I was hoping to have a calendar of events I could embed onto the blog, but apparently that's too tech-savvy for blogger... So to keep it simple, here's a list of the events I know I'll be at in the next few months! (I'm certain I'll add things!)
May 26 - May 30
International Mr Leather in Chicago
June 11
Boston Pride
I'll be on the Ramrod float!
June 18
Portland, Maine Pride
July 1 - 4
TESFest in New Jersey
July 27 - August 1
International Leather Sir/boy and Community Bootblack
September 1 - 4
FETFest in Maryland
September 14 - 19
Dark Odyssey: Summer Camp in Maryland
September 22 - 26 (Maybe)
Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco
October 6 - 10
American Brotherhood Weekend in Chicago
October 29
Queer Invasion in Connecticut
I'm presenting!
November 4 - 6
Philadelphia Leather Pride
And then we're suddenly in 2012, which is way too intense for me to post now. ;)
Follow my trek across the country (and world!) as International Ms Bootblack 2011!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
$100 raised already!
That's right - you read correctly! It's only been a month, and all y'all have been amazing and made it so I've already raised $100 for the Women's Leather History Project!
I want to keep this trend up... So I'm making it my goal to raise $100 for the project every month of my title year (and perhaps beyond!). 20% of all my travel funds go to the Women's Leather History Project, and the rest goes to travel.
It means tons to me that y'all have been so generous. It takes the burden and stress off of traveling all around repping IMsL/IMsBB, and makes me giddy that it has the added bonus of preserving our history.
I want to keep this trend up... So I'm making it my goal to raise $100 for the project every month of my title year (and perhaps beyond!). 20% of all my travel funds go to the Women's Leather History Project, and the rest goes to travel.
It means tons to me that y'all have been so generous. It takes the burden and stress off of traveling all around repping IMsL/IMsBB, and makes me giddy that it has the added bonus of preserving our history.
So, click below!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Nerdy Photos and Thoughts
I have WLHP palm cards! Find me and we can talk more about awesome leather things.
I have managed to fit all my toilettries and vital bootblack supplies into a carry-on TSA approved travel bag. My nerdy packing brain is exploding in nerd-gasm. I wish I could fit more, but I've managed to even bring smaller tins of colors and such.
In other less nerdy things, I was in Boston this past weekend for several things... I was happily drinking whiskey at the FLAG (Fits Like A Glove) party on Saturday. It was a fun send-off party for International Mr Leather, which is coming up fast. I've been to the Ramrod a few times, but in the context of going downstairs to Machine, for performances and Dyke Night. I plan on making the Boston Ramrod a frequent stop for me this year, as Boston is only 2.5 hours from Portland. I feel pretty strongly about doing my best to rep Portland, but also see myself as a New Englander rockin' out the New England circuit.
In a similar vein, I stuck around Boston on Sunday to attend the MOB Meeting. It was awesome meeting with them, and talking about what my next year is gonna be like, what the title means, and ways to participate in my title-year... I also got to end my evening drawing people at a small MOB play party, so my Sunday ended pretty sweetly!
It was great to have my sketchbook and drawing materials at a play party again... There was a period in the beginning of my kink exploration where the way I felt comfortable at play parties was to have my drawing materials with me. The buffer of having something to do was really great, plus I was able to approach people to participate as an "active voyeur." At the end of someone's play or fuck session, they had a drawing ready for them! I plan on bringing my materials with me to all my events - just to see if I have the time, plus it's such a good way to participate with folks.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
I made my own travel kit!
It was messy!
Look at how tiny and cute my 'new' tins! (They are half-size, bee dee dubs. Shoulda taken a size reference photo!)
Look at how tiny and cute my 'new' tins! (They are half-size, bee dee dubs. Shoulda taken a size reference photo!)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Looking Back
(This post was originally written for Leland Carina's blog)
Why do I look back? Because the context of the environment I now exist in as a women, as a leatherwoman, and as a dyke has a history. A history that is, in the interest of candid full disclosure, older than I am.
Why do I look back? Because as an artist, especially as a female artist, I also believe that there is no going forward without understanding where I am coming from. I cannot create, nor simply exist as the person I am today, without understanding that people have come before me.
Why do I look back? Because it is important to honor the voices, activism, and creativity that has come before me. Let’s be clear: no idea is a new idea, it is simply an idea that has new packaging. And the best way to properly understand and implement an idea is to fully comprehend its history.
I don’t think I would have these foundational feelings about history if I wasn’t a feminist and an artist. As someone who went through the canon of art school, I can safely say that art history is just really goddamn important. And I’m not talking about learning about the art of Ancient Greece--I’m talking about the past twenty to thirty years of art history. Understanding who has created work in a similar medium and voice to you is key to understanding your own context as an artist. It lays a foundation of the how, the who, the when, and the why.
The same goes for our leather history. It’s not necessarily about encasing our histories in amber. It’s not about locking files in a cabinet for years to come, in a temperature-moderated facility. It’s about accessing information, relying on the work others have done before us to do the work we’re doing today, and considering ourselves as part of something bigger than us.
These reasons, and more!, are why 20% of the profits I’m raising for my travel fund this year are going towards the Women’s Leather History Project at the Leather Archives and Museum. I can talk a big talk about history all I want, but it takes funds to preserve that history, and I want to do what I can.
Why do I look back? Because the context of the environment I now exist in as a women, as a leatherwoman, and as a dyke has a history. A history that is, in the interest of candid full disclosure, older than I am.
Why do I look back? Because as an artist, especially as a female artist, I also believe that there is no going forward without understanding where I am coming from. I cannot create, nor simply exist as the person I am today, without understanding that people have come before me.
