June - Arja Jämsä , 2021.
Finnish , b. 1957 -
Oil on canvas , 120 x 120 cm.
When I see people sharing so much of their kids' lives, I think about that one time my child told a joke, I shared that joke with ONE FRIEND in a private conversation, and my child said "can you please ask me next time, before you tell people something about me?"
And, yes, I absolutely should. So I apologized, and now I ask.
"I love that video of you, can I show it to a friend?"
"Can I tell a friend about how clever you were just now?"
"Can I share this in the family group chat?"
"Can I show your art to grandma and grandpa?"
And it's not like my kids don't like when I share their jokes and puns and fun moments. They love it! But they want to have control over what I share with people. Even without their faces or their names. Even people we know and trust.
And they deserve to have that control.
My children are small so the examples are small. They wanted me to ask, so I ask. Just like being told to kiss my grandma's cheek when I was a kid was far from traumatizing, but I don't do that with my kids because it's a way to practice consent and become aware of bodily autonomy.
It gets both me and them in the habit of asking for consent and drawing boundaries and seeing the lines between their life and my life, their stories and my stories.
he gave himself the job of bathing the foster kittens
When I was in the hospital, they gave me a big bracelet that said ALLERGY, but like. I'm allergic to bees. Were they going to prescribe me bees in there.
I’m all scratched up and I can still taste spray paint in my mouth and my husband almost fell out of a tree BUT THE GHOST SCULPTURES ARE FINISHED!
They’re finally finished and I’m so happy with them!!
Some progress shots:
Art by Jef Wu
Tree roots following the pattern of concrete footpaths
vinny is an ipad baby but for like cups
I Am Not Your Asian American Doll: a comic for AAPI Heritage Month 2023
I usually spend a lot of time editing and fine-tuning my comics so that they come across as polite and inoffensive. But honestly, I’m really tired of the way Asian cultures and countries are treated / talked about while Asian people themselves are excluded, and thought it was about time I really let my rage out lol.
id in alt