Graffiti

We were supposed to paint THE WALL that day. They weren't supposed to attack the flotilla. I at least got to draw this admittedly experimental piece:



Here was the design I had in mind: She won't let that big bad thing behind her contain her curiosity.

Ni'lin

I have a confession to make. I am an artist. I am by no means an expert on Middle Eastern politics - which isn't to say that I don't know a lot or have very strong opinions on the matter, but these illustrations I've made and am finishing are a reflection on my observations. I was attracted to this activism by the cause of fighting against injustice, but I pursued it for the people and the images they make in that awesome landscape. I have sketches upon sketches that are awaiting me in the mail from over there. I make them as I experience life - as I'm waiting for an action to start, taking to the Shabab in Sheikh Jarrah, sitting on a bus, lazing around the apartment listening to someone bring life to a guitar. My work exists within the society that surrounds me and the society inspires me to create. With my more overtly political work, I can only hope to show people the disturbing reality I've seen - to let them know that beyond all the jargon, there is a human issue that is both beautiful and horrible. Where we go from here, what you can take personally from this work, I can't know - art is an interpretive force. Perhaps emotion can lead to reason.

And now, the next in the series; Ni'lin. (I'd say it's worth it to see it big.)

Swings Again

Long overdue edits...

Cyclops

Having one eye is really just a design problem. There's even research that suggests that "Stereoblindness might prove an asset rather than a disadvantage to an artist." Sure, there's prosthesis that look so real no one would ever know you are different, but they could be so much more - an eye for every occasion; abstract, cartoony, solid colors, etc... I could even have it be the ultimate spy camera. Then of course there's eye patches. Black is classic and I do really love simple design, but there's a million different ways you could drape your face to cover that creepy spot. Hairstyles must also be considered. And when I'm feeling bold, there's always going natural. And what about one-eyed glasses?










P.S. My profile picture is me in a costume I made freshman year. I've had it since I made this blog and it's proven oddly predictive. The older I get, the more ridiculous life seems.

For the Jiftlik

Before my injury I was working on this piece after having visited a most wonderful village in the Jordan Valley. They literally are building the resistance and with mud, one of our Earth's most excellently fun substances. They live across from a settlement community which, completely illegally, cuts off their access to water and their right to expand. You might look at a fence made partially of a sign to Nablus, crates of various sorts, wires, tarps, and various car parts and see poverty, but I doubt my neighborhood in Maryland has half of their character.

So here you have it, the only proper thing to post now - what I had meant to before my bump. And yes, I really did see a plant shaped like that.