June Newsletter
In this newsletter:
Ko-fi mail & new projects
Posts you may have missed
Things I’ve been enjoying
Buiti (hi)!
June’s Ko-fi art (and previous months, if applicable!) is on its way to Monthly Supporters right now. The next Ko-fi Mail Drop will be at the end of September and above are this season’s postcards and sticker. July’s postcard is the Bobo Menor or Mangrove Cuckoo:
I’m going to be starting a couple ongoing projects on Ko-fi that you might like to join me for. I’ve been dreaming these up for a while, and I think Ko-fi is going to be a great space to work on them.
Oracle Card Deck Project
A long term project I have is creating an oracle card deck that incorporates Taino imagery and symbolism yet can be used by anyone. And I want to start the process of exploring the creation of those compositions and ideas on my Ko-fi page. I’ll share those images and thoughts with all supporters but I’m going to create another monthly support tier that will include mini prints- like a precursor to the actual oracle card- which you can collect, gift, use as an altar card, etc. I’ll likely release some full size prints and other things along the way and have some way to thank you for the support when the time comes to produce the decks.
Your Favorite Artist Was Disabled
I’ve had the idea for a while to do video essays and host conversations with disabled artists that reposition disability in art by highlighting how many of the world’s favorite, well known artists in history were disabled.
Disability is broad and encompasses a lot of different things. Disability is part of all of us, collectively. It is naturally intersectional, you find disabled people in every demographic. But when I search for information about disabled artists, I find this very tiny, “othered” category. A special tiny box where disabled people get a patronizing pat on the head (and organizers get a pat from themselves on the back) for being included in a gallery show with other explicitly disabled people. I never hear Frida Kahlo or Henri Matisse or Van Gogh called disabled, despite the fact that they very, very clearly were.
They themselves may have not used that term or identity, there may have been other terms in their eras and communities (some that we rightfully don’t use today) that may have been used for them. But I’ll be looking at them in our current understanding of disability to broaden both our understanding of them and of disabled people and artists in our own communities. And partly because I want to develop a deeper understanding of and relationship with artists I love through the lens of disability. (If you have any suggestions for a historical artist to feature, I’d love that!)
But my health and capacity isn’t at a place where I can do video essays or live conversations- and I can’t afford the equipment or outsourcing yet to make quality videos- so I’ll be starting the process on Ko-fi by sharing my research and drafts so once I have a better health baseline and better equipment, I’ll have material ready to go.
So if you’d like to support those projects and have been thinking about becoming a Monthly Supporter, please join me!
Remember, you can try my Ko-fi for one month by doing a one-time donation before becoming a Monthly Supporter 🖤 You get access to most posts and downloads, just not any art mailed nor access to the Ko-fi shop.
Posts You May Have Missed
Bluesky
YouTube
Things I’ve been enjoying this month:
Revisiting In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel for the first time in years
Zohran Mamdani’s campaign graphic design (and his win, of course!)
Making this quick onion pickle that I first discovered on a trip to Belize in 2017
41 Ave Fernando L Ribas #458 Utuado, PR 00641