.com/2012/01/15/episode-45-brene-brown/#.UF6P-76EhB0.facebook) about human connection and vulnerability that has really stayed with me. Suddenly, the word storyteller is popping up everywhere I look, and it lights my brain up. I feel like a kid playing punch-buggy, suddenly seeing VW beetles everywhere because I'm looking for them. I watched this TEDtalk about vulnerability and risk, and how the happiest people are the ones who live with "wholeheartedness", a willingness to make themselves vulnerable to others, to live with authenticity and take risk in personal relationships. I always thought I was a very open and unguarded person, but I'm coming to realize that I am the very definition of guarded. I have a hard time letting people in. I crave friendship, but socialization exhausts me. I fear being rejected or judged. I feel strange and alienated from the people I'd most like to build relationships with. I am afraid that if put myself out there, I will be unwanted. People will see my strangeness, and be repulsed by it. 

Fear of rejection has limited my friendships, my sense of connectedness to the community, and even my artwork. I'm beginning to take a hard look at how best to lay my guard down, how to lay myself bare, make the most authentic artwork I can make, and really open myself up to people, even if I risk the most brutal rejection. The alternative is to hole myself up with my family and my cats, playing iPhone games and surfing the internet, catching up on seasons of New Girl on Hulu. I could easily see myself falling into that trap, forever. I do, from time to time. I have to push myself to get out into the world, and I'm always happier for it when I do, but each time still feels like a colossal effort.

This blog post is ridiculously disjointed and rambling. It is in dire need of editing. But the point I am making, if there is one, is that I'm so glad I pushed myself to do a Kickstarter. I didn't really believe it would succeed, or that people would get behind me. I had no confidence in my work, but I faked it to myself, and pushed myself to do it, to believe in it, and to get excited. It really makes me wonder what else I can do. Can I talk to strangers on the street about art? (Utterly terrifying!) Can I found a non-profit organization for clay art for underprivileged girls? (Someday! Maybe soon!) Can I push my work to a level of technical and conceptual excellence that I want it to achieve? (YES! With hard work, and a lot of vulnerability! And a lot of heartache and insecurity, and more hard hard work. Yes. I can do this.)

Fall is coming now, and I'm already bracing myself for the chilly weather, and my studio concrete floors getting horribly cold. My first inclination is to curl up in a corner with a blanket and a mug of hot cocoa and hibernate away from the world. Instead, I'm going to buy a new space heater, a kettle, and some tea, and LIVE IN MY STUDIO until I can pour out every ounce of creativity and heart into my work, and my studio shelves are fit to burst with new art. I'm going to "lean into (my) discomfort," as Brene said in her talk. I'm tired of being comfortable. I want to be alive.

Pottery - the geekiest art!

My backers and friends have been sending me a lot of exciting projects on Kickstarter and elsewhere that are in line with what I'm about. Most of them are girl and women empowering, and quite a few of them have a nerdy flavor to them. One of the things I get really excited about is seeing all the projects out there aimed at getting girls into science and math. I'm glad that the idea that boys are better at these fields is being broken down, and people are working to change the stereotypes.

I was never interested in math until college pre-calc, the very first time I saw it having any practical application. I was going to be a writer or an artist; what did I need algebra for? I often wonder whether I would have taken more of an interest if someone could have shown me women using math in the real world to do things like engineering or astrophysics. Science was always wonderfully interesting to me, but somewhere between junior high and high school, I was convinced that I was bad at math, and therefore would be limited in the sciences, so I focused on my strengths in art and literature. However, I always had a fascination with finding out how things worked, and I think that's why I ended up majoring in ceramics, rather than painting. I feel like it's about the nerdiest art technique you can do; it involves creative problem solving, mechanical engineering, ergonomics, and chemistry just for a start. I was surprised to find that quite a number of professional engineers take up pottery as a hobby, because it seems to fit their skill set and the way their brains work.

When I sit my students down at the wheel, I like to tell them to treat throwing like an experiment. How much force does it take to center the clay on the wheel? What body position gives you the most leverage on the clay with the least amount of effort? What happens when you try to manipulate the clay in different ways? If I want to make a specific form, what is the best way to go about that? If this technique doesn't work, what else can I try? There are no mistakes, just experiments. It's fun to approach a creative activity with curiosity, rather than a desire to make something pretty and perfect. I've been pretty inspired by having a baby, actually. Everything kids do to learn about the world is basically the scientific method; I approach teaching and making the same way.

Here are a few awesome things that I love that are making the world better for girls and women in one way or another, and that are geeky, or math and science minded. I thought I'd share them with you.

"Wollstonecraft - A Snicketesque girl-power adventure featuring Ada Lovelace and Mary Shelley at 11 and 14 in 1826 London, for ages 8-12"
This project has already been fully funded (and wow, was it ever successful!), but it's so cool, I have to share it. The bit that gets me pumped is this:

"This is a pro-math, pro-science, pro-history and pro-literature adventure novel for and about girls, who use their education to solve problems and catch a jewel thief."

I cannot wait to see these books come out, read them myself, and share them with Maddy as soon as she's old enough to enjoy them!


"MOLLY DANGER - The world's most powerful 10 year old superhero is comic book superstar Jamal Igle's new creator owned graphic album series."

I know I shouldn't be promoting other Kickstarters when mine is still going, but I really love this, and I want it to succeed! Jamal is a successful and talented comic book artist who has worked on some major books for Marvel and DC. He is also the father of a little girl, and he's working on this book with a young girl protagonist who is, in his words "the most powerful girl in the world, but also the loneliest". I love that a professional in this male dominated industry is making an effort to change the industry for the better, and tell a new kind of story that the major comic companies probably wouldn't touch. I wish you the best, Jamal!

Finally, one of my backers is a programmer, and is planning to teach his daughter programming as she grows, so she can make awesome games too! He sent me a link to a programming language called Scratch, which is a visually based programming language that is easy enough for kids to learn and use. When Maddy gets a bit older, I'm looking forward to sitting down with her and trying to learn it together.

Do you have a geeky or girl power project to share? Post it in the comments! The more people out there doing inspiring things for girls, the better, and I want to know about them! What projects are inspiring you?

Girly stuff

I've got some thoughts on the word girl that I felt like sharing here.

The first thought thread is about the negative connotations associated with the word "girl" or "girly". I'm gonna tell you a little bit about my childhood, so bear with me here.

When I was a kid, I was kind of a tomboy. My parents really wanted to dress me in lots of cute, frilly dresses, and I know I looked totes adorbs in them; I've seen the pictures. I was a damn cute kid. But at some point it occured to little-kid-me that being and dressing like a girl = not getting to have fun. Girls in dresses and skirts were expected to sit "ladylike". They were supposed to stay clean. They were supposed to "play nice". I never thought it was fair that because I was a girl, I was limited to being able to do certain things, if not because I was explicitly told not to, then because of the way I was supposed to dress. My parents must have gotten tired of fighting me on this, or must have been at least somewhat practically minded, because I remember many summers of running around in shorts and t-shirts with no shoes on, running around my neighborhood and getting into stuff. I think I tolerated skirts and dresses for church, or for special occasions, but otherwise, I was pretty much not having it. You cannot collect bugs and dig in the dirt when you're wearing a pretty dress, ok?

The other thing that bugged the shit out of me as a kid was being constantly reminded that girls were bad at things. "You run like a girl" or "you throw/play like a girl" was a pretty common insult, and I heard things like that all the time. Girls are prissy and fussy, they take forever to get ready in the bathroom, they're creeped out by bugs and lizards, they can't fight, etc etc etc. I used to get so angry and frustrated every time I heard these things. They didn't apply to me, and I hated that being a girl was seen as such a bad thing. I didn't want to be a girl; I wanted to be cool. I didn't want to be a boy either, because they were generally jerks, so I figured I was just a different kind of girl. A better kind, one who did not get scared by the boys dangling a lizard in her face ("Oh cool! I love lizards," I'd say, and the boys would be disappointed), and who was not afraid to punch a boy in the face if he was mean to me. With this mindset firmly in place, I got into A LOT of trouble, and wasn't very popular with either boys or girls. They all seemed kinda stupid to me. Luckily, I had a few female friends who were awesome, vulgar, and also willing to punch a boy out, and we were awesome together through elementary school, at least. However, as I got older, this mindset meant I had a hard time identifying with other girls. I always felt awkward and alien around them, and could not for the life of me understand their interests in "girly stuff".

As an adult, I'm beginning to stop judging "girly girls". I realize how much I hated being told what I could or couldn't do, and no one should have to experience that. If you really love lipstick and pink dresses, then rock it the hell out. But it has slowly dawned on me that as women, we can't win. Whatever we choose to do, society will see our interests as either appropriate, and therefore girly and weak and frivilous, or as inappropriate, and therefore we're scary dykes and feminazis, and we're ruining the fabric of society. It is INFURIATING. If you're my facebook friend, you'll occasionally see me going on a mini rant because yet another guy friend made a candid statement about Pinterest (which, OMG, is fully of girly things like flowers and weddings, so it's NO MANS LAND and totally not relevant to my interests), and I get so mad because I'm tired of things for ladies being automatically branded as irrelevant. I'm also tired of feeling ashamed or embarassed when I do happen to like something that is stereotypically girly. As a feminist, I almost feel like I have to apologize for being a stay at home mom, or appreciating the way a killer set of pumps look. Because liking those things makes me look weak, both to society, and to fellow feminists. Girly = weak.

The reason I wanted to write about this, is because I titled my Kickstarter "Girl Stories", and I know that a lot of feminists get riled up when women are called "girls," for the same reason that grown men do not want to be called boys. It seems belittling and patronizing. At the same time, I call myself a girl, or a geek girl, because it's a word I've struggled with my whole life, and because I strongly identify with childish things. I don't feel like an adult - I feel like a giant kid hiding in a woman's body. I know that my interests and favorite things are totally childish, and I'm ok with that; in fact, I love it. Watching Sesame Street and Yo Gabba Gabba BRINGS ME GREAT JOY. So girl just seems to fit; and since my project is especially geared towards young girls, that seemed to fit there too.

So, I'm not writing this to attack my feminist friends, or society at large. These are just my thoughts about the word "girl", and why I get kinda pissed about it. Call it the word of the day, if you will. I'd love it if you all would share your thoughts about this in the comments. Does being called a girl, as opposed to a woman, piss you off if you're female? Does it depend on who says it? Guys, do you worry about having interests that are stereotypically "girly"?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2094679082/girl-stories-sculptures-that-tell-stories-by-lori/widget/video.html

So btw, my Kickstarter has 5 days left. I would LOVE to raise a ton more money, but what I REALLY want is for everyone in the world to see it. Like, EVERYONE. I'm incredibly proud of it; it was a huge accomplishment for me, and it is the beginning of a project that I will be spending the next 6 months working on. Thanks to all of you, it will be successful, but please help me out and keep telling everyone. I don't care if no one donates another cent. I just want the world to know about Girl Stories. Thanks everyone:)

And, um, GIRL POWER TO THE MAX! YEAH!