Preparations are already underway! Plus, I’ve hired Buddy and Hermey to help me out in the Pen Jar Productions workshop (my Shopify Store).They’re good at making unique gifts!
I made a zine
October 21, 2019
Thank you, Art Gallery of Hamilton for mounting the thought-provoking show, “This Is Serious: Canadian Indie Comics.”
And a big thank you to Meredith Park for spending time with us over the last six weeks and showing a group of eager students the ins and outs of journaling through comics (we each made an 8-page zine!).
Co-curator Alana Traficante best captured why I think I’m “drawn” to comics at this stage of m
y life: “The format of comics is one that uniquely compels readers through literary and visual experiences, and when used to recount personal, nuanced narratives, can awaken an essential, critical understanding of ourselves and one another.” My comic is another episode in a strip I started last year called, “Monetize That: Living in a Success Culture When a Soul Culture is More Your Style.
The future
September 28, 2019
Photo and Illustration by Alison Garwood-Jones
Josh is in the fifth grade. He likes history and basketball.
Photo and Illustration by Alison Garwood-Jones
Adelaide likes hearts and story time.
Today, I joined forces again as a portrait artist with my wonderful partners at @JamiiEsplanade.
It was their 10th year organizing @culturedays and the program, “I am me. I am mighty,” a celebration of iconic female characters in books and stories that inspire us to be who we are.
We gathered at the St. Lawrence branch of the Toronto Public Library (@TorontoLibrary). By day’s end, I felt complete.
Art Helps
September 17, 2019
In ten seconds, the ticker tape of a woman’s mind can go from, “I need a snack,” “When do I pick up the kids?” to “What’s the root cause of misogyny?”
Most gals who pay attention to the way the world works are only two or three thoughts away from dystopian spirals.
Afternoon cheese and cracker plates and whistling kettles help.
Making art is ESSENTIAL.
Name what you see, then discuss.
#UseYourVoice
#MakeArt
#TorontoIllustrators
@TimesUpNow
@NYTGender
Meeting my customers
August 9, 2019
The best part of owning and operating Pen Jar Productions, my online store, is creating the product and meeting my customers. Here is my interview with Fernanda van der Laan, proud owner of my Jane Jacobs enamel pin.
This summer my Jane Jacobs pin (circled in blue) entered a special collection of over 300 pins, curated by Fernanda van der Laan. It features a selection of giants in civil rights, music, art, and architecture. Fernanda lives in Washington D.C. and is on staff at Sidwell Friends, the school where her daughter Sophia graduated this past June. Here is my conversation with Fernanda about her collection, and how and why she is using her voice and her pins.
Q: How many pins are in your collection?
A: About 300.
Q: Why did you start collecting, and who was your first pin?
A: I started collecting just before the Women’s March in January 2017. I was looking for something besides your basic t-shirt, something to make astatement in a subtle way that I could wear multiple times. I bought aHillary Clinton pin, and then the collection grew from there.
Q: How do you organize your pins?
A: I organize them bygroup: movies, fine arts, politics, music, architecture, etc. Whenever I go to book launches, protests or concerts, I select a few to wear.
Q: Which figure(s) do you admire the most in your pin collection, and why?
A: For music, it would be Aretha Franklin. From my art collection, it’smy Girl With A Pearl Earring by Vermeer.For politics, it’s Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela.
Q: Have you ever met one of your heroes/sheroes?
A: Yes, I have Michelle Obama, Diane Keaton, Malala, and Joe Biden…
Q: How did you first hear about Jane Jacobs?
My Jane Jacobs pin is circled in blue. She fits right in!
A: Learning more about architecture.
Q: Have you participated in a Jane’s Walk in your area? (they’re really fun!)
A: No, but would LOVE TO. And I could wear your pin!
Q: How did you find my Jane pin? You know, what key words brought it up? (ahem, this question is for my Digital Strategy students who learned about long-tail keywords and some SEO basics two weeks ago)
A: I put in a search for “architects/architecture pins” and you came up!
Q: Do your friends (female and male) share your commitment to social justice? Who is more vocal?
A: I am lucky enough to live in Washington D.C., so we are constantly surrounded by friends and colleagues who are involved in politics. But I have to say that not all my friends share my passion. The person who is with me in every social/political eventismy 18-year-old daughter, Sophia.
Q: What are your biggest causes right now? And why?
A: I am VERY worried about the right-wing extremists in power here in the US, Brazil, and in some parts of Europe. Everything I care about (gun control, racism, immigration, the environment, etc.) is being affected by crazy policies and people who don’t believe in science, in social justice, in income distribution, etc.
Q: Beyond collecting pins and posting to Instagram and Twitter, how are you trying to move the needle?
A: I sometimes blog to advocate for causes I believe in. I volunteer, donate money, and try to educate myself. And I go to the streets (March for our Lives, Women’s March, etc.). When I travel, I go to “difficult” places, such as concentration camps and plantations. Lots of people don’t understand why I choose to spend time doing these
things.
Q: Where did you grow up?
I was born in Brazil and lived there until I was 20. I am Dutch by marriage and spent 10 years living in Belgium. I havebeen in the US since 2001.
Q: Does the political feel personal to you?
A: Yes. I don’t think we can afford it otherwise. I have no problem with different opinions. But nowadays I just can’t bring myself to tolerate the intolerable.
Q: What is the best thing your mom and dad taught you?
A: Empathy and compassion.
Q: Will women save the world?! (I couldn’t resist!)
A: I have high hopes for my son and daughter and their whole generation! I’m making sure to raisedecent human beings who will hopefully not only do well but do good!
A cure for homesickness
July 30, 2019
I got homesick at university. This is me on the left with my good friend, Kelly.
Every time I went home, I would pinch something — a blanket, a framed photo, one of my dad’s sweatshirts, even a favourite soup spoon — and take it back to my dorm room. Technically-speaking, I was a thief as my brother Richard, now a lawyer, pointed out.
When a client asked me to draw their family home and put it on a throw pillow for her kids, who are heading back to university in September, it got me thinking about remedies for homesickness.
Seeing my own family home in photos still has a calming effect on me, even though I haven’t lived there for two decades.
Looking back, I would have loved these reminders of family:
• A pillow showing the family home for those melancholy Sunday nights before my first 8:30 class.
• A reminder of home on my laptop during midterms.
• A shot of home on my phone reminding me to call mom.
• A tote for those trips to the supermarket on my own:
• Better yet, a pillow of mom I could hug!
HOW IT WORKS: if you are interested in creating a memory on a pillow, the price includes my personalized, one-of-kind drawing plus the printing of the pillow(s) by Notion. You will also receive a high-resolution jpeg of the art to recreate however you wish (stationary, stand-alone prints, phone art, laptop skins, T-shirts, totes, etc.). Notion.ca prints all of that kind of stuff, and more! Contact: alison.garwoodjones@gmail.com
Pool People
July 26, 2019
I move between many different tribes: writer people, illustrator people, and hotel pool people.
