Hand embellished variant I

Silkscreen on chip board with acrylic gouache and ink

Signed Original

8” x 12”

Huajuapan de Leon is a portrait that I created while learning about the power of self organized communities. The woman drawn here sewing is from the community of Huajuapan de Leon in Mexico, and is part of a cooperative of workers in that region who were collectivizing for the greater good of their work, and of their community. When I went on to do disaster relief in Haiti after the earthquake, the lessons that I had learned in Huajuapan were not forgotten. In Haiti, we connected with a similarly self organizing group, this time a group of farmers who had been collectivizing on behalf of their community before the quake happened. Teaming up with folks who were already organizing to build a better life for themselves meant that our efforts could be directed in the right way to further empower that community for years to come.

With this series I took this seminal portrait, and brought in a simple tool I'd been yearning to play with for years - the rubber stamp! I created stamps from some of my cut paper designs, and played with the water solubility of the inks to create layers and organic forms with the stamps.

For me this print series speaks to the ways we learn from each other over time, and also how and we carry our lessons, and our curiosity forward.For me this print series speaks to the ways we learn from each other over time, and also how and we carry our lessons, and our curiosity forward.