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Ovaettr Art Newsletter!🍃 > September 2024 🌇

Hey everyone! Long time no chat! I was so busy this last month I completely forgot to send the August newsletter. Lots in store to talk about! Comics, ZineFests, New Knowledge, Exhibits… Let’s dive in!

New Releases!

I am proud to present THE FOX WHO BECAME A GIRL now OUT in Print and Digital formats! The first one hundred copies in print were made possible with the support of the Greater Denton Arts Council, in all printed material. Printed with excellency by KENESS!   The origins of the award-winning story of THE FOX WHO BECAME A GIRL comes from a conversation between Chloe and I, exploring the idea of… “What if transgender people and our experiences were included in folklore, fable, and mythology?” This story exists as the answer to that question. It provides something trans youth can see themselves in, helping them be proud of being trans. Because being trans is a gift. And that is why Chloe and I made this comic, to celebrate trans joy and existence! Getting to feel the comic in my hands was completely surreal. It took years to get to this point, and I’m so happy! I am very proud and grateful for all the support for this labor of love. Thank y’all for everything!

Pre-Orders for ‘The Fox…’ Brought In $56 for OUTreach Denton!

New FREE COVID-19 Zine Out Now for Summer Wave 2024! 😷

Get the Print Version | Get the Digital Download

Vendor & Virtual Events for September 2024 🎪

All physical locations in Denton, TX! All times in CT! - 9/6 6:00PM - 8:00PM - ‘Nerd Adjacent Art Show’ DCAE Exhibit Opening Night w/ my companion pieces ‘Genderfluid Zelda/Sheik’ (for sale) @ UNT CoLAB (Exhibit open 6th - 28th)(207 N. Elm St.) - 9/7 4:00PM - 6:00PM - Virtual Read-a-Long of ‘The Fox Who Became A Girl’@ twitch.ovaettr.gay (Reading begins at 4:10PM) - 9/13 6:00PM - 11:00PM - Friday the 13th Mini Horror Pop-up @ Black Locust Studio (809 N. Locust St.) - 9/14 4:00PM - 1:30AM - A Benefit For Palestine hosted by Puff n’ Flow Denton @ Green Goddess Revival (1807 N. Elm St.) (ALL OF MY MERCH SALES being donated to a Palestinian family’s GFM. Entrance fee going to Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. Come help out those suffering & bond with those of us whose hearts are breaking from witnessing this atrocity happen.) - 9/21 - TBA, potentially a big event I have not gotten confirmation for yet. Expect a separate e-mail if it happens! - 9/28 12:00PM - 6:00PM - Zines n’ Things Swap (Polacon 9) @ Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios (411 E. Sycamore St.) - 9/29 2:00PM - 6:00PM - Denton Zine & Art Party (Zinefest 2024) @ Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios (411 E. Sycamore St.)

Since Last Month…

Traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan for GRZF ✈️

I had a WONDERFUL time in Grand Rapids, met my partner Duke (they/she) with the help of my friend Kat and their lovely family getting me there!I tabled at the Grand Rapids Zine Fest that was a blast! I am so grateful to have met all the new artists there!! We even got our comic in our first shop. You can purchase THE FOX WHO BECAME A GIRL at Vault of Midnight Comics & Stuff in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There’s eight copies there! Thank you to VOM for your support! Check out my Travel Journal Tag on my Tumblr Blog if you want to see the whole trip!

One Year Since Top Surgery 8/23/2023 - 2024 💟✂️

I can’t believe I’m here saying this but I had a great check-up appointment for my TOP SURGERY RESULTS POST-OP ONE YEAR! Wow! It’s impossible to put into words just how much my life has improved tenfold post-top surgery. I am so grateful for everyone who got me through it. Thank you to Dr. Peter Raphael of the American Institute of Plastic Surgery for the life-saving successfully healed procedure. Life has never been better! Trans pride! Trans joy!

Participating in the Square-D 2 Exhibit @ UNT CoLAB 🖼️

Benefiting The UNT Food Pantry

This year I was very thankful to again participate in the Square-D 2 (squared) exhibit benefiting the UNT Food Pantry with sales of the art. There were some amazing pieces I took photos of and will be posting in a reel on my Instagram soon. The exhibit ran from 7/5 to 8/31. My piece for this year’s, I could not break away from how clouded my life has been as the ongoing genocide of Gaza continues seemingly endless. My piece is directly inspired by the parallel realities of mothers in America, and mothers in Palestine. They both love their children all the same, and like all parents, want their children to survive and thrive. Many Palestinians I help promote the GoFundMe fundraisers of (to pay enough to pass the border to Egypt and escape war), are mothers or fathers and their one hope is getting their child out of Gaza even if they cannot survive as parents. The gut-wrenching reality is what I chose to reflect in my piece. Titled as a poem:"As We Laugh, They CryAs We Live, They DieParallel Love; Her And I”The piece sold, benefiting the pantry. Prints will be made soon that will 100% go to Palestinian fundraisers later in September. May we never forget what we fight for: love, freedom, liberation. Envisioning a better world, together with you.

