Moleskine Pages- "Just A Little Bit"

" Just a little bit" he said. I still, decades later, can't figure out what exactly he wanted from me.

I was thirteen, walking to school with my older sister Sue. We lived in Baghdad, Iraq at the time. First period was to be a biology test so I was already nervous, irritable and full of teenage bile. This weirdo in pyjama bottoms kept cycling past, disappearing then coming back again. Each time getting a little closer. We took no notice as we were used to being pestered by men, that is pretty much the norm for any female living in the Middle East. I heard him clear his throat so I turned to look at him. He was less than two feet away from me when he said:" Please, just a little bit!". As I was digesting his strange words I noticed his erect penis was stretched out across his handle bars. I was caught between absolute horror and deep fascination, this was a monster! I never realised they could be that big. At this point I felt my sister pulling me away towards someone's open gates to ask for help. He cycled off pretty quick after that. For the rest of the school year he would appear every now and then but by that time my sister and I were pretty Blase' about the whole thing and just ignored him. But his words have stayed in my mind. A little bit of what exactly?

Sketchbook Pages- My Stupid Valentine

His gift was given in all seriousness, not a hint of irony. As usual he gave her what would ultimately pleasure himself. She, as always accepted with outward grace. Inside she was biding her time. Happy Valentine's Day.

Moleskine Pages- A Home For The Numb

Sacrifice came naturally to them, they lived in a home for the numb.

Moleskine Pages - We Are All In This Together

I don't often deal with political themes but when something matters as much as this does I feel compelled to express it. The way this Conservative government are destroying people's lives, people without money, power and hence no voice is shocking. With no mandate they are taking us back to a Dickensian dystopia where poverty and disability are seen as a moral failing. Where not having a job because of this desperate economic climate is  criminal . This toxic regime has divided the country with help from an obedient, unquestioning press. I haven't felt this angry for years.

Moleskine Pages- I Collect The Winnings

He drove me to despair in a stretch black limo, a short scenic drive that started on my birthday. Now I wear blue and sweep dust under our bed. I collect the winnings.

Moleskine Pages- Be Gentle

" The announcement came too late to save the flowers. We did what we could, the redness deepened, his boldness grew, and I knew that this was his revenge. And my role was to feign surprise and be gentle."

Moleskine Diary Pages 2012 - Exit

An Ode To Sheela Na Gig- The Vagina

I created a post previously documenting the penis, so I am aware a celebration of the Vagina in art is long overdue. I was reminded of this recently by Katy Kretz, a talented artist known for her use of the vagina in her work.
Any discussion of the genitals in art tends to have a political colour however much I try to avoid it. Plastic surgeons are offering 'vaginoplast/labioplasty', surgical procedures apparently very important for women afflicted with 'ugly' vaginae! This is not about function, it is purely cosmetic! In the US this industry is worth $6.8m (£4.4m). In the UK the latest figures come from a 2009 report in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It revealed that in 2008 the number of operations increased by 70% compared with the previous year: 1,118 labioplasty operations on the NHS. (There were 669 in 2007 and 404 in 2006.) And that's just the NHS. The Harley Medical Group reported over 5,000 enquiries about cosmetic gynaecology last year, 65% for labial reduction. So we have come so far we can have 'pretty vaginae' on demand. In other words, a vagina that matches up to those seen in pornography, neat, virginal little girl parts that don't offend!
There is thankfully women who have the sense and the confidence to question this dubious procedure and indeed protest against it. The Muff March chanting "keep your mitts off my muff", took place last Saturday in central London.Three cheers for the Muffia!

Sheela Na Gig, a mysterious image found on churches of all places.

Kate Kretz's Vagina Dentata purse

Kate Kretz's Fertilisation Purse

Kate Kretz's Defence Mechanism Coat, more of Kate Kretz's incredible work can be seen here
   Kate Kretz Flickr

Kira Scarlet's hand embroideries

Yonic Vagina by Jessica Marie

My contributions tend to be less explicitly vaginal, more about the role it plays. Giving life fills me with awe and I worry about trivialising the vagina by focusing on it too much. Strangely, I have no problem with portraying the penis as a comic object!

Absolution

the next installment

I posted the beginnings of this page last week, this is the completed version. I could extrapolate volumes from this page, but I won't. The meaning in the broadest sense is fairly obvious. The nuance I shall keep to myself! I raise a glass to all you Richards out there!

The latest Moleskine Page

Moleskine pages: 2007-2009

I am posting some pages from my older Moleskines. my first one was started in 2003 while I was at the Royal College of art. I am struck by how different my work looks although that may not be apparent to everyone. The themes haven't changed much: life, death and in between!

