First off, hello! It’s been a few years since I have done any sort of art work. Few reasons: got married, had 2 kids. Life has been madness with 2 kids, and if any of you are parents, I know you understand the feelings of loss of self and pre-kid identity that a parent experiences. Lack of time & energy were my main reasons as to why I didn’t explore an artistic practice.
Another big reason for the large gap between postings is finding meaning as to why I practice art. My last post at Governor Dodge State Park seemed very forced, like I “had” to do something, which made the actual piece feel very empty. Fast forward to 2020- the pandemic, and a civil right’s movement. How can I protest in a safe/socially distant way? We have been quarantined near Door County, WI since the lockdown in Milwaukee began back in March. We originally came up here for the nature/yard- 2 little boys need space to run around; we are in complete isolation. But when the George Floyd/Black Lives Matters protests started a few weeks ago, I felt uncomfortably removed from society. I felt it was important for my kids to experience what was going on in the world- especially since my side of the family are POC (I’m of mixed ethnicities- Filipina/Spanish/Irish). So how can I protest & involve my kids somehow? 🧐
I decided that since we are located in a predominantly white area of Wisconsin, and very few communities up here are protesting/demonstrating, graffiti weaving black squares into these communities was the natural thing to do. The black square concept is inspired by the #BlackOutTuesday black square that filled Instagram profiles in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Our family day-trip/adventure was to check out some waterfalls in northern Wisconsin. We drove into the middle of the state, up north, through very small, predominantly white towns. We arrived at Long Slide Falls, in Marinette County. It was quite busy with tourists & day trippers like us.
I tried to weave a black square right by the entrance to the park. It ended up a bit more rectangular in shape, but it’s subversive- it is one of the first things you will encounter before entering the trail to the waterfall.
It’s been a bit since I have done this! I was nervous & clumsy (it didn’t help that my 6yr old was yelling out of the car- “What are you doing mom?” My husband stood watch for me); I also ditched the tape as I used to do with my previous weavings to hold tension for the loom- there was enough tension to hold the yarn in place with the roughness of the tree bark. Also- my yarn is much thicker. Thankful for the trendiness of thick yarn🙌🏼 I’m now able to do larger spaces in a shorter amount of time with thicker yarn- one of my biggest challenges when I first started graffiti weaving back in 2010. And I know how to correct myself going forward to make a proper square shape.
I plan on doing more of these around northern Wisconsin- stay tuned.
graffitiweave 