Why do I look back? Because it is important to honor the voices, activism, and creativity that has come before me. Let’s be clear: no idea is a new idea, it is simply an idea that has new packaging. And the best way to properly understand and implement an idea is to fully comprehend its history.
I don’t think I would have these foundational feelings about history if I wasn’t a feminist and an artist. As someone who went through the canon of art school, I can safely say that art history is just really goddamn important. And I’m not talking about learning about the art of Ancient Greece--I’m talking about the past twenty to thirty years of art history. Understanding who has created work in a similar medium and voice to you is key to understanding your own context as an artist. It lays a foundation of the how, the who, the when, and the why.
The same goes for our leather history. It’s not necessarily about encasing our histories in amber. It’s not about locking files in a cabinet for years to come, in a temperature-moderated facility. It’s about accessing information, relying on the work others have done before us to do the work we’re doing today, and considering ourselves as part of something bigger than us.
These reasons, and more!, are why 20% of the profits I’m raising for my travel fund this year are going towards the Women’s Leather History Project at the Leather Archives and Museum. I can talk a big talk about history all I want, but it takes funds to preserve that history, and I want to do what I can.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Being Real
I'm currently on a Megabus, on my way back to Maine. I spent the past weekend in Manhattan with my mother and little sister. Visiting with my family can be difficult - they don't really know (or ask) about the majority of what I do with my life. This makes conversation trying and tiring, and it's a lot of listening and asking questions on my part.
For the most part, this sort of conversational dance isn't new. Since I was very young, my rule has been, "less is more." My family didn't talk about sexuality. We didn't talk about complicated situations. We don't discuss politics, or religion. I developed, at a young age, the ability to give enough information to satisfy without going into explicit detail.
Example: for a while, I worked as the Communications Director of a nonprofit. Specifically, a nonprofit that did voting advocacy work with disenfranchised youth of color. At family gatherings, when asked, "So, what are you doing now?" I would say, "I'm the Communications Director of a nonprofit." If pressed further, I'd say, "Oh, we work with young people." If further, "We work on local issues." And, if it ever got that far, "Oh, on voting issues."
Inevitably, this would lead someone in my ridiculous bio-family to say something to the effect of, "OH MY, well, you know Obama won because of the BLACK VOTE, RIGHT?"
Case. In. Point. Less information is best.
Visiting this weekend with my mother and sister, I didn't do much talking. I don't tend to in family situations. And the conversations that did occur were exhausting. How do I explain to my family that, actually, I'm doing really relevant work? It's just not, you know, the work they imagine? I received a lot of misplaced but well-intentioned lectures about the "direction of my life."
By the time Saturday rolled around, I was beginning to feel a loss of self. I began to take their advice seriously; I began to believe I was directionless and unmotivated.
Then: I went to Submit Party in Brooklyn with my sash-wife, Sara Vibes, and her girlfriend, Indigo.
Thank goodness for my leatherfolk. I mean, seriously. It helped to be with friends and chosen family. And the darkness of the basement dungeon, lit only by red florescents, helped!
Yes, it totally soothed my ego to be announced at the party. I spent the three days before that evening being questioned about my own authority in my own life. But it wasn't about being celebrated for a title. I spent almost four hours talking to amazing, incredible people. My peers. My real community, and in essence, my real family. I immediately felt at ease. I was with my people. We don't always agree on everything, but we come from a place of mutual respect, integrity, and honesty. I could breathe.
So, thank you. Thank you for looking me in the eyes when I speak. Thank you for truly listening, and being available. Thank you for asking the right questions, but also challenging me on my own stuff in a way that is supportive and from a place of love. Leatherpeople, you rock my socks.
For the most part, this sort of conversational dance isn't new. Since I was very young, my rule has been, "less is more." My family didn't talk about sexuality. We didn't talk about complicated situations. We don't discuss politics, or religion. I developed, at a young age, the ability to give enough information to satisfy without going into explicit detail.
Example: for a while, I worked as the Communications Director of a nonprofit. Specifically, a nonprofit that did voting advocacy work with disenfranchised youth of color. At family gatherings, when asked, "So, what are you doing now?" I would say, "I'm the Communications Director of a nonprofit." If pressed further, I'd say, "Oh, we work with young people." If further, "We work on local issues." And, if it ever got that far, "Oh, on voting issues."
Inevitably, this would lead someone in my ridiculous bio-family to say something to the effect of, "OH MY, well, you know Obama won because of the BLACK VOTE, RIGHT?"
Case. In. Point. Less information is best.
Visiting this weekend with my mother and sister, I didn't do much talking. I don't tend to in family situations. And the conversations that did occur were exhausting. How do I explain to my family that, actually, I'm doing really relevant work? It's just not, you know, the work they imagine? I received a lot of misplaced but well-intentioned lectures about the "direction of my life."
By the time Saturday rolled around, I was beginning to feel a loss of self. I began to take their advice seriously; I began to believe I was directionless and unmotivated.
Then: I went to Submit Party in Brooklyn with my sash-wife, Sara Vibes, and her girlfriend, Indigo.
Thank goodness for my leatherfolk. I mean, seriously. It helped to be with friends and chosen family. And the darkness of the basement dungeon, lit only by red florescents, helped!
Yes, it totally soothed my ego to be announced at the party. I spent the three days before that evening being questioned about my own authority in my own life. But it wasn't about being celebrated for a title. I spent almost four hours talking to amazing, incredible people. My peers. My real community, and in essence, my real family. I immediately felt at ease. I was with my people. We don't always agree on everything, but we come from a place of mutual respect, integrity, and honesty. I could breathe.
So, thank you. Thank you for looking me in the eyes when I speak. Thank you for truly listening, and being available. Thank you for asking the right questions, but also challenging me on my own stuff in a way that is supportive and from a place of love. Leatherpeople, you rock my socks.
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