Paint that Pregnant Body!

body paint = fun     AND     pregnant bodies = glorious

so painted pregnant bodies must be gloriously fun.  and we’re not talking simple belly paint here, we’re talking about full-body works of art.  here are a couple more strikingly fabulous images:

Hathor the CowGoddess as The Perfect Radical Mama

Hathor the CowGoddess seems to be an outright representation of the perfect radical mama…and, of course, she’s a cartoon.

 

She uses attitude and wit to advocate for homebirth, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and attachment parenting–all the things on the top of the to-do list for the mama who wants to ‘do things right.’  She’s egalitarian and compassionate; she likes to take deep breaths and “wallow around” with her children. But it’s important for the rest of us to remember that she’s only perfect BECAUSE she’s a cartoon. 

Hathor’s creator, Heather Cushman-Dowdee, explains that “a good portion of the time the comics are wishful thinking, how I want to behave.”  So she draws her ideal into the form of Hathor the CowGoddess.

“I think that there are tremendous advantages to homebirthing, breastfeeding and attachment parenting our babies….you can’t homebirth if you didn’t know it was an option. You won’t choose it if you didn’t know it was safe. You’ll have trouble breastfeeding if you don’t think of it as normal, do-able, watch it in action. That’s why I cartoon. To share.”

And before you start railing on me for even mentioning the idea of ‘the perfect radical mama,’ please back off.  She’s a two-dimensional cow.

Feminist Art: Custom Placenta Pendants

One of my newest projects is an artful way for mama to preserve the sacred relationship between her and her baby.

These custom placenta pendants are made from vintage wooden checker pieces, with placenta powder sealed on to the front, floating suspended on the front of the pendant.  Pendants measure less than one inch in diameter, and many colors, sizes & textures are available.

If your placenta happens to already be powdered, you simply send in a small amount of powder for the pendants.  If not, though, I can recommend someone in your area to powder it, or you can ship it to me for powdering for a bit more $.  Yes, I said you can ship me your placenta.  I’ve definitely received human placentas via FedEx before, nestled into a box of dry ice and styrofoam peanuts.

Breastfeeding Art

Atahensic - Iroquois Goddess of Fertility - Atahensic was a sky goddess who came to earth during creation. Birds carried her down on their wings. She died giving birth to her twin sons and became a goddess of fertility, pregnancy and feminine skills. Let’s rather change her birthexperience to a happy ending...

Somehow I stumbled upon an amazing website of stunning original breastfeeding artwork by Akarot Illustrations.  My jaw dropped.

Their Breastfeeding Goddess Series features female deities from various religions & spiritualities, depicted as breastfeeding mamas.  They’ve also produced a series of General Breastfeeding Artwork, including images of mamas pumping and nursing while baby-wearing, and a downloadable picture book called “What Babies Eat” that explains breastfeeding to young children.

Not only are their images startlingly beautiful, they’re also available for free for non-profit use, for the purpose of promoting breastfeeding.

Lilith – Biblical Character – There are many interpetations about this goddess, most of them paint a dark, demonic picture. However, The Alphabet of Ben-Sira describes Lilith as Adam’s first wife before Eve. Lilith demanded being equal to Adam, which he refused. Upon this, Lilith left the Garden of Eden by her own free will, never to return.

Guerrilla Feminist Art: The CUNTastic Poster Project

Announcing an exciting new feminist art endeavor, the CUNTastic Poster Project!  We’ll be installing a series of political posters around the country at particular times on specific feminist topics.  We need YOUR help to make this happen.  Wherever you live, whoever you are, participate in Phase 1 of this project and make an impact on the awareness of maternal mortality in your community! 

Phase 1: Maternal Mortality  

Phase 1 will focus on maternal mortality statistics, and will be happening fast!  Get in touch now to get involved.  Phase 1 will occur April 21-29, 2010. 

What do I have to do?  

1. Email us your location.
2. Go to the designated copy center to pick up your poster.
3. Take the poster and place it in a visible public area where it can be seen by a diverse sampling of your community’s population. Do this sometime between April 21-29, 2010.
4. Take a few photos of the poster on display and email them to laurel@cuntastic.org.

Your poster will have pointed information about the maternal mortality rates in your area, and the link between failed healthcare and socio-economic and racial disparities.  You will be part of a national poster installation, with folks in major cities and small towns all over the US putting up posters specific to their areas.  We’ll collect photos of the individual poster installations and display them on the CUNTastic website at www.cuntastic.org. 

Tranny Roadshow on Tour in Pacific Northwest

Support the Tranny Roadshow by checking out their 2010 Tour of the Pacific Northwest!

The Tranny Roadshow is a multimedia performance art extravaganza. It is composed of an eclectic group of artists, each one self-identified as transgender. This is a unique variety show where the expression of gender and the expression of self are inseparable. The show is a fluid entity, changing to suit the artists and the crowd, but always it is full of intelligence, fun and humor.

Although the Tranny Roadshow is done entirely by transpeople, it is not exclusively for transpeople. It is a raucous evening of entertainment, open and accessible to people of all backgrounds. Most of us are experienced performers, and while our goals do include challenging people and making them think, our most important goals are to entertain them, make them laugh, and make them dance.

Vagina Art To-Do List

hold on to your vaginas, folks, because DoulaHara (my online feminist art shop) is about to take off. once i can tackle this to-do list, that is…

– order the missing cord for my sewing machine, so i can start on several new product lines (hehe, i’m super excited! don’t you wish you knew what they were? stay tuned…)

– finish designing the new website, which will include this blog, a studio tour, press kit, and tons of uterine fun.

– continue marketing DoulaHara wares nationally, so you can run out to your favorite weird-o shop and take a look instead of staring at your damn computer screen all day.

– start booking space at 2010 anarchist bookfairs, zine fests, and maybe a craft fair or two. any suggestions from folks in or around colorado?

Sneak Peak: Original Cover Art

CUNTastic #2: The Menstruation Issue is on its way (hopefully by the end of September!), and you’re getting a special sneak peak at our very first ORIGINAL cover art! Artist & worm-eater extraordinaire Melissa Williamson created this gorgeous lady specifically to grace the covers of CUNTastic. Thanks, Melissa!

BabyMakinMachine Blog Features my Menstrual Beads

my new ‘earthy necklace’ set of menstrual beads was featured as a contest prize on the BabyMakinMachine blog!  BabyMakinMachine’s author, Future Mama, is a married, childless, and non-pregnant woman blogging about motherhood and her long journey toward it, somewhere in the future.  help celebrate the success of her blog and her wonderful community of mamas and mamas-to-be!

pendants have arrived!

yes folks, the long awaited vintage ephemera pendants have arrived! check em out, they speak for themselves…

each pendant begins as a vintage wooden checker piece, and is carefully transformed into a handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pendant. the pendants feature illustrations from vintage anatomy books, and are sealed and coated for protection.

Utera Maxima

my dear friend at VulvaLoveLovely has brightened the world with her new uterus plush, Utera Maxima. these oversized ovaries span a whopping 69 inches–this uterus means business! right now i am fantasizing about both cuddling up to this cushie monster, and using it as a punching bag during that crampy week of the month. well done, Vulva! way to celebrate your lady parts!

coming soon: pendants!

make space in your jewelry box! my new line of handmade pendants feature vintage illustrations of lady parts (and boy parts too) that you won’t want to miss out on. each pendant is 100% unique, one of a kind, and unlike anything you’ve seen anywhere. the newest way to celebrate your lady parts! they should be available by mid-May at the latest. stay tuned…