The dried unmounted specimens are pretty cheap, too! I’ve been trying to find a way to create paintings and illustrations from my own observation but insects in resin are very limited. Gonna order some now and start up when I get back from Pilchuck!
Just watched some really cool videos about rehydrating, positioning and mounting insect specimens.
I was chatting with a coworker when he casually mentioned having “a major problem with feminists”
And I was shocked because he seemed like a fairly reasonable, liberal guy and so I asked him why he felt that way.
He cited a lot of stereotypes, outdated concepts, as well as saying that feminism is essentially irrelevant now that we’ve made so many great strides.
I pointed out a lot of concerns in the workplace and also with sexual assault, at which point he declared that he totally doesn’t buy into the idea of rape culture. I pointed out the Steubenville case and media coverage, he said that I was generalizing the media coverage, insisting that no one was sympathetic towards rapists. I also pointed out the quotes by Republicans during election season and he said “yeah, well, they’re wackos.” And today I’m reading about the terrible things going on in the military, sexual assaults spiking, the airforce sexual assault prevention cheif charged with sexual battery, pamphlets in the military advising women to submit…. How can we not see that there is a major problem?
These are not isolated incidents. She was not “just one girl” in Ohio, Republicans are not isolated wackos and the military is not separate from the rest of US culture.
I’m really glad to talk to people like my co-worker. It was a fairly calm and rational debate, which is rare to find on these type of issues. I feel I argued well and while I disagree with him, I felt I better understood his defensiveness afterwards, and maybe even convinced him a little. It is so critically important to talk to people who disagree with you and not just dismiss them. Going to art school, and following the blogs I follow, it’s easy to forget how many people haven’t acknowledged these rampant issues in our country and see feminism as irrelevant. I tend to think we’re all on the same page here, and that opponents are somewhere else. I forget how many people see discussions of social issues as an attack.
Yes there are crazy bigots out there, but most of Americans are fairly rational people who are just incredibly adjusted to this messed up culture and don’t like confronting uncomfortable ideas. Those are the people to talk to.
This will return to your regularly scheduled art programming but I had to get that out. I would love feedback, btw.
Women and Videogame culture
These characters are composed of quotes from comment boards regarding Anita Sarkeesian. If you are not familiar with her and the controversy surrounding her I highly reccomend her TED Talk and her Damsel in Distress discussion.
In short, she proposed to do a series regarding the depiction of women in videogames and for it received a massive hate campaign, including death threats, rape threats, DDOS attacks and more. All for suggesting discussion. While I do enjoy her content I think what is more important to notice is the reaction to it, highlighting the environment women navigate in videogame and internet culture.
Find out about how this piece qualifies as Fair Use:
Women and Videogame Culture
These characters are composed of quotes from comment boards regarding Anita Sarkeesian. If you are not familiar with her and the controversy surrounding her I highly reccomend her TED Talk and her Damsel in Distress discussion.
In short, she proposed to do a series regarding the depiction of women in videogames and for it received a massive hate campaign, including death threats, rape threats, DDOS attacks and more. All for suggesting discussion. While I do enjoy her content I think what is more important to notice is the reaction to it, highlighting the environment women navigate in videogame and internet culture.
Find out about how this piece qualifies as Fair Use:
