For those too young to “get” the reference in the mural above… see the original photograph and a brief description in my post Diversity is the one thing we all have in common.

Here’s the latest mural installment in West Oakland… it spans two huge warehouse walls along Mandela Parkway, was produced by 17 graffiti artists from around the country, and check this… they’re all women!

The event happened over the course of a few unusually cold & rainy days earlier this month, so props to these ladies for busting out some beautiful work in less than ideal circumstances. One of the artists, Meme, organized the event under the moniker Few and Far, and it will include future mural installations in various cities around the country (and possibly world). Check out my interview with Meme and photos of their amazing work…

179

INTERVIEW with Meme

The graffiti art and street art scenes definitely seem to be male dominated.  But the new walls you and your crew painted on June 4th were done exclusively by women! That’s amazing. Can you talk a little bit about that? Like why you wanted to do a project with just women?

Well like most hardcore things, most men are more likely down to what ever it is. As being a female into “male dominated” things you seem to find other females that sometimes want to build a bond cuz there are fewer of us… I am that type that loves all people and has love for women doing hardcore things! So I decided with help from KSRA/Mags that we would put together a jam.

Beth Emmerich

Are the women & girls you worked with from Oakland? Or from all over?

Hahaha well, I think four girls are either from here or now live in the Bay area. Mags, Dime, Agana and Muse. Three of them I didn’t invite or know before, they just showed up. I liked them, so I let them paint. Very happy they came!

Here’s a list of the rest of the crew and where they’re from: Toofly (NYC), Myla (Australia/LA), Acet (NJ), Reds (Miami), KSRA (Seattle), Hops (Seattle), 179 (Seattle), Meme (Nor Cal), Beth Emmerich(SD), Rachel Pelican (Grass Valley)

Rachel Pelican

I see that your project “Few & Far” is going be traveling to a number of cities throughout the world to do similar projects.  What’s next on the agenda?

Yes, we will be!! Watch out fellas! In Miami we will be doing a smaller F&F production during Art Basel. (Oaktown Art here:  For those who haven’t heard of it, Art Basel Miami bills itself as “the most important art show in the United States, a cultural and social highlight for the Americas… [and] the sister event of Switzerland’s Art Basel, the most prestigious art show worldwide for the past 41 years.”)

And will you pick up different artists in different locations?

Basically, we only want to surround ourselves with dedicated ladies that work well together, and aren’t competitive with each other, which happens a lot with other females. I don’t have time for that princess shit! Really any girl/women can join our collective, if their attitude is right.

siloette

Myla

How did you get into graffiti art?

Long story.. All I can say is it’s a long, bumpy, rough road that you can’t get off!! lol

Are there many female role models for girls who want to get into graffiti art and street art?

YES!! I think that there are more and more every year!! And I feel we are not hiding anymore. There are some heavy hitting ladies out there world-wide, those who paved the way for us are still killin’ it, and the up and comers that are killin’ it too!

The women I admire, just to name a few are: Miss Van, Swoon, Ursala young, faith 47, Lady Pink, MadC, The Stick Up Girlz, the F&F women and so many more, too many to name! The ladies in Few and Far are very well known for being female artists. There are female gatherings like B GIRL B, and zines like C-O-P magazine, plus “Graffiti Women”the book.  Not sure there is much more than that out there…. kinda lame.

Muse & Acet

Toofly & Dime

Do you think that the themes explored are different for female artists than for men/boys?

Sometimes males tend to do perverted, macho, tough, gross stuff, which I love cuz if everything was flowery it wouldn’t be realistic. But being a female, I love pretty things just as much! But this is not true for everyone, just the majority.

Maybe you could talk about a few of the specific pieces on the Mandela Parkway murals…

Oakland has tons of graffiti right now its crazy!! Mandela pkwy has lots of murals right now which is beautiful!! Such a change from the same ol’ grey wash walls. Don’t you agree? (I do!)

Meme & Hops & 179

Lady Mags & Hops & Myla

It looks like each artist got their own stretch of wall.  Were any of the pieces collaborative? (I didn’t see a signature on the dragon)

The dragon was by this amazing woman 179! The Seattle girls drove 16 hours straight, got out of the car and started painting like mad women!! 179 did multiple characters and a piece as well as the cute bunny & bacon’n'eggs which spelled out 2011. We ALL worked very hard on the wall!! Reds, Beth, Rachel, Agana and I stayed out there so long I wondered if the hotel was a waste of money! We were straight camping out there!

I feel we all worked equally hard to move the ladders, scaffolding, clean up every night… we were a solid team. It took us 3 days with heavy rains and cold weather, there was definitely no little girl shit here!

179

KSRA & 179

Lastly, why do you make art? And more specifically, public art?

I don’t consider myself as an artist really, I just paint graffiti. Now I’m at the age where I want to fine tune things, explore everything that interests me. I also don’t like painting in front of people, it makes me very nervous. But I’m learning that painting with positive people makes all the anxiety go away. The community in some cases loves what we are doing, so that makes me feel proud of all the years and millions of hours I put into it…

I feel art is like music, ever flowing… no one knows why, what or where it comes from, it’s this force that you can’t stop. I just wish cities were more open to art, music, youth, etc. Free for everyone to experience, no matter what age, sex, race, religion. Our society as a whole, has a lot of growing to do. We all have so much to learn from each other. So get ready… Few and Far is here! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, to every single person who helped and showed us love!! I appreciate you all and couldn’t have done it alone! ~ MEME F&F

Anagan & Reds

Anagan

More reading:

• Check out Toofly’s blog for shots of the crew working on the wall… TooflyNYC: Few and Far. Oakland, CA
• And this awesome interview with more of the crew:  Far and Few Collective Interview: Toofly, Reds and Ksera (Art Primo)

And lastly, if you want to get involved, contact Meme at FewAndFarEvent@gmail.com or the blog Few and Far.

• here: Library supporters pack Council budget meeting (A Better Oakland)
• here: At packed budget meeting, a debate over the fate of libraries, city services (Oakland North)
• here: Montclair Library, At Risk? (Today in Montclair)
• or here: Protecting Oakland’s Libraries (Bookmark Bookstore)

And lots of great points are being made… about the need for these neighborhood resources, providing accessibility to books and the internet for all residents regardless of income, providing social gathering spots and places of refuge from the neighborhood violence in some parts of Oakland, providing a suite of services and resources that once were offered by public schools but now have been cut from there as well.  The list goes on and on, and these are all incredibly important points.

But what I don’t hear anyone talking about is the Temescal TOOL Lending Library.

I have to admit that this is my most frequently visited branch/service of the entire Oakland Public Library system.  They know me by name, and I know most of theirs as I see them nearly weekly.

I’ve always liked fixing/building/making things. I was a born DIY’er before the term DIY even existed. You can see this was either instilled early (by my grandfather – pipe in mouth), or perhaps just came naturally, by this photo of my first home building project (I think I was 6).

For those who don’t know, and I’m always amazed when I meet folks who don’t, this is an incredible resource exclusively dedicated to Oakland residents. Modeled after the tool lending library in Berkeley, they house thousands of tools that can be “rented” FREE of charge for short periods of time. Everything you need to tend to your home and garden (carpentry & woodworking, concrete & masonry, electrical, floor & wall, garden & digging, ladders/dollies/handtrucks/wheelbarrows, mechanical & power, plumbing, etc.) plus books and how-to videos.

I think I’ve checked out tools in nearly every one of those categories from the early days in 2000 (this was when renovating my loft in West Oakland, photo left) to more recent projects on the home here in Dimond (photo right).

This arm of the Temescal Branch library was launched in January of 2000 (thanks to seed money from a Community Development Block Grant).  It was an outgrowth of a small “Home Resources Collection” established at this branch after the Oakland Hills Firestorm of 1991 to help residents with rebuilding and repairs following the disaster.

And it just makes sense.  In a dense urban environment where homes are frequently smallish apartments or “cottage” houses (read small!), who’s got the space to store all the things you need to care for your home? And more importantly, who wants to shell out the cash (tools are expensive!) for something you may use once or twice a year??

I LOVE the Temescal Tool Lending Library!  Please help save it.

According to the budget proposals currently being considered, the following library branches and resources would be slated for closure:

Asian, Brookfield, Cesar Chavez, Eastmont, Elmhurst, Golden Gate, Lakeview, Martin Luther King, Melrose, Montclair, Piedmont, Temescal, West Oakland, AAMLO, and the Tool Lending Library.

Is this not crazy?!? Especially after residents voted in 2003 for continued support of our libraries (Measure Q).

Here are five things you can do to help (from Save Oakland Libraries):

1. Tell your friends and neighbors about the devastating funding cuts to libraries – Ask 10 of your friends to call or write the Mayor and City Council. Like the Save Oakland Library page on Facebook.
2. Share your library experiences with city officials – Make sure that Oakland’s mayor, city manager, and city council know what libraries mean to you and your community.
3. Attend Oakland City Council meetings – We need a big turnout. Bring signs supporting libraries. Bring children who love libraries. Request to speak. Speaker cards can be requested online one week in advance at the Office of the City Clerk page.  Next meetings 6/7 and 6/21 at 5:30pm
4. Organize – Gather petition signatures and distribute fliers – These activities must happen outside the library locations–near branches or at community events. Fill our volunteer form and help save your library. Check our volunteer page for an activity near you. Download instructions on how to petition (PDF). Download the petition (PDF).
5. Contact newspapers, radio stations, TV stations and local blogs – Call the media and ask if they are covering the proposed Oakland library closings. When you read related news coverage, write a letter to the editor with thanks and a message about why Oakland’s public libraries are needed

New mural at San Pablo & Adeline.

Work is busy busy busy, so you get a quickie today…

This clever bumper sticker made me smile. For those who don’t get the double reference, look here.