Lady Pink in the HOUSE (Book)!

(Lady on the Leaf by Lady Pink, Acrylic on Canvas)

Click here to watch our video: Poetic Illustrations hits the road to meet Lady Pink!

Whether she’s tagging a wall in the city, or sitting in a cherry picker seven stories up, buckled into a harness, which she hates, Lady Pink and her crew have taken on jobs wall-size to several stories tall. They work under permits to create murals that transport minds into wonderlands of fantastic realms, far beyond the flat facade of a mundane brick sided building menacingly hanging over a parking lot. Her work leaves a space transformed. It transcends dimension, and transports the viewer elsewhere. Her work allows an audience to step into her world, a vivid place of color and wildly imaginative zone where a visual dance to silent music takes place. Formerly Ecuadorian, and now considered to be a member of the Human Race, Pink’s rebellious acts of self expression are part of a wide spread effort around the city of New York to empower women using graffiti and murals to make bold statements that women hold a presence in what was previously considered to be a “boys club”. 

Meeting Pink was a calm experience that left us a bit lost for words for how to explain the time we spent with her. Did that just happen? Wait. Yes. Uh…..Yeah. I just met one of my heroes. I repeatedly thought. But she wouldn’t want to be called that. Because she’s just doing her thing.  She wouldn’t want to be analyzed. She’s just doing her job. She see’s images, and she puts them onto spaces. For those of us who view her work, and stand back in awe of it, we find it to be the kind of impressive that we view from a distance and wonder how one accomplishes such beauty from a can that sprays with such a rapid pace that many often struggle to adequately manage to apply it, let alone use this material to create a piece of fine art. But Pink is a master of this craft. She wields these cans like Picasso would pick up a brush and place it to canvas. She puts her mask on, and climbs up ladders and just gets the job  done. 

Pink works hard. She’s not prideful. She’s not boastful. She works hard. She’s an animal lover. She’s an inspirational teacher. She’s bold. She’s outspoken. She’s feisty. But she’s calm and extremely compassionate regarding kids and education of youth. I admire her tenacity and gift for mentorship of youth. We were extremely happy with our decision to take our sons with us to meet her. It was an experience we know they will always reflect on, and she was highly responsive to having the boys there. She encouraged their participation and conversation over our meal, and was happy to know that we travel with our kids and teach them about the world, stating that it is important for kids to travel and learn. It was truly an honor to spend time getting to know her, and we look forward to seeing her continue to do just that - her thing!

One of the coolest parts about the experience of meeting Lady Pink was seeing how down to earth she and her family are. We enjoyed meeting and spending time with them and are so thankful for their encouragement of our book. We cannot wait to place a copy of it in their hands! We are honored to have Pink’s participation in our book. We are beyond ecstatic to display her work to introduce her to those who haven’t yet come to know who she is and what she has done. Working with Pink for the image in our book has opened a door to include works by artist Jenny Holzer and photographer Lisa Kahane, and as an artist and a student who studied these women, I’m beyond honored and can’t say with enough gratitude how thankful I am to include them in our work. Ladies, THANK YOU for what you contribute to our country and our world. Thank you for who you are, what you teach, how hard you work, and the messages you send. Thank you for your inspiration, and thank you for saying yes! We are filled with gratitude for your acceptance and look forward to sharing our book with you.

“I’m just doing my thing, you know. There are classes being taught on the theory behind why I do something, or why I make it a certain color. But I’m just doing what I want to do. I’m just doing my thing.”

- Lady Pink

For more information about Lady Pink and her artwork, please visit her website:

www.LadyPinkNYC.com

Merci Agha Jobrani

Merci Agha Jobrani (English translation: Thank you Mr. Jobrani).

As an Iranian, I am beyond honored to present Mr. Maz Jobrani in our book.  Maz Jobrani is a well known stand up comedian.  He has been in various television shows, movies and has published books.  One of his best sellers, and my favorite is "I'm Not a terrorist, but I've played one on T.V."  I would highly recommend the read.  What is so great about this Poetic Illustrations of Immigrants of the United States is that we have such a diverse selection of heroes.  Some of the individuals hit Jen with intensity, while others hit me the same way.  While others we both are impacted by their story.

When we work on someone's poem and illustration, we do a lot of research to learn as much as we can about the individual.  I remember watching a video of Mr. Jobrani (resource: https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2018/10/07/inside-middle-east-stage-comedy-maz-jobrani-vision-b.cnn)  and there was a very specific line "...I never felt American enough, and I never felt Iranian enough."  That was it.  That was the line that inspired my poem.  I sat with that sentence for almost a week before I started writing.  When I put the words on paper, it was effortless.  Mainly because I have felt the same way.  Not knowing where I belonged. 

In our journey, Jen and I make all efforts to meet with our individuals, our heroes.  We are crazy excited to have Mr. Jobrani's blessing to move forward with having him in the book.  When I tweeted the video (oh yea...I tweet now) and to see Mr. Jobrani not only like the tweet, but respond? oh man...I was beside myself.  We cannot wait to see his show on November 16th, and laugh our ass off. :)

Lady Liberty

Lady Liberty, standing with a promise of hope and light in the darkness.

We take this symbol of our passage to freedom pretty seriously.  Many think her tablet beholds a quote, but it actually holds Roman numerals for the date of our Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. The Emma Lazarus quote commonly thought to be on her tablet is actually located on the plaque at her base is one I never tire of. It's message reads: 

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

A broken chain lies at the feet of the statue, symbolizing the freedoms we have in the United States of America. The statue is a welcoming signal to immigrants from all around the world who arrive from the corners of the earth to enter our country at Ellis Island. The seven spikes on the crown of the Statue of Liberty represent the seven oceans and the seven continents on our globe. She holds a torch, which illuminates a pathway to freedoms one has a right to in our country. The statue represents that Liberty is sought here, freedom is won here, and none shall be neglected here. Her torch stays lit for all to seek the shores of freedom by. 

The Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States by France in 1886. It is a 305 foot tall Copper neoclassical sculpture located on Liberty Island in the New York Harbor in New York City. It was designed by sculptors Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and Richard Morris Hunt, and built by architect Gustave Eiffel. After originally being constructed in Paris in 1885, it was deconstructed and packed into 214 separate containers and shipped in 350 pieces to the United States where it was reassembled in New York upon it's arrival.

The Hungarian American Publishing giant Joseph Pulitzer galvanized the American public to contribute to the effort by publishing the project in his newspaper, The World. Within six months of publication of the project he raised $100,000 for the statue. 

We encourage you to see her for yourself. Pictures do not do her magnificence justice. Her symbolism is profound. Her presence, indelible.

We decided it was naturally appropriate to pay tribute to the group of individuals we are honoring by visiting the Statue and passing by Ellis Island. In some small way, as we walk the streets those we seek to celebrate in our book have, as we feel the tides under the boat, and as we sail near the lights we see in the distance and can see it as they would have seen it themselves, we are hoping that we are experiencing a small piece of their voyage so that we can honor it, pay tribute to it, and teach you about it. So that you can do the same.

For more information on the Statue of Liberty please see the following links:

Statue of Liberty National Monument
http://www.nps.gov/stli/
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
http://www.ellisisland.org
Ellis Island National Monument
http://www.nps.gov/elis
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/history/10-facts-about-the-statue-of-liberty/449874393
https://www.countryliving.com/life/a35726/statue-of-liberty-facts/

We are hitting the BIG APPLE!

Azy and I are off to New York Friday morning, October 5, to meet one of our heroes! We plan to visit several publishers, honor an incredibly talented woman we can't wait to share more about with you, take in the sights, and teach our boys a little bit about the process of working to try to get this book published. We also plan to have a little bit of fun in the BIG apple!

You can follow our adventures on our new Twitter and Instagram accounts!

@BookPoetic

https://twitter.com/BookPoetic

PoeticIllustrationsBook

https://www.instagram.com/poeticillustrationsbook/ 

Read it while its HOT!

Okay, I have to admit the title is a bit cheesy.  Jen is usually much better with the nice catchy titles.  I digress.  Two weeks ago, we took a survey on our Facebook page to see how many individuals had a bottle of the sriracha sauce in their kitchen as daily condiment use.   The polls showed that about 54% of the voters DO have the sauce.  I personally have two bottles.  Not for me, for my son.  He LOVES it.  In my family, spice is all so good and nice.  We love anything that will tingle and make our taste buds dance.  So of course sriracha is on the list.  The history behind the sauce is pretty darn amazing.  I will not go into the details of it all but encourage you to look up the man behind the Rooster.  

