Green Jobs Now: Barack's Work Shirt

The President announced today a "task force that will work to boost the economic fortunes of American's faltering middle class, and its first order of business will be to find ways to create more jobs in areas that pay well, reduce pollution and lessen America's reliance on foreign oil. " Green jobs now!

I guess it's time to turn the design you see on the left into a silkscreen.

Green jobs can be created by our next administration through an emphasis on retooling manufacturing to produce more public transportation and electric vehicles, updating the electric grid, adding renewable energy like wind and solar to the grid, and focusing on energy efficiency and conservation. I put Barack's name on the shirt because I see him having a green job.

I think I will make this print a 1-color halftone screen done in an edition of 50 with a print area of 11x14. It will be a companion piece to "Retool America", one of five winners in the "Green Economy" category of

Manifest Hope: DC. I also have two designs for the shirt. Help me pick which shirt to screen and to decide if I should have "Barack" on the shirt. Feel free to leave me a comment.

Manifest Hope talk at UU Frederick

The local Unitarian Church has a discussion group on Sunday Mornings at 10AM on socially relevant topics. Previous topics recently have included marriage equality and personal greenhouse gas emissions reductions. I am giving a brief talk this coming Sunday, February 1, on Manifest Hope. Hopefully I will be warmed up from Saturday's talk at Heineman Myers (see previous post). I'll be showing images from the show, plus I'll talk about the pop/propaganda/street art phenomenon because I love it so much.

Collectors Circle

Starting on Saturday, January 31^st from 3 to 6pm

Heineman Myers Contemporary Art presents the “Collectors Circle”

A series of monthly, free events open to EVERYONE who is building a collection, or who aspires to build a collection. Upcoming topics will address local collections of Photography, Street Art, Local DC Area Artists, Sculpture, and Latin American Art.

The Inaugural Collectors Circle features Shannon Moore, Artist and Collector of Obama Inspired Art Prints.

Shannon received the “Green Economy” award in the national Manifest Hope exhibition held in Washington, DC. January 16-19, 2009 for her silk screen print, “Retool America” (2009) Green ink and glitter on Arches cover paper, edition of 10.

Shannon will speak briefly about how she became interested in collecting, how her collection has evolved and what she hopes to add to the collection. She will take questions, and we will have time for mingling and refreshments. Most of her collection is presently on display in the main exhibition area and will be through this Saturday, January 31, 2009, Tuesday-Saturday 1-6pm. Please join us – drop by or stay the whole time. No rsvp.

Shannon’s silk screens are for sale. See the attachments. Prices start at $50. Her “Personal Tagz” necklaces for men and women feature images of tiny works of art, and images of President Obama. These are available for $20.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, February 7^th the Opening Reception for Alison Hiltner, “Manifest Destiny” 6-9pm.

What's left

I picked up my pieces yesterday and today from Manifest Hope and the Artist's Ball. The picture on the left is on the 1000 block of 7th St. NW in DC, where a number of my retool posters are still up along with some DC Statehood posters made by my friend Kristina. I took the picture from my car window today on my way out of town.

I still have one show up at Heineman Myers - 44: Obama Art. That show closes on January 31, and I'll be giving a talk about collecting. How I got started, why I collect what I collect, etc. I enjoy the subject and love to give talks so it should be fun.

I have some more silkscreens to make; the "Green Jobs Now" work shirt is the first one, but I have some other ideas rattling around in my brain.

Best Two Weeks Ever and All Tomorrow's Parties

Well the two week gallery and party circuit has ended for me. I had the best couple weeks of my life:

44: Obama Art at Heineman Myers was totally gratifying. I got to show many of the Obama art prints I had collected, the work of other artists I love like Michael Murphy and Robert Strasser, and my own silkscreen "2044: Hope". Plus it was a benefit for some great nonprofits.

I went on to helping with Murphy's installation at Manifest Hope and found out while there that I won in the Green Economy category for "Retool America" and would have my piece in the show with 15 other winners. Then I got my face in the medical cross installation. (I am third in the bottom row. Piece from the front looks like a red cross. I think that is Shepard Fairey standing in front of his piece in the picture. The cross and fist are Michael Murphy's work).

I got to share the Manifest Hope show with my friends and family. And I got to meet and talk shop with some of the artists like Ray Noland; Rebecca Berdel, BilliKid; Kelly Towles; Herb Williams; and Mags, and introduce them to each other. I got to meet Ron English and I picked up a fantastic print of his of Abraham Obama on while paper with glitter. Yes I am a fan of the glitter prints.

Some ultra-cool art students and their Transportation Coordinator from Georgia stayed over at my house and made breakfast with me the next day.

I was one of 30 artists whose work was in the Art of Change Inaugural Ball sponsored by Artomatic, Playa Del Fuego, and Washington Project for the Arts. And my pieces looked freaking awesome and people loved them. I ran out of gallery cards and had to put my business cards up. I also saw some of the test prints that I had given screen printer Kristina on the 1000 block of 7th St in Northwest DC next to the Warehouse Gallery. I was told that people were taking them off the wall where they were stapled next to some very cool DC Statehood posters, and this was incredibly gratifying.

I got to go to amazing parties like the opening night and closing night parties for Manifest Hope, and the Artist's Ball.

I went to the inauguration and was on the parade route at Constitution and 3rd, near the Capitol. I saw our new President as he drove by, and his daughter Malia. This was especially cool for me after making the "2044: Hope" piece with Malia in it.

I had a wonderful time with my friend Zoe throughout all of this and we came up with some cool ideas for the future. I also got gallery representation through Heineman Myers.

Who knows what the future will hold? I have ideas for some new silkscreen pieces that I am working out in my head. And I have new artist friends to look to for inspiration. And there are lots of concepts and visions out there to be pushed through art. Best two weeks ever.

Now I am exhausted and will take a few days to recover.

Video on FNP

Here's a link to the video up on FNP about the article in today's paper. I sure do talk a lot.

Front page story in Frederick News-Post

I did an interview and a photo (and some video) with the Frederick News-Post and it is on today's front page. I gave props to my mom and Michael Murphy, and to Zoe Heineman Myers, which makes me happy. I would also like to add a thanks to Grimes Graphics, who helped me do things at the last minute like burn transparencies and clean screens. They even lent me a screen when one of mine tore. Things like this make me so glad I have good friends!

Image is by Graham Cullen, Frederick News-Post.