Helping Palestinians // Free Free Palestine! 🇵🇸

Our elected officials continue to ignore us, as we have reached over 40,000 Palestinian people killed as of September 1st, 2024. (Al Jazeera) Our leaders ignore pleas for an end to the war. We must continue to make our voices heard within our legal means of communicating with our leaders. The American government is the key to ending this genocide, because our government has personally funded it in entirety since the start. How much funding as of June 29th, 2024 has been spent on 2,000LB bombs & more?”A senior Biden administration official on Wednesday told reporters that Washington has since Oct. 7 sent $6.5 billion worth of security assistance to Israel.” (Reuters, by Hemeyra Pamuk)

What kind of world could we have if we spent $6.5 BILLION on feeding the hungry instead of killing them? What if we funded food, not bombs? What if we funded free healthcare or free college in America, and not bombs? I ask that simple question: What If? Here’s the simple demands activists are asking for & you can too: - ARMS EMBARGO on Isreal, NO MORE WEAPONS, NO MORE BOMBS - Enforce a permanent CEASEFIRE NOW! Not “soon!” - Allow real humanitarian aid into Gaza & STOP the targeting of medical officials & those bringing food & care to Palestinians being starved. - Land back. No more illegal selling of Palestinian land to colonizers.

CALL TOOL // EMAIL TOOL Additional: Are they ignoring your calls and e-mails? Send postcards too.

See how much of your own or your area’s US Tax Dollars go towards genocide with the Not My Tax Dollars tool. Cite this number when contacting your local government to start requesting they stop funding Isreal with your taxes.

Donations of e-SIM Cards STILL Greatly Needed! 🪪 🇵🇸

• Donate an E-Sim Card for a Gaza citizen using the instructions at the Cartoonists Co-op, and qualify for FREE ART to match your donations.
• I am a VOLUNTEER ARTIST for the E-Sims For Gaza initiative and would be happy to take your request for helping a Gaza citizen stay connected to their loved ones. Select “Ovaettr AKA Orion Fern” to get me as your artist once you donate an e-SIM.
• See what I am offering at my landing page for this effort.

Need Community? Attend the 30 Minute Power Half-Hours for Gaza run by Jewish Voice for Peace to connect, recollect, and maintain your hope and strength. They run Mon - Fri 2:00PM - 2:30PM CT.

Remember To Register to Vote! Check Your Voter Reg! 🦅

• Learn about down-ballot voting and how important local elections are regarding how you experience government in your everyday life.
• Register to Vote (or Re-Register) (for Texans) by printing out the form and mailing it LATEST by 30 days til the election. You have until October 1st to mail it!
• Register to Vote for any other state at VOTE.GOV

What Have I Read This Month?

A new little last tidbit of my newsletter is where I will update y’all with my reading recommendations - just a general update on what I’ve read this month! I read a LOT, primarily through borrowed or owned audio books, and it contributes greatly to my work, ethos, personal philosophy and perspective as a working artist. I would love to share that with y’all. “Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring” by Brad Gooch - INCREDIBLE!Nothing has inspired me more lately than learning about the life of the gay artist and activist, the late and great Keith Haring. As a queer creative myself, who is pro-community, his personal ethos of “Art is for EVERYBODY” left an impression on me that I carry with me in my work from now on. I plan to do a master study of his work soon, and want to read his diaries next. RIP.Available to borrow to read for FREE on Libby! “Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope” by bell hooks - LIFECHANGING!As an arts educator who is still very new to teaching, I have been working through bell hooks’ series on education as a practice of freedom. ‘Teaching Community’ is the second installment coming after ‘Teaching To Transgress’ and the third is ‘Teaching Critical Thinking.’ Throughout these books she dissects what the education system is like in America and how it can change. She provides a framework for revolutionary thought and pedagogy of hope, promoting love and multiculturalism in the classroom. Absolutely necessary series for any educator, whether in the classroom or not. bell hooks will always be missed for her amazing insight on how we can make the world a better place. RIP.

Available to read FOR FREE on Archive.org!

[Connect With Me on GoodReads] Thank you so much for reading my newsletter! Stay safe, mask up, tomorrow needs you. With Love & Solidarity, -O *PORTFOLIO *| *COMMISSIONS *| *PATREON *| *QUEUE *| TIPJAR BlueSky* *| *Tumblr *| *CoHost *| *Mastodon *Copyright (C) |CURRENT_YEAR| |LIST:COMPANY|. All rights reserved.|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE||LIST:DESCRIPTION||END:IF|Want to change how you receive these emails?You can update your preferences or unsubscribe