His name is David Tran. David is a first generation immigrant to the United States from Vietnam.  He is Chinese/Vietnamese, with a military background.  He was a refugee when he came to America after the Vietnam War.  When he started to venture into making this amazing sauce, he started selling it in recycled glass baby food jars.  From company has grown into a multi-million dollar company called Huy Fong Foods. It is based in California, and uses ingredients grown by local farmers within the state.  I know personally, I enjoyed writing the poem for Tran, given that it's one of our favorite condiments.  

"sure, I'll be happy to  

describe who I am." 

with a Green hat on 

a Rooster on my shirt 

with bright red 

to capture the eye 

What to read the rest?  Just wait...and you will be able to enjoy the entire poem with the illustration by Jen.  He has an amazing adventurous story to tell.  But don't we all?  His story ends with a kick in the taste-buds!  (again, too cheesy for an ending?)

Clip of Tran discussing his immigration process from Vietnam to United States

They're here!!! THEY'RE HERE!!!

Our business cards have arrived!

These shiny little cards hold so much excitement for us! They are our way  communicating to the world, one at a time, that this book is coming! We have so many ideas for these and we look forward to sharing them with you. Stay tuned for our next set of heroes! We will be adding some from the Y chromosome collection in the near future, but for this set we couldn’t help but start with three of the most amazing women we’ve ever learned about:

Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian Mathematician, the first female to win the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics. Pearl Primus, Trinidadian Dancer, a world renown talent known as "The Mother of African Dance". She is seen as a major pioneer in the field of dance in the United States, though she was denied admission to many schools due to her pigmentation. Alicia Partnoy, Argentinian Poet, and a fierce and loving advocate for the voices lost to tyranny. Her writing is invigorating and beckons readers to stand up and follow her drum beat as she pounds her fist into the sky with a smile on her face. She has become not just a hero of ours, but also a friend. We wish that we could say the same for all of our heroes, but sadly we cannot travel back in time.

These women were/are mothers. They were/are revolutionaries. They were/are brave, independent, spirited, fiery, bold, intrepid leaders who did/do what brave, intelligent women do so well. They skillfully walked/walk with dignity and grace but also immeasurable strength. They stood/stand firm in proverbial chapping winds. Oh and did they LEAP! at the chance to prove that they were willing to work, toil, practice, fight, and press on despite immeasurable obstacles. Whether those impositions in life be political opposition, religious oppression, patriarchal suppression, or racist and bigoted idolatry, they pressed on. With their spines straight, and their heads high even when adversity wanted to push their chins down, they succeeded. 

Azy and I are dedicated to the dream that one day you will hold our book, and it will be a portal of pages providing you the opportunity to know these individuals the way we've come to know them. We hope you teach yourself and your children, your family, your neighbors, your parents, and your friends about these amazing people. Learn with us who has influenced our lives, improved our environment, invented the products and items that we use daily, and enhanced our experience as humans.

For starters, THANK YOU Maryam, Pearl, & Alicia.

With deepest gratitude and love,

Jen & Azy

Business About Cards!

Sometimes writing and illustrating a book is like juggling cats. Azy and I are both moms. We are both busy people with full more than time schedules. So to say that we have already bitten a lot off to chew would be a grand understatement. We knew that taking on this book would be a challenge. But we did so with a full heart for this project. With a commitment that burns continually through the excitement and spirit from deep within. We believe in this book. 

So days like today, when Azy spent the day with family, and I tried not to stroke out at my son’s football game while my six year old slathered her hot little self across my lap, we volleyed messages back and forth regarding discounts on business cards. We are moms. We like bargains. And this is on a shoe-string, because again, it’s a TWO WOMAN SHOW. Plus, we also like shoes. So the less we have to pay for promotional materials, the better! 

After some serious lip biting, and throwing designs and coupon codes into a couple of programs online, we have finally made our decisions and have our cards chosen and in process. It feels like we have purchased ourselves our own birthday gifts…or stuffed our own stockings…because we are making our dreams come true for this book! 

It might seem a little over the top that we’d get *THIS* excited about a business card. It seems so old school. It does. We know. But this is a big step for us. It means that for the first time we will be reaching outside of the familiar territory that we’ve comfortably found support in here on facebook and on our blog. We’re going to look complete strangers in the eye and confidently hand them our cards and refer them to our site with full awareness and hope that it will result in them one day holding the book in their hand.

So today we threw some cats in the air, and I think we actually caught all of them! Imagine how exciting it will be when the book is hot off of the presses if we are THIS excited about business cards?!!!