My 3D Art Dolls

Now and again, I get an overwhelming urge to make something. I do consider 2d art 'something' obviously, but the urge is to produce something tactile, 3D and separate from my daily work. I don't own a sewing machine ( I am eyeing up a nice Bernina machine with ungodly lust) and I intend to buy one when finances allow. So all my sewing has to be by hand. Unlike my artwork and my Moleskines, I approach fabric work with a little more organization and preparation. I decide on the item I wish to make, collect odds and ends of fabric, then look around for a pattern to adapt. I was useless at sewing at school, couldn't see the point frankly! And I hated the fact that I had to make a prissy nightdress case when my brother was out playing with his friends. I associated sewing, embroidery and cooking with every stereotype of the happily downtrodden housewife I saw around me. (this is the Middle-East I'm talking about.) I never saw any artistic value in needlework, I just found it faintly distasteful, something you took up when you got periods and boobs... ugh!

Now, of course I know better, and really wish I'd paid more attention. My English grandmother was a brilliant dressmaker/needleworker. In fact one of my most memorable Christmas presents I received from her was a complete wardrobe of beautifully made clothes for my doll Claire. She made day wear, nightwear, underwear... clothes for every occasion. My Arabic grandmother was a more prosaic needleworker, she'd could use a sewing machine but preferred the services of a dressmaker like most Middle-Eastern women.

 I've had to start from scratch. learning by trial and error, my only secret to durable, well-made items is to use tiny stitches very close together. One bonus of not having a grounding in sewing is that I am not put off by the impossible. I just keep trying unorthodox ways until I am satisfied.

The Changeling
 The Changeling was based on fairy tales about Goblins who swap newborn human babies for one of their ... ahem... less attractive variety. I adapted a baby doll pattern. I used antique porcelain teeth given to me by a very generous friend, and his eyes were enamelled copper to give them a human limpid look. The best part of making him was creating his accessories; his bed, bedding and lumps of poop, these were lovingly fashioned out of balls of Fimo clumped together, then painted and varnished.

Underage sex
 This one is a model of a schoolgirl who delivers all her babies while waiting for the school bus. I made-up the pattern for this one as I went along. it was quite difficult to create an expanding stomach that can house her babies but deflate when they were pulled out. In the end I used an expanding tubular bandage. My favourite part is the model of the road and pavement where she waits for the bus. If anyone is interested in details, let me know and I'll give you more exact instructions.

Al
Al is the name of my third doll. He stands for everyman who loves himself above all else and there are a few of those around. Again I made the pattern up as I went along. His face is a combination of paint and embroidery. He appears to be holding his baby wrapped by a blanket. Once the blanket is removed it becomes obvious that his baby is actually his penis ( I AM NOT OBSESSED WITH PENISES!)
 I have a few more pieces that are in the planning stage, and a couple waiting to be photographed and added to this blog. If you are interested I will post them shortly.

Taboos in Art: The Erect Penis.

A moleskine sketchbook page with penis.

This post is a little light relief from the relentless negativity of criticising artists whose work I don't love. I will resume that post later on but for now, something a little different.
What is the rudest image you can think of? What kind of image would drive you to avert your eyes and back out of the room? Stumped yet? Well according to censorship boards in even the most liberal societies it is the erect penis! Fainted yet? apparently the sight of an erect penis is so potent it can corrupt your maiden aunt and send a community directly to hell.
 I have always had a thing about penises (or is that peni?) I just checked that out and it seems both are correct the first being the English form, the second is Latin. I like the shape, the texture and the fact that they have a life of their own. The vagina is more secretive, it doesn't give much away, very much like a woman in fact. The vagina is hard to read, mysterious and complicated. None of that makes it any less valuable or attractive. Don't get me wrong, I am a woman, a ferocious feminist and a standard bearer for vagina power, but this post will focus on the male tackle, I shall deal with the vagina in a later post. I still maintain a penis is more endearing, a little ridiculous and a comic solution to a natural design puzzle. The combination of penis and scrotum (just the words induce juvenile giggles!) are a funny little package, they have their own separate existence from the man they come attached to. And I defy any man to assert any control over his errant 'manhood'.

Another of my own creations from my trusty moleskine.

My so called penis obsession continues.

A less obvious penis portrait.

The penis comes in an infinite variety of shapes and sizes, no two are the same. That in itself makes it a fascinating subject for the artist. A phallus can actually look depressed, sleepy or perky and ready to greet the world, if only it could speak. I have been accused of being obsessed with willies, and they do feature fairly often in my work. I refute the obsession part but freely admit making full use of the image when I think it is called for. Since time began, men have tried to brainwash us into seeing the male genitalia as a symbol of might and superiority, they have tried oh so hard to instil in us a hushed reverence for the power of the penis. But at the back of their minds they must have been aware of the comedy aspect of the 'todger', 'dick' and 'sausage'. Were they overcompensating? Did they really believe that they could condition us to forget how silly it looked by enforcing blanket respect?

Part of a series on 'manhood'.

God really did play a dirty trick on men! He gave them physical strength, ruthless focus and dominion over everything but made them pay for it by choosing the least sober and serious option his design comitee could come up with. So hurray for the penis, that comical little body part that has over the centuries turned the world upside down and back again.Where

would we be without it!

Map of New York as a Penis.

Penis Costume culled from the bowels of the internet.

Uncle Melon's Instructions.

Gold Penis Pendant

Jake and Dinos Chapman etching.