365 Jars

Well, my 365 project has bitten the dust — I guess trying to do one with a newborn is pretty impossible!

But check out this great 365 project by Kirsty Hall — she makes art jars and then leaves them for people to find, I love it!

Artist of Influence: Jung-Yeon Min

I recently discovered this artist via Synaptic Stimuli and I can’t get this work off my brain. Min’s paintings are surreal yet soft, ethereal yet rugged. I want to live in this world.

Her artist statement:

The main characteristic of my works is a kind of duality which finds many ways to express itself: abstract versus realism, ubiquity, diachronicity, microscopic and macroscopic, and so on. I’m always trying to engage in extreme or contrary dialogue. In abstract compositions, some hyperrealistic figures will make you try to find some kind of space, but you will keep wondering if you really have to see it that way, because something flat will try to empeach you. Somehow, you will feel like you are hanging between two worlds.

This may very well be a reflection of my background . Born in Korea — a divided country — I live in France, and feel like I exist between two worlds. In my daily life, I often serve as a link of sorts between members of the Korean community and other groups, and somehow, this interesting condition also reveals another side : the sense of being nowhere. That feeling has made its way into my paintings regardless of my intentions.

 

Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas

 

 

Passages #2, Acrylic on Canvas

 

 

Au bord du lit, Acrylic on Canvas

 

Jung-Yeon Min is represented by Kashya Hildebrand.

Contribute – 100 Million Knitted Stitches

via Craftivism

 

Did you know that there are 100 million women missing in this world?

When I came across this statistic, I couldn’t believe it. The facts tell a different story. If you take the natural distribution of male/female, there are 100 million women missing from our planet. Why?

Because baby girls are selectively aborted
Because baby girls are killed
Because women are killed
Because women aren’t given an education
Because women do not get the same medical care as men
Because women die in childbirth
Because women are trafficked and sexually exploited

And all of this 100 years after International Women’s Day was first celebrated on 8 March.

100 years of International Women’s Day, one million women missing for every year.

To highlight the inequalities that still exist across the globe and are responsible for 100 Million missing women as well as the continuous gap of women being represented in decision making positions in the government, the workplace and the media, there is a great Scottish-based initiative which tries to create a debate and… a massive blanket, with 100 Million knitted stitches; one for every woman missing. The great thing is that everybody can contribute to this, by knitting a simple square measuring 15 x 15 cm (6×6 inches). 100 million stitches is an awful lot though, as little as one stitch per missing woman does sound, so a lot of helping hands are needed.

So then, I challenge you my lovely readers to support this initiative. How? Simple. Sit and knit a bit. Knit a square, or two, or many. Ask your friends and colleagues to do the same. Blog about it. Follow on Facebook or Twitter. Organise a Sit and Knit a Bit evening – in your home, in a cafe, in a community centre. And while you do all of this, or some of this, remember the 100 million women missing from our world today. There are so many ways to support this, do head over to the website to get inspired.

Please send your completed squares and stories by 8th March 2011 to Jetson and Janssen, c/o Tramway, Albert Drive, Glasgow G41 2PE. If you have any questions, you can email here. If you blog about it, please come back to this post and add a link to your post in the blog hop below (and the blog hop code to your post, to link them all together).

 

I will definitely be doing this — and I have the perfect hot pink plarn to knit for it too!!

Inspiration: The 3 As of Awesome – TED talk

Well I have to admit that I’ve been in a low mood lately. January is never the easiest month for me. This TED talk really snapped me out of it and made me realize that we only have a short time here on Earth and I need to appreciate the small things that make life so beautiful everyday.

The speaker, Neil Pasricha, is the author of the blog 1000 Awesome Things (today’s is #355: Catching someone you love admiring you from across the room). There is also a book for all you print lovers out there.

 

Loved the bit about Rosey Grier, a pro football player with a love for needlepoint. Talk about an authentic guy. He even published this book. I really hope I stumble upon it at a rummage sale or thrift shop someday.

We should all remember to look at life through the eyes of a three-year-old. Best advice ever.